City Lights ~ Vibhuti Bakshi

I scream and shout,
But there’s no one to hear me,
People pass me by,
A shadow on the pane,
A crack in the vain,
I am unable to open my eyes,
Air doesn’t seem to meet my lungs,
Dirty and ambiguous,
Images imprinted in my brain,
Every tick of the watch taunts me,
I am away from home,
The glitz and glamour washed away,
The steak reality breaks free,
I stand alone on a street,
On a path, where there is no place to breathe,
I stand alone in a crowd,
Lost.

NMIMS Diary – Day 1

The day had finally arrived. Eager and enthusiastic as I was, I got ready speedily (which seldom happens). I had decided to reach a little early so that I could explore the campus; ready to build my dreams with rocks of passion. I got down the bus and ‘Oh My Holy Golly Gosh!’

There I was, the pilgrim, standing before my garbled temple, which stood amidst a cluster of puddles and heaps of gravel, echoing with the cackle and clatter and jingle and jangle of the bulldozer monster and the loader monster. The sight came as a shock. In a fraction of second, I did some soul searching. Was my glass half full or half empty? Time has the answer. I stepped inside the building, now with meek expectations and a dolorous heart. Before me a sea of people awaited me.

People from similar walks of life had started teaming together. An old friend of mine had given me an unpalatable list of ‘do’s and don’ts in a business school’. Hence I made sure I introduced myself to as many people as possible, while not forgetting the big fat smile. I was living a quiz all throughout. The event started and so did the monotony of the day. Lecture after lecture, followed by another lecture wherein the ‘nouveau riche’ strongly advocated how trivial money was!

(Reader, I was quite amazed to see that how once did they not realize that the fee structure of their ‘muddy puddly’ campus thwarted their prophecies.) Anyhow, we were invited for luncheon that provided the opportunity to puncture each others brain again.

Now during the first half of my ‘getting-to- know-each- other’ exercise, I was saturated with people boasting about their formidable work experience in some ‘inky pinky ponky ltd’. So I found solace in a girl, who looked like a little version of Harry Potter. At that point of time I cherished the ‘Hari da puttar’ because she had the same ‘berozgar’ past as I did. But as an old adage goes, looks can be often deceptive, this little package blabbered a lot. She talked about comets, about traffic in Bangalore, about upcoming US elections, about some ‘panipuriwala’ and blah blah blah blah and only God knows how did she link them all. She smiled throughout and while she blabbered I wondered whether my smile was as big as hers. Fortunately, the event resumed and unfortunately was taken up by the seniors. With constant rhyme between PCOM and DCOM and DCOM and PCOM, all I could conclude was, that hard times were on their way.

The day ended and by this time my ears were bleeding (not literally, I mean you know what I mean right!). I so wanted to be back to my place and be alone for a while. As I bid farewell to my little friend, the inquisitive animal in her woke up. She inquired about my plans. Now reader, it is very difficult to tell a girl where you’re planning to go because it’s difficult to answer the rest……. Where? When? And for what purpose? And then came the worst “I would like to join”. My heart sank.

The long day had a long conclusion (because my little friend does not know how to conclude). With a dubious mind and a curious heart, I awaited the next day.

PS- It’s been almost a week in college. And it’s been fun so far. So what if my temple was half done. I built one in my head. Its hallways are as lofty as a cathedral and the arch of each window as supple as a bow. And my little friend, if you don’t stop sucking my brain, I will hunt you down one day and maybe eat you alive.

~ Pallavi Sharma (PGDM 07)