When I first walked into the unfamiliar corridors of college, all my filmy, wide-eyed dreams about college life vanished into thin air until all I was left with were my doubts and fears roaring in my head louder than usual. Desperately looking around for friendly faces only to be met with disappointment, only one question echoed in my mind, “Will I ever fit in?” I felt lonely in classes and lost around the corridors until the day I accidentally stumbled into the NSS room. That small step changed my entire world.
I only decided to join NSS because I love social work and helping people, plus having an Nss certificate in your CV gives you brownie points. Every NSS volunteer has to complete a set of 240 hours in their tenure of two years; so, in the beginning, I went for all various sorts of activities with only that goal in mind, and without even realizing I started growing fond of the people who accompanied me for these activities.
Even when I did not know anyone, the people of this committee took care of me from day one, the people who were strangers to me always ensured that I had eaten, whether I reached home safely or not. These people looked after me, made me feel comfortable and safe, wiped my tears, even in their scolding, all I could sense was love.
During the first GBM, our seniors welcomed us with open arms, Welcome to NSS family, they said. NSS family I did not understand the meaning or depth of those words back then, yet only after a year, I found myself repeating those same words to my juniors.
When you move to a new city, the word home becomes foreign. And in this cruel world where people care more about power, getting on top, and mindless politics, all NSS volunteers care about is NSS. It might be tough for people who are not a part of this committee to understand this, but for us, NSS is not simply just a committee, NSS is an emotion and it feels like home.
Even though I got a new nickname Jadu, I no longer felt like an alien when I came to college. You know how when you are in school and cannot wait to return to your home, here the case was reversed, when I was in my pg, I could not wait to return to those familiar faces who occupied a special place in my heart. For the same reason you will see most NSS volunteers always hanging around in college long after lectures end simply because NSS feels more like home than any other place especially if you are an outstation student. I no longer felt like I was aimlessly loitering around.
When I first came to Mumbai, I was a timid and reserved person who always felt lost in a sea of people and was searching for my place in the world. I spoke no more than what was required. Now ask anyone, they will describe me in a completely different manner. A lot of credit goes to NSS for this transformation. Anytime you will mention NSS, my face always becomes a replica of the heart eye emoji. I am grateful to all the people who made this journey so beautiful. Thanks to NSS, I now have memories and friends who will last longer than a lifetime.
Found comfort after coming out of my comfort zone, a sense of belonging amongst strangers in a way I never felt before and a home away from home.
I have tried encapsulating this wonderful journey into words but I know I have not touched even a fraction of what NSS truly is, because NSS is a journey which is meant to be experienced and not explained.
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