Rains remind me of Manipal. To me rain means Manipal. I spent two of my best years there and a good quarter of that was spent in Manipal's monsoons. It rained when you got up in the morning, it rained when you were getting ready for college, it rained when you maneuvered the pot holes from hostel to the college, it rained when you ate maggi in night canteen, it continued to rain even after you had lost 4 umbrellas. And it still rained when you went to bed.
It was a part of our lives. Yes sometimes we hated it for ruining our volleyball plans, our End Point plans and our Malpe Beach plans. But we could never hate it for long. Because it was one of the things we learnt to live with.
Everything about Manipal looked beautiful when it rained. Almost seductive its beauty was. And I am missing my Manipal terribly today. What do I miss about Manipal? Its really hard to say and even harder to understand if you haven't lived there. (not visited, lived!).
For some reason, it always felt like you knew everyone there and more importantly everyone knew you! Nobody was an outsider. Nothing was a big deal. Everything could be dealt with. And friends all around. I really miss that part - doing EVERYTHING with a bunch of jokers just like you. There was camaraderie in being morons. I remember being very happy there.
Not that I am not happy now. The difference is that my mind is quite cluttered now, not necessarily with bad things, but cluttered nevertheless.
This one's to Manipal.
