Exactly 365 days ago…

Tuna, Bond and the rest of the Chem bunch left for a trip.

Mal, Pub, me, Bond and Tuna simultaneously got teary-eyed.Saranya was stoic as usual.

And after the ‘byes to this bunch, Logik and I had a cuppa at F&H.

Then I got senti with Pragu.We went and had a final mess dinner.

Began burning movies. And Mahi and Devika were leaving then, began lapsing into flashback and all that.

Then Tata-’Byes to Maloo and Bigshow. And found Vada had disappeared.

I’m not sure if it was this night or what, but I remember spending  a drizzly night on the pavement expounding to Poonam the theory of the Life, Universe and everything else.

I distinctly remember the sentiness with Shruthi… speaking in half-sentences and choking on emotion.

Bugged Pubali for a while. And then went to extreme nostalgia with my roommate of four years. And some more teary-eyed-ness with Pubali. Some more last-minute movie-burning.

Then had last few chats on the NITK LAN. Played the last strains of Ella Fitzgerald my room would hear.Shut down my laptop one last time at hostel.

Found it was 4 am. Took a bath in the Old Block…. man, last day at NITK and it had to go without water in the blocks.

Came back and got supremely senti with Shruthi. Eyes full of tears, both of us.

Just as I was moving my stuff out, I exchanged the last few words of gossip I would exchange at NITK. And looked back at the room, the cupboard, under the bed, on the table, on the shelf one last time.

And then the farewell hugs. Each one made me more emotional than the others.

My mother had never seen me tearier. And that is saying something.

My last night-out at NITK. Feels like yesterday.