BLOG POST 27: The unveiled mystery behind hostel doors
As I happily sauntered my way into college boarding house, in 2014, I made way too many friends. I often bumped into familiar, pleasant, sometimes grumpy faces along the corridor. But I saw them often and that made all the difference; I had never felt so lonely as I would in just two years from then. What changed then?
“The doors changed.”
When prompted to picture what a hostel would look like, my thoughts were that of an old, shabby, building with dirty unpainted walls; rooms with no tiles, windows that were never cleaned, beds of steel (I pictured a bed and that’s a little too much to ask for, I know), ceiling fans that collected too much dust – the color barely visible - from decades of no dusting, and common bathrooms that one had to wait in queues for.
During my first year, my hostel looked just as I had pictured it to be – or maybe slightly better. I made friends easily. Anyone could barge into anybody’s room anytime. Doors were mostly open. Now, there’s a funny reason why doors weren’t closed; there was a door bolt outside every door just like the inside. So, if you happened to sit with a closed door, you never know, anyone could come lock you from the outside. I guess this secret little fear existed inside every tenant’s mind that made the idea of keeping the door closed a horrific daydream.
I remember being pampered by my friends like a baby. They’d come to my door calling me for dinner. Most times, even though I wasn’t hungry, I’d join them for the sake of being and spending some time with them. Attendance every evening was fun. Everybody that lived on the same floor got the chance to see faces that co-habited with them. Although, no one talked, eye-contact existed. Waiting in common bathrooms didn’t feel so bad after all.
Fast-forward, two years from then, our founder decided to modernize hostels. Air-conditioners came; doors had bolts only on the inside; two tenants per room; and an elephant in the room – ego. Rarely did anyone see faces in the corridor anymore. Canteens were crowded with students who stared into their phones as they ate; water-coolers were no more a small-talk junction; smiles faded and phones invaded.
One particular day is etched so vividly in my memory. My roommate had gone to her native place, leaving me alone for a couple of days. In the middle of one night, I got up to the clear sounds of a creature’s munch. It went on and on, until I frantically got up and switched on the lights. And the sounds went into a sudden halt. I listened intently for those same sounds again, partly wondering if I had been hallucinating. I got back into bed, deciding to leave the lights on this time, and slowly started to doze off, when – there again – I heard them.
Now, I was distressed, not knowing what to do. I longed for some human company to share my thoughts on these spooky sounds I was hearing. Determined that I had no other choice but to find out for myself, I shakily kept my distance and opened the drawers and cupboards in the room. All this while, the sounds were hushed. I walked back to my bed pondering on what could it be. As I lay silent in my bed, once again the sounds flared up. I looked at the chair that sat in my direct vision. On it, was my bag, kept upright, but unzipped. Now, I knew where the chomping sounds were coming from. I tip-toed my way towards the bag and listened closely just to be sure. And yes, the amplified chomps proved my suspicion true.
Jittery, I closed the bag’s zip – to make time to think about what next. I walked out of my room, two hours past midnight, knocked on five to six stranger doors (faintly wishing that if only I’d made efforts to make friends with them back then), all the while crying and experiencing hot flashes all over my body.
No one answered the door. Many had been to their native places and it was only a few in the building. Those oversized, massive, wooden doors, for the first time in my life, became one among the ugliest nightmare I’d ever experienced. Extending all the way until it almost touched the floor, there was no way to assume if people lodged in those rooms. No matter how hard one knocked on those doors, it wouldn’t be loud enough to wake one up from their sleep.
I had to well then ring up on some of the hostel warden numbers I had in my contact list. Two or three of them told me they couldn’t help me until next morning. But, to my surprise and big relief, one said she would come and have a look. After another half an hour more of frantic waiting, she and I relieved the rat out of my bag.
Presumably, some of you would think, well it was only a rat! At times, panic can take control over us, leaving logical reasoning numb, and emotions sensitized. I guess, on that day, my emotions took hold of the driver’s seat.
When existing in a community, one of the most essential principle to abide by is social harmony - to value, express and promote love, admiration, peace, harmony, respect, generosity and equity upon other people. Lesser closed doors would open more hearts to exist in harmony. We are human beings and human beings crave for love, affection and care at all times. Next time, you go hunting for a friendly college hostel, make sure the doors aren’t too massive and soundproofed, lest, you end up alone with a rat in your room!
