As Master Amaradewa’s classic – “hanthane kandu muduna” airs on my audio, I fall into a virtual trance. It’s an amazing song really, one that would put anyone to a kind of a rumination.Months after the University life at Peradeniya was over, I start to look back and reminisce. Apart from all the joys and woes that I had, I wouldn’t know if I could have lived those four years better, but what I know for sure is that I really enjoyed it the best way I could. Maybe I missed out on a few. One thing I pretty much regret is the fact that I didn’t find love there. It wasn’t just me who left the University without a single, real love saga behind, but most of the blokes at Engineering were in my boat. Apart from a few who had found love before entering the University, some found their life partner from the faculty. But majority of the guys were looking for something else, which they didn’t find in Engineering girls: a non-mechanized mind.
One thing deprived us from reaching a real University love, is the fact that Engineering was separated from the major part of the University. There’s a bridge to cross (the famous Akbar bridge joining two banks of Mahaweli) and few hundred yards of walk. It shouldn’t be a big hindrance, one may think. Surely it isn’t, but coupled with the tight academic schedules and high probability of ‘chaater’, which is almost inherent in any love case, most of us were reluctant to take that step. Moreover, most of the blokes are too serious about the academics and probably giving an overly significance. It wasn’t very odd because the general idea among the guys was to capitalize on the degree and get the ass out of the University at the four-year tenure. Something like finding a life partner was considered to be an extra load and commitment, but definitely a bonus.
Something we always believed in was that the real University Life lied beyond the river. In contrast to our area with people having numb looks and nerdy faces, the majority of the University area comprising Arts, Science and Medicine looked so much lively, full of aroma and was truly scintillating. Breathtaking sceneries entrenched with plenty of history and legend makes it an inviting place for romance. The feeling of holding a hand of a girl and strolling down the scenic lovers’ lane or the tranquilizing uda Peradeniya, while talking all the crap in the world, would have been really unimaginable. May be we missed out that experience, but we’d certainly rejoice over the life we spent there...
