Rudra’s Quest
Rudra’s Quest
Rudra is a boy living in a typical Indian middle-class family. He is pursuing his B.A. degree in English literature. He is in his final year of college. He is not so good in studies, as a below-average student gets marks in every exam.
Like every day, today he also wakes up at six in the morning as per his daily routine. He completes his daily routine and leaves for college. Rudra studies at R. M. M. College, which is one of the 35 different branches included in the S. R. R. Institution. His college starts at eight in the morning, and Rudra reaches college on time, like every day.
Although today is the last day of his college, the college did not have any special programs today. Like every day, Professor Vrinda Ma’am starts her first lecture of the morning. Professor Vrinda Ma’am’s lecture ends at 9:00, and after that, Professor Raaghav Sir starts his lecture. Recess is at 10 o’clock today, like every day.
During recess today, Rudra and his classmates experienced an unexpected turn of events. Amidst the usual chatter and laughter, a deafening bomb blast echoed through the school grounds, leaving everyone startled. Alongside the explosion, another sound caught their attention.
Upon hearing the commotion, College Principal Dr. Manhar and Professor Raaghav rushed to investigate the source, leading them to the boys' restroom. After thorough examination, they discovered that mischievous students had detonated a "Sutali Bomb" within the college premises. However, identifying the culprits proved to be a challenge for the principal and professor.
Rudra and his classmates start discussing this incident. They knew the sound was that of a “Sutali Bomb” exploding because this incident had happened many times before, and that group of boys had also damaged many other properties of the college.
Rudra: I don’t know what this group of boys would be getting out of damaging college property.
Shivesh: Having fun. What else. Hene…
(Everyone else laughs.)
Rudra: Like Nirja and Aaditya, I feel like showing other people the reality of this college by posting online everything that happens in this college.
Varaa: But do you know what happened to Nirja and Aaditya when they posted against this college?
Krishna: Rudra must have known that better than us. Hene…
Rudra: I know, but we cannot sit completely silent like this. Nirja, can you tell us in detail what happened when you wrote that post?
Nirja: Definitely, I wrote my post on the way water is being wasted in this college, and the very next day after writing that post, the head of the institution called me and our professors, Vrinda Ma’am and Raaghav Sir, to the office and asked me to delete the post on the spot. Both the professors also took my side, but the head did not listen to any of our words and deleted my post. Also warn professors that if your students do this in the future, they will lose their jobs.
Shivesh: Mhmmm… dictatorship?
Just as they are conversing, Shrikant and his two other friends who were part of the bomb blast group enter their class. They sat on such benches in the class and started making strange noises for no reason. Rudra takes their photo. After some time, they leave the class.
Varaa: These boys have not been taught manners.
Krishna: Why do they do this if they have been taught? Mhmmm…
(Everyone else laughs.)
Rudra: Aditya, you also tell in detail what happened when you wrote the post against the institution.
Aaditya: I wrote two posts against the institution. In one post, I wrote about the negligence of the staff of this institution, and in another post, I wrote about the misbehavior done to the students by one of the professors of college. Both times, like Nirja, the college head called me to the office along with our professors and deleted my post. This time they even threatened our professors that if your students do this again, they will be fired compulsorily. The institution had also issued a notice in which it was written that: “No student shall post any matter or information against the student, faculty, college, or institution on social media like WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, or any other place. And if the student does so, the institution may take educational action against them.”
Varaa: I think Shivesh is right that our freedom of speech has been directly taken away by this notice. Hene… Rudra!
Rudra: Mhmmm… Yes, it is 100 percent true.
Rudra knew that group of boys had caused a lot of damage to this college. Like blowing a bomb in a college toilet, going to another class and damaging the benches there, damaging the toilet and water taps, tearing down projects made by students of other classes on the wall, misbehaving with the college professor, faculty, and principal, turning the fan blades of the class, and many more.
At the same time, Rudra was also aware that the institution made a very good appearance in front of the outside society. But in real life, the water system in this college is not good. RO for water purification is in very poor condition and not working at all. The fridge is also in bad condition, and cleanliness is not taken care of at all.
Rudra also wants to make a YouTube video on all these things to show people the true face of this institution. But knowing what happened to Nirja and Aaditya, he is also very scared.
Recess ends at 10:30. After completing the last two lectures, Rudra leaves for home with his bicycle as usual. But along the way, he still has a thought in his mind that when he leaves this institution, he will make a video on these.
