A farewell party to remember (09.05.2022) - From 8th Batch to 7th Batch//Tamil Nadu Forest Academy

 

…opened my blog, started writing, stopped in the middle, deleted, ended up penning a few words for statuses and stories… This was the state of my current cycle. There were some articles and stories I wished I had completed. 

But tonight, I have 3 choices – 

1.     Playing games

2.     Reading books

3.     Watching Peaky Blinders 

4.     Watching YouTube videos

5.     Writing this for our juniors

Now, I’m writing to thank our sweet, dear juniors for throwing us such a fantastic farewell party. 

Hosting a successful programme of any kind, especially in academies, is difficult. But, voilà, a night to remember! Despite the fact that they had their road-alignment exercise today, they still managed to nail the programme for us. 

How I met them: 

1.     The first persons I met were Chougyal, Pukar, Priya, and Dhukchen. When they first arrived, they wore masks. But I noticed that they were our people. I know they're better-looking than I am, but hey! We have the same faces, right? So, we knew we’d get along from then on. They were talking with Bhaskar, the caretaker, in Hindi. I told them that he did not understand Hindi. These 4 people also performed a group dance at the Freshers’ Party. They reminded of me of my B. Sc. days, when I also used to participate in a group dance (Hindi songs) competition without knowing much of the meaning of the songs we were dancing to. 

 

Dhukchen (give me a memo if I misspelt your name) – she always gives good vibes. But one night during roll call, she burst out laughing. She was badly scolded. But it shouldn’t hurt her much as she didn’t speak Tamil.

 

Chougyal (give me a memo if I spell your name incorrectly) – He was supposed to play basketball for the TNFA team against the CASFOS team. When we wanted to let him play, though, we couldn't find him. He also delivered the best vote of thanks speech ever in TNFA. Keep going, bro. 

 

Pukar – He's not just a TNFA brother, but also our brother in Christ. He approached us in the dining hall when he saw us walking with guitar and Bibles. We get to have regular Sunday fellowships because of him. He’s kind, funny, mature, and a natural public speaker. He did play for a few minutes in the basketball match I mentioned up there. This is one guy we’ll always keep in touch with.

 

Priya – Well…you’ve danced so well tonight. Always cheerful when talking to, and she has a smile that goes so well with her dancing. 

 

2.     Shakuntala –She was the first person from the 8^th batch with whom I spoke. When she came down to receive her parcels, I was the Mess Duty officer. We talked for quite a bit, but I couldn't see her face because she was wearing a mask. So, in case we met again, I tried to remember her spectacles. We met again later that evening. Yes, I did notice her spectacles. Yay! She’s always so kind with her words. I think my friends have given you a nickname. You should probably ask Vijayant Tiwari.

 

3.   Ajeet – Another junior who continues to impress me. Humble, helpful, and friendly. He played some football matches with us during the game’s periods. He has a good scope of becoming a professional goalkeeper. He has this husky voice which always makes me ask him to repeat his lines. 

 

4.   Prabhat, Viresh, Vinay and some of their friends – They’re the perfect juniors one could ask for. They came to the table I was sitting at in the farewell dinner thinking that I was alone. Such lovely lads. 

 

5.  Pradipta – He’s our fellow-footballer. TNFA was in such a loss for not forming a proper football team. Pradipta on the team could be lethal for any opponents. 

 

6.    Khusboo – Husky voice? Ajeet and Khusboo are falling in the same category. This madam is one leader who takes initiatives. I saw her standing up in many occasions. She never blabbered, rumbled, or mumbled inane things. She holds herself up pretty well. You, too, keep it up. She once said that my silly statuses made them feel better in difficult times. Thanks for that. Oh yes, she’s also a good singer.

 

7.     Now who should I talk about? Namrata, with whom I recently had a wonderful lunch, Kalyan, a talented video editor, Prince, who always lights up the room, Asif and Jyotish (also, a footballer) who take care of the hostel mess really well, Sneh, with his calm and reassuring financial skills, Sonia, who is everyone’s little girl (your dance for us was jaw-dropping…especially for someone, right?), and many other wonderful people.

 

There were some gaps between us because there never were any activities that could bring us together. Perhaps with the coming juniors, you can make a positive change.

 

Finally, I'd like to express my gratitude to every one of you for being such a fantastic juniors. Although some of you have higher degrees, and are older, none of you have shown that. We are honoured to be your seniors. We wished we could help you in more ways. But it is what it is. 

Thank you all so much for giving us a farewell party we’ll never forget. 

Wishing you to complete this training with flying colours. Have a great holiday ahead.