College is not a place for Hate

I was once a student in South Karnataka. When I landed in Mangalore as an 18-year-old, I was nervous, homesick and also excited. I was eager to meet new people. I was slightly scared of the seniors who eyeballed us and  I was absolutely clueless about the hostel life. 

In the 9 years that I spent in this city, I made a lot of friends... We lived, loved, laughed. We made friends, bunked classes, shared food in the canteen, explored new restaurants. Religion, caste, political inclinations were never criteria for making friends. Love for food, music and movies were what brought many of us closer. 

When the seniors stomped the corridors looking for a fresher prey, we dashed like the gazelles in the National Geography channel and swarmed to an empty room.

At college on the dissection table, we addressed each other by first names. When one fainted, others rushed to help.  When one explained, others listened. When one wrote down the notes, others took photocopies.

We danced together on stage, marched together for sports, went on day trips together.

In the hostel, we would gather at 12 midnight to cut the birthday cake. When someone comes from the home, we rushed to their rooms for the delicious home food. When India was playing, the TV room was filled with spectators supporting the Indian team. When DDLJ was played on the TV for the 100th time, we still watched it together.  During exam times we studied together and woke each other up. During yoga sessions, girls of all sizes, shapes and flexibility flexed and inhaled together.

In the morning when we stepped out of the hostel, each girl chose what to wear. No organization, teacher or parent were involved in one's choice of clothing. The length of a girls' top, the length of her sleeve, the fit of the salwar, the transparency of the shawl, the presence or absence of the headscarf, the number of pins on it, the height of her heels were all one's own decisions. Every girl had the freedom to choose what to wear. A hijabi could one day decide to be a niqabi, she could even decide to blow dry her hair and flaunt it. 

College is not just a place for education. It is a place of self-discovery. It is a place where life-long friendships are made. It is a place to mix with people of different backgrounds and upbringings. It is a place the barriers that we have consciously or unconsciously created are broken. It is a place where a million memories are made.

There were radical elements who chose to hate. They had fewer friends and less peace. Hate destroys the hater more than the hated.

Dear Youth-of-Today, 

If your hearts are filled with hate and bigotry, understand that you are mere tools furthering someone else's political agenda. The leaders who ask people to discriminate, are not the leaders who will do you or your nation any good.

Dear Girls-with-Hijab,

You have shown outstanding grit and bravery. To be standing outside the closed gates of an institution and begging to be let in. Had I been in your situation, I would not have been as courageous as you. May you soar to greater heights.