The sound of IIMC, Dhenkanal

By Rupa Kumari; Dhenkanal: Waking up on the first light of the sun was no more fantasy in my life. Somewhere in the far, there seems to be a train station, the sound of the train breaks my dawn. It keeps on coming from a far distance, and don’t hate it like the usual times.

But, the best part of my mornings here in Dhenkanal is the chanting of the mantras that makes me feel at home, the bhajans remind me of my mother who every morning without fail turned onto mata ki aarti. At times it brothered my morning sleep, but here, from a distance, the sound is soothing to my ears and soul. The chirrupings of the bird, the chantings of the mantras set amidst the constant cool breeze of the morning take me to a land of peace and calm I do not want to return from.

The Mynas have taken over the garden in front of the Academic Block. They are running from here to there, and in some trees, another set of a different bird is competing against each other. Their aggressive tweet has forced to make me write about them.

By the way, did I tell you the four dogs in the campus are the most obedient and friendliest stray dogs I have ever met in my life? It is only in the midnight when in the wilderness of the jungle that this place is in, the sound of the barking dogs reaches my ears. The monkeys are much regular. They never fail to mark their attendance, and the days they dont, I silently miss their presence. Just so you know, I just heard the flapping of wings. The Myna was flying. And the neem tree that I am sitting below is blowing swiftly. I love the low rustic sound of these trees. When the human species is silent, all you listen is the trembling of the dead, brown leaves; the movement of the little plants, and chirpings of different birds at the same time which in your mind, you try to differentiate.

But, now I really need to bring my focus back from the Koel to the Monkeys, who at any moment can take over this place. So yes, the monkeys. Have you ever heard the monkeys when they jump up and down the trees, walk over the railings of the boundaries over the wall, when they try and grab their partners attention? Its funny, astonishing and pleasant.

My heart is happy. It feels calm and at peace when in the embrace of these sounds. Sounds that I am loving each day, the sound that I am surely going to miss in a few months. Thank god the only sound I am not gonna miss is the buzzand hmmmof the makhis and the sound of sipping of the mosquitoes. The rest is going to stay in my heart and ears and senses for good.
The sound of Dhenkanal you ask, I say the sound of silence. Even silence has a sound in these walls of IIMC, Dhenkanal.