Parmar 1

Axansh R. Parmar

Dr. S. S. Mukherjee

CCT-9

5TH September, 2019

Striking Features of the University Campus: Essence of the Unexplored 3B’s.

The Saurashtra University is one of the significant universities in Gujarat, established on

23rd May 1967, in Rajkot city. The campus of the university covers large area with the main

color theme of orange and white. It is popular among the locals for its naturally rich beauty,

which provides an open, pollution free place for people to exercise or take leisure walks during

morning and evening.

Among all these carefully constructed lively green beauty are situated many educational

departments, almost as if tucked in closely to the bosom of nature. Most places are frequented by

students daily, known to all, experienced by all. The three places mentioned here are not as

frequented, as known and as experienced. They are unexplored by most and may seem daunting

and scary at first glance for the rest who may feel curious. Well, two of them are kind of creepy

to be at, and worth only one visit probably, the third one can easily be a weekend picnic spot.

But, all three have one thing in common, that all are unknown to most. There will be theme of

abandonment playing here at varying degree; of my own perception on how the place got to the

state it has right now, and how it may relate to some real life people, situation as well as things,

due to the levels of abandonment it has received.

The first place is in the deep dark corners of the library. As we enter the resource area,

the hallway to the main series of shelves is filled with bright sunlight, with a large table at the

left side, three paperweights always on top of it, couple chairs scattered around somewhere, at
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different place each time you go there. It looks to be way comfier place to read than the main

reading area, mainly due to privacy and isolation it provides, as well as the light and bright

atmosphere created by the sun, there is also a fan; right at the center. Though the uplifted mood

ends there. Deeper you go, darker it gets. With all the blurred glass windows closed, no working

tube lights, no fans and too low ceiling. It can be representation of all the grey in this world,

almost. The shade keeps increasing its pigment as you go further in. At its far end is the

separated cabin-like area for the staircase with doors. It looks to be a usual storage area at most,

which it is ultimately. The distinct high pitched sound of bats is heard as they flap around

looking for better; darker place to hang on to. Apparently frightened at the mighty entrance of

now scared humans. But one of the lady in our group is brave and fearless, leading us on,

encouraging us to feed our curiosity so that we can sleep better. The stairs go upwards to the

terrace probably, and downward to another storage area, or so it looks from the mid staircase.

The bats have probably once again replaced themselves at the top of that cabin-like area, as we

go further in. We get an illusion of being free from bats as the musky and dusty smell grows.

Finally reaching at the ground level, there is a whole full-fledged library. Rows of shelves filled

with books, as well as many old and new books in large bundles laying on the floor or at the

sides of the room. We come to realize that it’s a storage area for extra books as we come to

notice the thick layer of dust and some dry material under our feet. In few seconds we identify

the material as the bat guano and the distinctive musky smell of it from earlier. And right at that

time, a nice small group of bats decide to fly above us. A second of silence. Then a chorus of

various high pitched squeals is heard from both girls and bats, one crazily trying to reach the top,

and other flapping around to find their safe dark anti-human spots. Fast urgent footsteps echoes

in the hall as the group stops at the finally bright hallway of the resource area. We are huffing
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breathlessly as some try to suppress their giggles at the adventurous event. One sensible soul

closes the automatically opened door, so we can at least express our apprehension noisily.

The whole experience was one of a kind, a fantasy never fulfilled during childhood in

those compact ‘one-building-for-all’ school. Feeling a tinge of envy when classmates in college

share their experiences of shaky, shady and scary adventures with their small batch of friends in

their large school campus, half of which is empty and abandoned. Open to be used as ‘secret

base’ for the tightly bound and known group of friends. It was one of those experience you

dream of at night after having read it in some story or watched in some cartoon. Where fighting

with bats, witches and ghosts is as fun as it is cool to befriend them in the end. Marking the place

with their presence and leaving with good memories.

This late fantasy fulfillment in university, wasn’t anywhere near the glorious and happy

scenario in our head, but the effect of those few minutes in that horror book-storage was enough

to leave us happy with our adrenaline high. The place was antique enough for us to mark it as an

important experience.

