Savyasaachi

It took us days of planning to embark on our first journey as a group. To each of us it felt like we were going to set foot on Moon. Well, considering we were an untamed group, I would not beg to differ. We were an over-enthusiastic group of young adults brought under the MMC & RI banner and to us, anything we did together seemed as exciting as conquering the moon.

The journey was uneventful save the hues that brightened the hill. We reached the hill to find ourselves in a temple surrounded by a verdant forest which, we were told, was infested with wild animals. I wondered whether this was a subterfuge to make us feel that we had actually descended on a trip of adventure. Little did we know that whatever could be seen and enjoyed spiritually would not take more than an hour to complete. In fact, that was the time frame within which we went through the darshan. The bus’ return-timing was fixed to permit just a quick darshan and worship at the temple, breathe in the pure air and absorb the scenic beauty, before we were to head back.

The bus left and we decided to hang around in this quiet and unpolluted creation of God, in His presence. We proceeded on a walk into the forest and found that we were following the footsteps of elephants. We decided to park ourselves on rocks so that we could refresh ourselves with the snacks that we had carried. Who was to know that carrying plastics and snacks was forbidden in this part of the planet? We did not reach very far in our attempts to fill our stomachs when we were accosted by two burly Forest Range Officers who went on to take photographs of the plastic covers that we carried. We were then faced with a volley of loud and harsh accusations. What could a bunch of thirteen young women like us do in the face of such verbal onslaught? But, we felt a tad better when we were told that we were being spared from worse punishments just because we were girls. Apparently, we reminded them of their daughters. As we continued to talk to each other, the guards seemed eager to know about us and what we did for a living. Their attitude to us further softened when they learnt that we were students of medicine. They were pleased to be surrounded by people involved in such a noble profession. The change was amazing. The initial fear that surrounded us melted away. The guards who hitherto appeared to be so intimidating were now a part of our family in this unfamiliar place. They ensured that we had enough to quell the hunger that we were experiencing at that point of time. They kept us company until the next bus was scheduled to depart.

The bus left ‘Gopalswamy Betta’ at 5:30 p.m.

A small observation that I would like to make is that we treat our day-to-day life in college as an academic exercise. We hardly realise our profession is so noble and the common man looks at us as their saviours. It is, therefore, incumbent on all of us to keep up their trust. May we all get this imprinted in our minds as we pass through the hallowed portals of MMC & RI.