Goodbye Wayvin

What began as yet another routine day of record-writing and poking fun at our hapless teachers had a nasty shock in store for all of us. The fact that we'll never see Wayvin Wino again has not quite sunk in as yet. Even as we prepared to see the last of him, somehow all the concern that people was being floated around, seemed so artificial; the effort behind the 'apt expression' on people's face was discernible. Guess, we could be excused for trying to fake it; when you are twenty, you certainly aren't prepared for something like this. But when we saw his becalmed features, it was clear that he wasn't going to wake up like we had hoped. It felt like a severe punch in the stomach; the truth hit us hard and in all its mercilessness. Wayvin belongs to the skies.

I won't make any pretentions here; surely there were people to whom Waywin meant a lot more. While the rest of us may not be reeling under diconsolate grief, it is not possible to wish this away as a nightmare either. A very quiet, harmless, almost timid and mild-mannered person whom i befriended in second sem lab, he used to send me these nice messages sometimes. I regret that i din't get to know him beyond wishing him on Christmas a couple of times. But then, it does'nt really matter to any of us what kind of a person Waywin was, does it? We never waste time before dishing out utterly condescending and superficial "tut-tuts" and "ayyo paavams". And then get back to our closeted lives of records, exams, etc. My teacher (Mrs. Geetha Parthasarathy ) used to tell us this - "Education does not make us better persons. It only teaches us to be better hypocrites."

But then, its hard to believe that anyone who saw his aggrieved family over there would not have felt the sense of bereavement. Out of a desperate, almost foolish, "desire" to express our feeling, we decided to contribute money to his family for God knows what. Well, surely money can't revive a dead person, but its worth a try. Atleast, it can ease the feeling of guilt.

What guilt? Is it our responsibility to find out that he had been working to pay for his tuition, and help him through the rough patch. Afterall he din't tell us. But why din't we bother to ask?

Surely no one expects philanthropy from us, but it is imperative not to lose touch with our human selves. Encapsulated in our self-centred existence, consisting of OUR ambitions, OUR future, OUR progress, we often cease to set aside time for the people around us. Had one of us bothered to "know" Wayvin Vino, to bring him succor and support, to reprimand him, to have fisticuffs with him, to laugh with him, to cry with him, to offer him solace - probably none of this would have ever happened. Much as i take digs at the inherent flaws and hypocrisy of the human nature here, i am as guilty of negligence as those people on the road who let Waywin bleed to his death thinking someone else will help him. This elusive "Mr.Someone else" is a phantom of our own making - a product of our escapist attitude; if you aren't goint to do it, then you have no business to presume that someone else would do it.

This has come as a warning to the rest of us. Take away the people around you and nothing else that you have would mean anything to you. This has served as a harsh reminder for the need to bond, to set aside time and space for people around us. To love and be loved. For friendship is the only gift we will carry throughout our lives and into the other world. Dear Wayvin,You will always live in our memories.

May your soul rest in peace.