The next place is not tucked off into darkness, but provided us with even creepier

experience, mainly internally. Thought it was visited under full day light, brightened, living and

breathing fresh air under the sun. Located at the northern margins of the campus, barely built and

left alone as it was about to come to its existence. From the talks around people, we caught it was

supposed to be a ‘theatre’ but the construction was stopped for whatever reasons. We entered the

clearing toward the back of that construction. The front of it was filled with heaps of

construction materials as well as the stones and dirt. Covered thickly by the green lush plants of

various kinds, probably grown freely under the generous rain and humid air. Beautiful to look at

but impossible to put a familiar name to it. We didn’t enter the front area for the fear of various
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seen and unseen bugs we can sense around it. But in the clearing at the back, as we were simply

exploring the area and appreciating the clear blue sky with cotton white clouds in between,

listening to the loud noise of construction at distance merging with the heavy constant sounds of

the bugs in the bush, we saw the spine bone of some large animal. Of course the first thought to

cross our mind was that its fake, but then we found some smaller bones in the area, even a cluster

of dark black hair. Peeping into the barely built theatre, we found its floor fully covered with

same hair. Freaking out on ultimate almighty level, we just wondered of how, what and why for

a second before gaining senses and leaving the area, on the way making out theories on those

bones. Most plausible one was that it was probably of some slaughtered horse, due to the hair

and size, and it probably happened long ago, for the bones looked to be fully bare and clean. It

once again gave us that feeling of protagonist from some horror thriller. Thought it was none of

our fantasy to ever see bones of some dead animal, at least not out of museums. But again, it left

us a bit shaken up and a lot creeped out. Bats in dark places is usual and expected, but bones in

such open place, completely unexpected.

The third and final place is comes right after it, on the farthest north, the campus probably

ends after it officially. Its usually closed with a community of people living inside the area itself,

giving us impression that it was closed off area for them. We took our guesses and deemed it

safe to enter, we had to take guesses after the experience of bats and bones. Of course the place

is nowhere near the creepy scale of the other two, its complete opposite in fact, as we proceed

further onto the clear clean cement road. There is plantations all around, at the right side of the

entrance, there is living area of the community taking care of this place. Plus at both sides of the

entrance path are the boards with names of various trees planted in the area, recognizing some

from the textbooks of our school time, we proceeded. The path in sight is straight with a curve to
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left at the far end, probably leading to a dome on the hill we saw from distance. The trees and

plants on both sides are carefully planted and well taken care of, regularly tended to from the

looks of it. Everything is green and fresh, life throbbing in each particle of the area, butterflies

flying around everywhere, giving us the scenery seemingly coming right out of some fairytale,

no doubt that we energized ourselves with the spirit of everything around. We took our time to

appreciate and click photos of everything we found interesting, slowly reaching towards the end

where the dome was. Again there is a board giving us info of the place, Nagarnandnavan

plantation. The plantation area is of 35 hector and built in 2009-08 with plantations of 14,000

saplings. The species of each plant is mentioned below. It is a tiny hill area as we can now see

the dome and nice scenery of the whole campus as well as the city buildings on horizon. The

place had a bit of a clearing at the stairs to climb the dome. We can still listen to the distinct

voice of hidden bugs in the bushes, with no other sound to disturb other than occasional rustlings

of leaves with the soft wind.

After climbing the steep metal stairs, we reach at the top of the surprisingly clean and

well-kept space. Flooring of shiny tiles and seating area made of grey cement in line with the

wall around. It isn’t exactly in best possible condition, with writings scratched here and there and

paint peeling off at places and some water and dirt on the floor. But its clear that its semi-

regularly tended to, as the dirt and wetness was probably due to rain and could be easily cleaned

in few minutes with some swipes here and there. There were also two bowls kept for feeding

birds. One filled with grains of some sort and other with water, indicating that the place is

probably frequented by the caretakers. The view from up here is beautiful, as we feel the cool

soft breeze caressing our heavily sweating and now a bit tired body. Sitting down, we just took

full deep breaths, letting the calmness and serenity sink in, casually looking around, appreciating
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the magnificent view. On one side we can see the urban area, tall buildings darkened by the grey

rainy clouds and on the other side, we can see the green forest shining under the soft glare of the

sun. The merging of both in the middle was another beautiful scene as the split in the sky, of the

dark and the light happened right above the split on the ground, of the urban and the wild. The

sky kept its naturally symbolic position for some 10 minutes before the clouds were on their way

to another direction.

