Rohtak ki Roohtak

From the sprawling lawns of Tilyar where we spent rebellious mass bunks

to the Bangar theatre, which was never too far to watch a ‘good’ movie
From the pricey Mynah where we dined if someone else was paying
to the poor chana wala , outside our hostel gates
who would obligingly put extra tomatoes in our chaat
Quila road, where we landed bargains because we were medical students
Quila road, where we were ripped because we were medical students
Sheila, Sangeet, Raj, Palace ……and was it Subhash?
three hours of respite from the rigours of medical education
where we whistled and booed, oohed and aahed in the sweaty darkness
The two medical book stores at medical morh
who slyly under quoted each other, making us choose one over the other
Hanuman mandir where we prayed and pleaded,
bribed and bargained for divine intervention.

Gulati who made good samosas and others who did so on a good day
Pardesi chat where we shamelessly drank gallons of golgappa pani
Anupum sweets and the dosa place adjacent to it ….the name eludes me
Pappu with his soft melting pastries and cakes
around which birthdays songs were sung
The ‘futuristic’ Popular gift shop and
his endeavour to stock whatever was trending and cool
The seamstress near the railway line and the juice wala in D- park
Hostel mess wale baba ji and medical canteen wale bhaiya

Were you jaat or non jaat ?
And more importantly
Are you safe or unsafe?
I worry for you

Rohtak, the land where I grew from
a clueless geeky teenager
to a geeky adult with an opinion
Where I learnt
not just medicine
but about
friendship and loyalty
politics and people
where I learnt to
question and accept
trust and believe

I grieve for you
my alma mater
Didn’t realise how much I cared
until you were burnt and maimed
defiled and destroyed

This marks the end of innocence
but it can’t be the end
Not of Rohtak
Not yet……

( published as a part of Harish Khare ‘s Kaffeeklatsch in the Sunday Tribune o on 6/3/16 with this introduction- ” One of our occasional contributors Dr Manju Gupta, has written this free verse poem, expressing her anguish over what happened at Rohtak during the recent Jat reservation agitation. Recalling her days at Medical College she calls this poem : Rohtak ki Roohtak ( looking into Rohtak’s soul). She very kindly let me use this piece here)