Looking Back

Looking Back, a poem l read on the Reunion Day of PKC Rockers 1985-1988, held at Siva Ram Beach House, Chothavilai Beach. 

Including me 12, joined the reunion with 6 (Devarajan, Mohan, Neelakandan, Paramasivam, Selvi & Sreelatha) from English, 3 (Nellayappan, Padma & Rajakumar [me]) from Physics, 2 (Jeyalakshmi & Nagarajan) from Chemistry and 1 (Babu) from Maths. The entire event was coordinated by the highlighted names. 

Looking thirty years back
Those pastures look
Greener and un-grazed.
But then, future was imagined 
To be green, greener, greenest. 
Why cook memories 
And plate nostalgic gourmet. 
Sure, those aroma of past
Intoxicates and hallucinate. 
Oh! Sublime memories 
Frozen like a rock! 

Looking thirty years back:
My fathers student
Also my friend, asked
Where I studied;
I said, "PKC*!"
"What a dry life!"
He said, "No girls, there!"
"That was past!"
I chuckled and said,
"The corridor of the college
Has the first footprints
Of girls, along with boys!"
"Ah! So, now, my friend,
You give or pluck flowers?"
My father gazed inquisitively.
How could I express me that 
Buddha squished away desires;
Greek immortals infused 
The thought, "Seeing is adoring."
And the Zen made me to adore
Anything I had its Natural form.

Looking thirty years back:
Exams were fearful
Not on lack of knowledge,
But on attendance shortage.
Sweating through the crowds
For a first day movie;
Or abstain the classes 
Just for thrills! 
Skip visiting Principal's office 
And leave absences unexplained!
Finally, classmates collections 
Pay the mounting fines! 

Looking thirty years back:
Lots of fun in language classes;
Eating a mouthful 
From everyone's lunch ;
Each day at college 
Filled with illogical fun! 
But todays are lost
In the logical ocean of life, 
Looking for a support log
To float an everyday survival, 
Struggling to recognize 
The faces I lived with 
For three long years! 

Looking thirty years back:
The world was enormous
Filled with living opportunities,
Now, when I open my eyes wide
To see you all, real before me,
The world has shrunk
Into a time capsule,
Time traveling to the past,
Thirty years back,
Waking up the memories
From deep hibernation!

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* PKC is the abbreviated usage of Pioneer Kumarasamy College at Vetturnimadam, Nagercoil. It became a unisex college from the year 1985, earlier it was a college for men.