While climbing down, one of the friend comments that it feels as if we’re climbing down

from the heaven. Getting down from the blissful state of pure consciousness. Pure appreciation

of the life within and around. This marks the end of our journey to the unexplored; the 3B’s of

the bats, the bones and the bliss.

In the days ahead, I came to take notice of the heavy idea of abandonment prevalent in

the first two places and how I started to relate it with the growth of humans as an individuals.

The first place, fully enveloped in dark, not often frequented, and right out of some classic horror

movie. At first, I named it as ‘The Rusted Light’ due to it being filled with books yet only

inhibited by dark creatures such as bats. I saw someone in their mid to late teenage, maybe left

alone or abandoned for whatever reasons and not having direct soulful contact with anyone alive,

how such person would be victimized to those dark energies created within, despite the light

learned and experienced in childhood through many loved ones. Then, remembering the second

place, I thought of someone even worse off than the previous individual, someone abandoned

and left alone in the very early stages of the life. Having only one very slight basic structure of

human consciousness stuck in the depths, this one would welcome everything wild inside, to the

point where nothing is clearly visible or identifiable, in a way the person’s mind would seem to

be simple, uncomplicated, containing the untamed, uncertain energy of pure nature. But within
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all these wildness, lies the scarce still rooted foundation, which may be looking out for its own

identity, still hoping to attract something more, to finish the structure, so one can be part of the

community from which he was removed due to its seemingly ‘shaky foundations’. Then comes

the last one, a fully healthy individual, tended fully with love since the beginning to the present,

maybe this one had its down times, but nothing too big where one strand of support wouldn’t

help to be back on its two feet. Living, thriving, happy, welcoming. The state most of the

humanity seeks to reach.

Though, as I started to type these descriptions of the places, I found a hole in the sidelines

of my stiches, as I was attempting to project the experiences of human consciousness onto

something truly free and independent. The places weren’t at all dissatisfied with their situations,

they were just existing in their own current state of being. The rusted light as appropriate name,

because the place wasn’t rusted in the first place, it had just changed its course of livelihood.

Now instead of being filled by people, it was being filled with bats, another creature living just

as we are. Darkness was just their mode of comfort as we may have our own weird modes of

comfort. Likewise, the abandoned theatre, maybe those bricks and base of construction has now

became one with nature, no longer even aware of its separate identity, accepting every wild

activities as it is, and the letting go of it as a new one comes. If we had went a year after, not a

hint of slaughter would be there. Changing and evolving constantly. And likewise, the well-kept

and happily welcoming plantation, would have turned into a wild jungle, merging with that

abandoned theatre and no longer bound by our perception of beauty, safety and growth. No place

is abandoned if we pull out our human perception from it. Everything would have its own

collective existence. Living and thriving in one way or other, constantly changing, constantly

evolving. Breathing eternally.

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The intention of choosing such kinds of places wasn’t to point out flaws of the campus. It

was simply because these places were the odd ones out of the ordinary. The first two places with

stuck or lower vibrational energies just gave us the push to appreciate those occasional moments

of pure life flourishing with utmost fulfillment of being in the moment as we are. Dazzling and

praiseworthy elements of the campus catches our attention for sure, but not all would ‘strike’ us,

give us that deep loud thump inside. These though, will remain as those moments in memories

where I was fully in synch with life. I can go back in to channel the solace of these experiences,

which would have become familiar by then, maybe bringing in a sense of nostalgia. But above

all, bringing me back to the state where I am feeling the experience as whole without any second

thoughts and doubts, welcoming the instinctual thoughts and feelings as they are and

appreciating them exactly the way they’ve expressed themselves within me. Not letting me stuck

in any lower energies, or set identities, pushing me towards the next change. Encouraging me to

flow, be and enjoy.