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| Memento of the Amazing Mtom Journey |
As I continue to hang a frame on the wall, I am nostalgic again seeing the collage of different pictures from the past. The frame was gifted to me by Sandeep Kandel just on the last Sunday where he had put a collection of memories during our mtom journey. I am suspending this montage to my wall now so that it will architect multifarious time zones to the dull pink backdrop forever.
For example, the upper left picture is from our
Poonhil trip. That one picture channels me to go to Ghorepani - Poonhill trek
right away and relive the past again: the painstaking journey along the unknown
jungle until it was pitch dark, finally finding a shelter and eating palatable
Nepali dishes, seeing the Annapurnas so close to our eyes for the first time as
we passed through a gorged abode, basking on the sun and playing cards in the
sitting hallway of Snowland hotel, struggling to climb up to Poonhill twice: at
the end of the year 2019 and at the start of year 2020. It was hard and equally
enjoyable for everyone but for Rama (Rokka) it was no less than a Herculean
task.
The middle left picture (ft. Sandeep and Myself) evokes a funny moment.
This picture was taken at the rooftop of the scenic Snowland hotel where a group
of our batch went to see the view and stay in the sun. It was like a cliff when
you went to the edges. Jeewa dai was so tipsy at the altitude and we had to
literally drag him to take him to the edge for a photograph. He was almost
lying flat on the floor to avoid going at the edges. So, whenever we see these
photos, we are taken back to those funny memories.
The lower left photo was shot on the Sukute beach
where mtom guys went for a night stand along with the itoms, after stoms and
btoms rejected our plans. These abbreviations are the secret code words understood by only us: mtom= M Optom student, itoms= intern optometrists, stom=staff optometrist, btom=b optom student. This was taken at the banks of Bhotekoshi just in
front of our sheltering tents. Jeewa dai made us laugh till the eternity from
the next day on explaining his overnight adventures where he went to the
night-out rounds. His sneaky peeking marked the whole trip, one event of which
was also inadvertently captured on the close-circuit camera. The nightlife
there was full of fun which included table tennis duels, swimming, boozing,
rafting, dancing, feasting, game play, and so on.
The upper right photo marks the day of our
departure from college. It was the farewell day organized jointly by our
juniors and the college. We did not think much about the college and stuff when
we kept on coming and going regularly. But it is painful to realize that it was
the last day you were attending the college formally. This day inserted a big
full stop to our becoming a student.
The lower right photograph was shot by our own
Rupesh Poudel on the day of our thesis defense after completing the
presentation. We could see the happy faces of all our batch-mates in the photo
because we have accomplished what we aimed for. Thus, the rigorous efforts
finally paid off. Many other moments might be left out in this small monument but that will forever be imprinted in our mind. However, few such moments can be
succinctly summarized here. We six friends (Birendra was missing) participated
in Pokhara group trip for University orientation and rejoiced in the freshwater
cataract a few hundred meters beneath Birauta Chowk where Sandeep unexpectedly
had a near-death experience while bravely jumping off to the water turbulence.
Once we also embarked into a reckless ride to Chisapani whereby we were heavily
drenched by cold rain amidst the Shivapuri jungle in the dark. We had to bring
along jute sacks to cover up Sedey (Sedinam Fofoe), our African friend, to
protect him from the shivering cold. Among others were a lock-down trip to
Single Tree, Bhaktapur; Dadagaun night stay multiple times, Nagarkot trip in
the chills of Poush when first semester results were out, another Nagarkot trip
with Bangali friend Jewel. Also memorable were dining at Yangtaru with friends,
chinwags at Pashupati Dhawa, at Sunil's, at Malika, at Puja (Rs. 100 chicken
pangra across Bagmati), and later at Bamboo.
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| The start of Mtom Journey as Freshmen |
To this I would like to feel the moment when we
joined Tilganga as freshmen. This above photo was taken on the first week of
our joining TIO while returning to classes from a meal break. Never had we
imagined at that time that one day we all have to go our own separate ways.
Even during our college days we never thought of one bitter day after which
paths of some of us would seldom come to
cross. So this photo is filled with innocence and freshness because we had two
years ahead of us to make memories. After all, at some later point what you spend
beautifully will only remain in your mind as a sweet memory. And of course, one
photo of a single moment carries a whole lot of memories along if you have
experienced that moment together.
Overall, it was a great journey and I would love to treasure those moments in my room on the wall, forever. Thank you Uncle (Jeewa dai), Sandeep, Sameer, Birendra, Asmita and Rama for a great company! I will miss you guys; have a great life ahead!
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