With thanks and apologies to Begum Rokeya.
One evening I was lounging on my bed trying to prepare for the Ǫuiz the next day. I was certainly sleepy, but I am not sure whether I had dozed off or not. But as far as I remember, I was as awake as one can be while studying for an exam the next day. I remember wistfully gazing at my door, wishing I could just go out and study in the open air with some company.
All of a sudden, there was someone in my room. I took them for my friend, U.
“Good evening,” said U. I greeted them the same way and asked, “Wassup?”
“All good! Usha?”
I looked at my phone, it was around six in the evening. Usha would be a bloody crowded suffocating mess right now. But anyway it wasn’t like I was getting any studying done, so might as well refresh myself with a cup of ill-advised coffee. “Sure,” I said.
We stepped out. U whisked me away before I could lock my room. I noted with a faint surprise that all the rooms I passed by had only put on their latch – surely that many people couldn’t have all been to the loo at the same time. We walked towards Usha. I was mentally calculating the time it would take to get a coffee and then have a quick chat and immediately go for dinner, since I would be out of the hostel anyway. Or maybe I could order dinner, but that remained to be seen.
Imagine my surprise when I saw a structure before me that was at once very familiar and just as alien. Gone was the crammed concrete box with a sprawling courtyard. In its place stood a semi-big hall, filled with tables and chairs. Even as I entered the place, I could breathe. At six in the evening! Oh wonder of wonders!
We stood in the uncramped line, got our coffee and found a table. “Whatever happened to Usha!” I wondered out loud.
“Don’t know how the shopkeepers and you guys make do with that tiny box in your insti, to be honest.”
“I mean, we are just used to that, I guess? And it’s pretty nice in the evenings – the open space outside.” My excuse sounded weak even to myself.
“Uh huh.”
I did not know what to say to that. I wondered where U would take me next in their campus. When I asked them as much, they said, “Well, do you mind if we pop by at the department? I have a quick meeting with my homework group.”
“Sure,” I answered. I wondered whether I should ask them what a homework group was. I mean, it sounded like people got together to complete their homework together, but surely it couldn’t be that – what with all the RG-ing. Instead I asked, “What do you mean drop by at the department? Wouldn’t it be closed by now?”
U looked confused. “Why would it be closed?”
“The classrooms will be closed by 6 PM when the classes end, right?”
“Ah, that. I keep forgetting how closed-off your insti is. Well, no, we don’t close the classrooms here. We work and hang out in the departments late into the night.”
“Oh, that sounds really nice. I wish they did this back in insti as well. Would be nice to have some place to work.”
“Don’t you work in your library, DCF and such??”
“Oh, yes, sometimes. But it’s really difficult to find space, especially during quizzes and exams. And some people don’t find it a very comfortable space to work with how cold it is. And if DCF is open, it tends to be very crowded.”
“That is so sad. Like. I can’t imagine not having a comfortable work space. It’s crazy how you guys live here.”
We had reached the department by this time. We went inside where I saw U’s friends sitting around a circular table. Not wanting to disturb them, I wandered about, taking in the place for myself. The classrooms were very different from what I was used to. Instead of a stage for The Professor to lecture from, there were circular tables spread across the classrooms. There were blackboards and soft-boards on all the walls of the classroom.
Walking to the end of the corridor, I discovered a most beautiful sight. There was a glass door. Through the door one entered a balcony which hosted a small garden full with benches and cushions. Some people were gardening. When I spoke with them I found out that they were students taking a break from work.
In another room, I found a small pantry complete with an induction and a coffee machine. One of the cupboards was lined with beautiful china cups. A student who had just finished their coffee came in, washed their cup and kept it in the cupboard. It reminded me of that coffee-place in ESB, except this one was open well into the night and students had to make their tea/coffee themselves.
U had finished their work by then. They called for me. “You’ve got such a nice department, especially that garden!” I couldn’t help but tell them.
They grinned, “Well, we started building that garden a couple of years ago. Our seniors started it, actually. Some of my friends and profs who are into gardening take care of it. But to be honest, you should’ve seen our library. It has such a beautiful collection. And the best couches! Some of the alumni funded those couches and the profs donated their books.”
We were walking now on what seemed like the road to T-Gate, but there were far too many benches and small sitting places along the road for that. Unsure, I asked U, “Where are we headed?”
“We are going to my hostel. I have a small gift for you back in my room.” “But aren’t we going the wrong way, then? The hostel is near Usha.”
“No, we don’t have that silly separation of area between girls’ and boys’ hostels. They are scattered all over. And there are some mixed gender, or gender-neutral, hostels as well. People choose which hostels they live in.”
“But doesn’t that cause conflicts?”
“Not really. If there is an issue about hostel allocation, we generally manage to work something out among ourselves. The last time hostel allocation had become a major issue was, like, over a decade ago or something.”
“So, where is your hostel?”
“It’s right next to T-Gate. I like going out, so it’s just far more convenient to live close to the gate.”
We had reached U’s hostel by then. We entered into a sprawling courtyard. Once again, it was dotted with benches. Some people were hanging out while the others were tending to the plants. U lived on the second floor. They had told me that they had a shared room. They opened the door to a spacious room with a large
window. Late evening fading sunlight, sliced by the grills on the window, fell on the floor. U retrieved something from their bookshelf. It was a small booklet.
“Here, this is for you. Hopefully, with this, your insti might also decide to hire some imaginative architects one day.”
U decided to take me to the mess after that. We decided to go to Vindhya. On our way back, I looked curiously at the small tea stall, benches and people hanging about. U noticed my curiosity, “Everybody loves the tea place. Most of the evenings, we all hang out here or at one of the other food shops near Himalaya.”
“HFC, you mean?”
“Oh that food court you people have? Well, yes and no. There are still food shops there but you don’t need an app and all that bullshit to order. Do you want to go there instead?”
“Well, why not?”
We turned to go towards Himalaya instead. Once again, on the lawn, were chairs and tables with umbrellas on them. Inside the dining hall, gone were the long prison benches with attached metal stools. In its place were a number of normal tables and chairs, like the ones in Zaitoon. We went up to a shop to order some dosa.
We thought of sitting outside but however well-designed a place might be, there’s nothing to be done about insti’s torrid love affair with the mosquitoes under the cover of night when the monkeys are no longer watching. So, we sat inside instead.
After having the dosa, we stepped out into the night and also went to visit the student studios, auditoriums, a tea shop and some other departments.
After visiting these places, I was climbing down the stairs of one of the departments when I missed a step and the fall startled me out of my dream. On opening my eyes, I found myself at six in the evening back in my own room still moping over my quiz the coming day.
Article 19 