The Golden Jubilee 2013- Pt JNM Medical College Raipur- A Global Carnival !!

“Golden Jubilee 2013 !!” :)

I first heard this term…..let me remember…..yes, it was way back in shayad April – May 2010 !!

And how was that…

Well, I had naya naya joined my online college grp MKP, the Masti ki Paathshala. I was still in the process of exploring and marveling at it, when I came across this term…GJ 2013- Golden Jubilee of our parent institute to be held in the year 2013. Respectable seniors had started discussing the program agenda etc then itself.

Joining the group of JNMites felt like being in the college again. It was a wonderful feeling.

As for me, I was very skeptical about it all. When we are unsure about tomorrow even, how could we plan 3 yrs ahead, wo kehte hain naa….ki kal kisne dekha hai!! What to say about 3 yrs  and such a huge event, something akin to a Kumbh ka mela!!

So all I did was smile, it remains to be seen, I thought. But again, whats the harm is planning and hoping it does happen.

We had a proper discussion area in the group then, and a secure GJ space dedicated to posts exclusively about it, where everyone could give their views and interact. Once in a while people would comment, suggest and discuss there, plus updates of happenings at Raipur about GJ were posted to keep everyone in the loop.

Time passed, months and years passed.

Now it did seem real…and possible. This realization with the beginning of 2013 brought hope and happiness. A mega event of our parent institute, having been away for so many years, a chance to be there, meet friends juniors and seniors, was a wonderful feeling.

Khair wo jo bhi ho, aakhir a couple of months remained….I got the registration done….not for assuring my entry there but as a drive force to me, lest I back off in the end due to any pressing situational priorities.

It gave a sense of relief too that whatever happens, GJ will happen… :)

Going to the self same college where we spend the most dynamic years of our lives, just out of childhood, in the process of becoming an adult. Fearful, anxious of the future, venturing out of the safe protected domains of our homes and families, to experiment, take decisions, and live our own lives, our way.

Family gives place to Friends, who now become an integral part of our lives, our very beings, affecting even our thought processes, supporting us, helping each other through this future building period of our lives.

Now when we look back, most of us will be shocked at the amount of stress that we all endured as medical students, having no clue as to how we managed to go through then. Maybe because we all sailed on the same boat, deriving courage from each other in every step, plus who can deny the timely and huge support and help given by the seniors when many a time we felt we might break down and go on no longer.

Each and everyone has a separate and individual story to tell, each and every one with his/her own set of struggles that he/she crossed to finally triumph.

In those times, the pre cellphone era, we thought as we left college, most won't be able to meet or connect with those very friends who at some point of time were  no less than soulmates.

But we survived this separation, all of us did, because then we had the larger and more occupying quest of future, staring squarely at us daring us to do our best or fall back for the rest of our lives.

Some are even lucky to find and spot their partners for life during these years, again a whirlwind of emotional upheavals and an experience of a lifetime.

For hostellers, this is again a very novel and exclusive experience. Hostel life teaches to live in camaraderie, with total strangers, our rooms becoming the safest and psychologically the most secure place for those years in college, sharing our sorrows-joys, failures-triumphs, smiles-tears all with these one time strangers, now friends forever. I am sure each and every hosteller remembers his/her room number for the rest of his/her life.

Oh, I could go on and on….

Now…….

I was about to go back….be there one more time….

28^th -29^th Dec 2013

The D-day was fast approaching……..

One major factor that was responsible for all this enthusiasm and earnestness was the super connectivity due to Facebook  and Whatsapp !! There was a universal frenzy, kaun kab aa rahaa hai, kahaa mileinge etc etc. minute to minute updates….

A Global Carnival !! :)

Finally, the Virtual, turned into Real !! The morning of 28^th Dec 2013 !!!!

It started as we reached the airport. Now the faces all around came under only two categories… “JNMites” and “Non-JNMites!!” :)

We greeted each other with knowing smiles saying, “so there we are, lets proceed….” And parting with, “College me milte hain!!”

