BIRANCHI NARAYAN MISHRA

Abstract Drama

4  

BIRANCHI NARAYAN MISHRA

Abstract Drama

AN EXAMINATION

AN EXAMINATION

12 mins
279


All of my friends have submitted their answer paper, Only ten minutes left to complete the exam announced by one of the four invigilators. As this is our Spring semester falls in the summer season so the time limit scheduled by the university is from Morning 8 AM to 11 AM, The heat waves of Southern Odisha naturally very intense in midday time. So they fixed the forenoon slot for B.Tech And the afternoon Slot (2 PM- 5 PM) is scheduled for M.Tech. So everyone has skipped their breakfast to attend the paper on time as the entire civil boys in the dorm not only the civil discipline, irrespective of discipline, important is the paper, so the entire 3rd-year domain slept at 6 AM and have to wake up at 7.45 AM as it takes five minutes to complete the all scheduled work for the morning


The sleeping time before the night of examination depends upon the difficulty level of the paper, the professor by whom the paper was taken, the nature of the professor and flexibility in the grading system of the department, Attendance above 75%, marks secured in the midterm, numbers of assignment you have submitted, number of class tests, surprise tests and quiz tests you have attended and finally the credit and laboratory marks in viva voice if it's one of your core paper. Out of all working days, the bathroom complex used to rush in that day at this particular time, otherwise, our normal sessional time was 9 AM or 10 AM so you may hardly find any people at this time and you may find a worker who directly came from the washroom with cleaning equipment in hand and a warm what's -going-on-I-know-smile on the face, sometimes he used to ask us " How's the day sir, all good?


After greeting him we all moved to our respective rooms. It's a normal scenario of a boys' dorm after the commencement of the sessionals. We all used to gather at lunch at the huge 500-at-a-time seater dining hall. The entire talks of a particular day commonly exchanged in this time and moved again to the administrative building for the library or workshop for kind of laboratory works. But the scenario is entirely different in the semester exam time. Except for the toppers normally, all of my dormmates have to skip their breakfast and reach the administrative block by 7:59 PM so that the security guard could check the Admit card, Identity Card and Calculator to give allow into the building. It takes ten to fifteen minutes of walking distance from our dorm to the admin. building in a rush mode. Everyone has followed the same sequence in the morning except some well-known muggers and so-called toppers.


As it is our last day of this semester and the paper was the foundation engineering and the difficulty level is well known to every student from the civil department. I slept at 5 AM today and yawning in the middle of the examination. Others who have not cleaned their faces directly came from bed has left the hall and rushed to the washbasin to rinse up the face after the first glance to question paper and find out the paper was full of numerical problems. Without wasting a single second I have been started solving all the numerical problems and started draw pressure diagrams for each problem. I don't even know when and how two hours and fifty minutes have been passed as I haven't stretched my head up during the entire duration of the exam. When the invigilator instructed I have seen the hall is probably empty except for me there is hardly fifteen or sixteen left out of a one hundred and fifty seater hall. The only sound reaching to my mind is the sound of forty running ceiling fans, the breathing sound of the students and invigilators and the tick-tock-tick sound of the huge wall clock.


The hour hand strikes at 11, the invigilator started collecting from other rows when my number came I insisted and solicited a minute to submit. He gave me an Ok-I-will-manage-till assemble-of-all-copies-node and left from my desk. After ten jiffies, I handed over my answer paper to the invigilator after writing the last written page number. He asked me to help me to assemble the answer sheets it takes another ten minutes to finalize. The professor urged me about what-you-will-do-after-the-semester hand expression and I tell him to go home first. Then I helped Prof. Rao to handle the heavy answer sheets up to the elevators and I left him in the lift because students are not allowed to answer sheets Prof. Rao gave me another you-how-the-Admin.-system-works node and smiled. I have taken the help of staircases to reach up to the ground floor as I'm on the third floor, I have seen the elevator moving to the fifth floor. I thought another bunch of sheets are coming to the examination section which is on the ground floor so didn't wait for the lift. I reached the ground floor and collected my bag from the wardrobe. I went to the library and returned the books which I have taken in the semester and carried out all the way to return by today. Otherwise, you will be logged fine two bucks per day after the scheduled update for fifteen days maximum.


I left the Administrative building and looked at my watch and it was 11.30 AM. I headed directly way to the hostel. On the way, I have listened that someone is stopping by me by taking my surname "MISHRA" from behind me and looked back and it was Prof. Rao. He was coming in his bike and heading to the staff quarter. He questioned whether I am hungry or not. I appraise him that I skipped my breakfast today and he saw my swollen red eyes which are easily perceptible through my spectacles. He gestures me to seat in the backseat to go out of the campus for lunch. At first, I denied it but I thought I shouldn't hesitate like this to a Prof. And my hostel superintendent in which I'm in my second year. I sat in the backseat. He accelerated his bike at a full-fledged speed towards ain entrance gate of the campus. The mid-summer waves in the month of May in Berhampur town prevails the actual summer days has been started a month ago. We stopped near an eatery and entered asked the receptionist about the lunch and chose a corner table. He orders two plates of Hydrabadi dum biryani and extra sweet chord for me. 


