There is a place in Chennai where I left a part of my heart and soul 14 years ago. I visit it from time to time, and always go back filled with renewed vigour. I know I’m not the only one. As I look around the Women’s Christian College (WCC) campus in Nungambakkam under the night sky on Monday, I see hundreds of women wearing happy, proud smiles. We have all come to celebrate a place where we, in some way, forever belong.

We are gathered for a chapel service at midnight to usher in WCC’s centenary year. The ‘100 voice choir’ has turned out in cream-and-gold saris for the occasion. I want to wildly cheer for my English faculty in the choir but I remember to stay solemn. My niece, who has just joined the college, is watching me, so I must be a dignified aunt and alumna.

I can barely contain my excitement as the countdown begins for midnight. I join the mad applause and cheers. The centenary choir bursts into a ‘Happy Birthday, WCC’. The lights are turned out, and we raise our candles to join in a song ‘Carry your candle, go light your world’ that resonates with the college motto ‘Lighted to Lighten’.

A hush falls as Reverend Canon James G. Callaway, general secretary of the Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion, New York, steps forward to deliver the centenary message. “Know who you are and whence you come from,” says Rev. Callaway, urging us to remember and strengthen our foundation as we prepare for growth and change.

The message works on so many levels. Most of us arrived at WCC’s sprawling campus as 17-year-olds with little exposure to the demands of real life. Three years of college helped us understand a little about who we are, besides showing the paths open to us.

I know that many who have passed through WCC’s gates since 1915 will agree that the values, friendships, knowledge and life skills the college offered are an integral part of who we are and choices we made. Perhaps that is why some of us keep coming back.

Admittedly, some of us also keep coming back for cakes and cookies. I suspect the annual alumnae food fair, with its noble aim of giving back to the college, is a ploy by old students to create an excuse to get together, and gorge on excellent home-baked goodies. So when I see gleeful expressions of anticipation, I know it is time for the centenary cake cutting.

My delight multiplies when I find out there’s not only the birthday cake but also chocolate muffin-style cakes waiting for us. It’s a long time since we had munchies at midnight.

Some of us take home beautiful souvenirs: there are stoles, mugs, pens, T-shirts and paper weights with the WCC theme. We also take back memories of togetherness. But we leave behind a part of our hearts where we know they will be safe.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Kannal Achuthan / July 07th, 2015