Yu ki,

"मैं अकेला ही चला था जािनब-ए-मंिज़ल मगर,

लोग जुड़ते गए, कारवां बनता गया…." :)

In the aircraft too, the sequence…missed call by a friend…necks craned…smiles and waves at recognition….knowing hellos exchanged…even though seeing each other after something like decades…yet, “so u r here, fine!!” :)

Kids were enjoying the childlike excitement of their mum.

Reached Raipur!! 

Again in the airport, the sequence continued…recognition-smiles-hellos…..the facial muscles for happiness and smile were working overtime!! :)))

Today, even the drive from airport to hotel had a different air to it….every vehicle passing by seemed to have a jnmite in it. 

Reached hotel…..kids were hungry, so we went straight to the breakfast area…..again it didn’t feel we were in an alien hotel….it was as if we were at home, the area filled with seniors and frnds…..smile karein ya nashta karein, samajh hi nahi aa raha tha. :)))

My God, I had never experienced such a phenomenon ever. It was today that I actually understood the meaning of  "वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम !!" The whole world seemed to be one.

It was time for the formal program to start and we got ready to go. I could hardly wait to reach the venue, the college….my college !! :)

I was super excited to take my kids especially my daughter along. As we neared and as the first glimpses of the building came in view, my heart fluttered, I was as happy as a five yr old girl would be who’s about to get her first Barbie.

We went in…..it stood there…. ‘The Pt Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College!!”...in all its grandeur!! in all its glory!! All decked up….but hardly alone. The campus full of its students, Gurus…. “JNMites!!” from all over the globe…united by their roots here!! In its shelter!! Whatever their positions, statures, countries, batches, castes, on the outside world, here they were all One!! :)

Breathing in the same air….walking on The ground…. I felt grand….rejuvenated . “Hiii….tu kaisi hai?!!” was meant for every friend….the surnames all vanished….only First names remained….it was as if we were liberated….came out of the shell that we were in, till a few hours back….the shell of the person that we had become over the years, the responsibilities that we were successfully fulfilling in different individual roles both personally and professionally, having our bases made here….today in our element…again.

But there was a gross difference between then and now. As students when we were here, we were skeptical, apprehensive, fearful for our future lives. There was an element of competition in the minds too…all of which restricted us a bit…but now…..we had mostly achieved what we strived for then, both personally and professionally.

Hence, we were more confident and secure now with our families. Showing off the college to our spouses and kids was an exhilarating feeling and they in turn felt so proud.

One cute thing that I want to share here, is that while moving about, my daughter had a call from her friend, and  I heard her saying, “ yaar mamma aur unki friends bilkul apne jaisi hi baatein karti hain!!” :)))

Again as a kid I had heard, "जननी जन्मभूिमश्च स्वर्गादिपगरीय िस!!" which now seemed absolutely true. Yes, as Doctors, we were all born here. And now just as the birds flow away from their nests once adult, we too had spread our wings and soared high far and wide.

Just as all good things finally have to end, 29^th too came and was fast nearing its culmination. Sadness was setting in. Dil ne kahaa… "लम्हा लम्हा तरसे िजस लम्हे को, वो लम्हा आया भी तो बस इक लम्हे को!!"  Does it really have to end, was the question in all our minds….

But again, every cloud has a silver lining, we too had things like phones, facebook and whatsapp to help us keep contact even after we moved away to our respective destinations one more time…so it was not entirely over after all. :)

With heavy hearts but contented souls, we left, bidding our parent institute goodbye with a promise to come back again….inspired and motivated to do better and strive to be a better person harnessing energy from our fellow JNMites.

Now when I look back, I am still awestruck at the huge number of Big people that we had in one campus during those 2 days right from first batch to the latest….such a huge number of influential people…people who can actually make a difference.

This is just the beginning. This power was not united just for those two days, this was done forever…all that we require now is to think together and make strategic planning how to make things still better for our parent institute as well as the students who shall in future frame the world….

-amen.