We discussed a lot of things about my previous semesters and how we spent our lockdown days also. I reminded him, how once I have played badminton in our hostel Court with him and Prof. Mallick from management who taught us the Human Resources Management paper Last semester. He laughed and asked me what I have decided to do after graduating briefly this eternity. I tell him about my desires in Masters and research works. After some technical discussions, he called the waiter to pay the bill and gazed me to keep the money purse again to pocket as I have been thought to pay for my amount but he stopped me. We stood up to leave. We stopped in the kammapalley market of Berhampur. He bought some vegetable and other household stuff for his home. I went through some standard pickle shops and packed one kilo of "Navaratna Aachar" two packs of pappad and mudki from each for home. I packed another set of char and pappad for one of my friend who reminded me last night to pack something for him too. After finishing our shopping we came back to campus.


I looked at my watch and seen 3 PM. Prof. Rao dropped me in front of my dorm and left the place. I headed towards my room directly. The mess manager saw me in front of the elevator and asked me for the lunch. I said I have finished already. I reached my corridor it was almost desolate. Some of them were leaving for home at that time. When I reached my room, I have seen my friends already waiting for me in front of my room. I unlocked and entered my room. We all sat in my bed and they asked me where were you from the last four hours right after the examination. I have shown them my shopping commodities. After two hours of gossip, they leave and reminded me to join the party right after the evening. First I collected all of my dresses and kept them in my wardrobe, packed my baggage, assembled the study table. Cleaned the entire floor, bed and unnecessary rappers and paper, used pens,


Rough copies from the wardrobe. After the one-hour-long hierarchy finally, booked my train tickets. I finalised the departure at 1 PM tomorrow. After having my dinner at 9 PM we gathered at Mayank's room as it was our room for group study and party, my room is preferred only for board meetings and Ritwik's room was the room for the greatest kept secret. Every secret mission was planned there. We spent straight five long hours on movies and then went to the Terrace for a talk. We discussed what we have witnessed in the last three years and how we all met at the induction program in the first year. We again talked over what would we do in future and so many things. It takes another three hours and the was about to rise. We witnessed the last run rest of the semester with folded hands.


We came back to our respective rooms at 7 AM morning. The security guard has seen us as he's here from 5 AM ( morning shift) to directly came from the terrace and gave us a brief I-know-your-clan-is-chilling-out-all-over-the-night-node. We all met at the bathroom complex and taken bath in consecutive water closest, talking to each other after pouring every mug of water in the body. Had our breakfast and collect all the baggage in one room and locked the other ones. Kept the phone in charging mode, submitted the leave application at the superintendent's office, did clearance in the mess register and left the room. Sat in the mess canteen and drank coffee not to fall asleep on the journey.


We all were sleepless for the last two nights straight. After finishing the lunch we failed the auto driver near the hostel gate and loaded the baggage in the backseat of the auto. The Auto left the campus. We gave a high sigh to each other. The college building has been witnesses of our memories who itself gave. The Berhampur railway station was 25 KM. distance from the institutions. It looks approximately 45 minutes to reach through the NH-5 connected through the flyover at the entrance of Berhampur Municipal Corporation. We reached sharply ten minutes before the departure. Hugged each other before boarding the train as we were allotted to different coaches, mine was S6. The train was on time. I stepped onto the train and searched for my seat. I found the allotted seat in the upper berth of the window seat out of two. I thank God for this seat so that I could snooze in silence.


I kept my luggage in the corner of the berth and climbed up. After five minutes the train left the station. I have a girl who covered her face stood in front of me and asking me to follow her. Then I saw she's Priyansha from our department asking me to carry her heavy luggage to her allotted seat. As the train is started running and caught his running speed, we feel the jerk walking through the passage with the heavy luggage. For the sake of co-occurrence, she was allotted just below my seat, a window seat in which everyone preferred to sit. After the arrangement I off my shoes to climb up to my seat but she insisted and requested to seat with her so that she couldn't feel boring. After all, she has to sit nine hours at a stretch to reach Jamshedpur while mine have five hours.


We bought some peanuts which would give spice to our journey and she opened the lunch box, a cup full of maggie which she cooked in her room by the electric kettle and carried all the way to train. It was still hot and she said it's my reason of late. We laughed and finished the maggie within half an hour. The train passed over the Rushikullya River and we felt a sudden jerk. The river was quite deserted due to summer. In some places, there was a little water in which some local buddies are swimming, taking bath and some fishermen catching fishes. We laughed and laughed and discussed over our childhood days when we just confused about why the train is still and others are moving as we don't have any idea of the frame of reference. After one and half our the train crossed the keshpur grade and reached the bank of a childlike Lagoon. The strain again started running as if it's cutting the still water from the onside. The fishing boats are visible near the horizon. The sun is about to set. The still blue water of childlike became a pink and safron coloured alternative band. She captured all the scenery with her camera and I fall asleep in the corner facing towards the window. A black shadow of a boat with a fisherman is standing on deck appeared in front of the sun on the horizon where the sun emerging into the deepwater after bidding goodbye. The train negotiates the curve and the daylight diminished gradually. The evening broke into the sky. Full Moon appears in the sky. The pole star is glittering a thousand times than other days.


Suddenly, my phone beeped, once, twice and thrice then I woke up. I have seen the ceiling fan over my head rotating slow. The window curtains are fluctuating to and fro in motion. The cold breeze touched my head to my feet and forced me to wake up. My brain is numbed and trying to figuring out what's going on? I checked the time 5:59 PM DT: 22/ O5 /2021.


I became quiet for the next ten minutes, all over I have seen that it was a dream? I came up to the window and saw the street is quite deserted. No movement of people, Even street dogs. The road which appears to be full of pilgrims throughout the year is deserted nowadays. The chanting of the hymn from the temple is blown off by the siren of Ambulance. 


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