Once Upon a University Campus

Love Thy Life

My Dearest readers,

Thank you for your patience.  Last week got a little busy.  Hopefully the upcoming week will be a little more merciful on me and allows me to write more. Stay with me, things will pick up pace from here on.

With gratitude,

Goldie

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The magic of spring was at its peak, bringing with it a surfeit of flower all around. The yellow hibiscus at the edge of the courtyard had more blooms than leaves, bougainvilleas had suddenly erupted into a frenzy of white, yellow and violet blooms covering the whole of the trees. Arches, narrow pathways between trees were all covered with an array of blooms. Brown and dead looking foliage suddenly looked vibrant and green, full of life. The carpet of weeds too had burst into bloom of assorted shapes, colours and size. Yellow, whites, daisies, hibiscus, roses, the purple from a few Jacaranda trees make it look like mother nature was all set to play Holi. Annika had a smile on her face as she walked back from library to her hostel. The ripe spring sun was warm enough prompting her to remove her sweater. How sweet the toasty air felt after a long brutal winter? Sunshine worked wonders on body and soul. The aches and pains induced by the bone chilling cold suddenly vanished with the longer daylight hours, so did the desire to curl up under quit with a warm beverage. She drew a long breath and caught the fragrance of a wildflower. She neither knew its name nor knew how it looked. It remained hidden in the thicket but she recognised the fragrance she encountered each day on her way to and from her hostel to library just like fellow commuters on our way to work. We might not know their names, or where they worked or where they hailed from, but we would know their stops and unknowingly acknowledge them in our own ways.

This fragrance indicated the end of cold season. Mother nature indeed has been more benevolent to her plant kingdom. They seem to predict weather better than the most expensive computer in the human world. Unlike the forecasts by meteorological department, spring blooms meant warmer days. It was on one such day that had turned out to be colder than what was the meteorological department had predicted that she had received a registered post from the Oberoi Industries. True to senior Mr Oberoi's word, it was an offer letter. Few residents had hung around her when she acknowledged the receipt of the letter and the news of the offer letter had spread like wildfire in the hostel. After all,  jobs were of immediate concern to most of the residents. Only food occupied a higher priority. She had to mull over for only a few minutes to decline the offer and had dispatched her response shortly afterwards..

Why she declined must have been very obvious ot her. She had sent out an email immediately to Mr Outsider about her decision, an email with just one line.

"Declining Senior Mr Oberoi's job offer."

Mr Outsider's prompt response was comparatively longer.

"Appreciate your decision, hope you consider my offer eventually."

Mr Outsider's reaffirmation of his offer, though verbal gave her a sense of relief that she would have to face less uncertainty after the completion of her thesis. If nothing else materialized she could fall back on this option, though at that point she was not sure what would be her first choice. The offer letter had unexpectedly invigorated her into hastening her thesis work and helped her finish the paper Prof Phatak had suggested, the one to be submitted to the Paris conference. This was the first time she was submitting a paper to a conference and that had gotten her excited. Though in the remote possibility of the paper getting accepted, Prof Phatak as the lead author would be presenting it at the conference in Paris. Someday, she wished she too would get a chance to present papers at conferences like this one, all around the world.