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KATHMANDU, MARCH 07
Esteemed principal, honourable teachers and dear friends: Good afternoon to you all!
Today we gather here for our farewell. Curtains are finally coming down on our three-year stint. The time has come for some of us to move on. Some of you will be following us next year and the year after. They say the world goes round and round. What is important is we have spent the best part of our three years here. Unbelievable how time flies!
Thank you for asking me to speak a few words. I will do just that. Dear principal, faculties and fellow students, It has been a beautiful three-year journey for me. I am sure it has been so for everyone, too.
The farewell ceremony today takes me down memory lane. I remember the farewell we hosted a few years ago in honour of a Russian teacher.
Unlike me, he stumbled his way to the dais and, with tears shining in his eyes, spoke very emotionally. His words, lying dormant in my memory, have come to life and are ringing in my ears right now. He had said: "We are all travellers in the long and arduous journey of life. In the course of our journey, we meet one another, share our weal and woes, and finally go our separate ways, maybe never to meet again. In the end, only sweet reminiscences of our meeting remain, which binds us all in everlasting love and friendship."
It is very natural for a man to get sentimentally attached to an environment where he visits even for a day or two. We spent three years! It is not easy to say goodbye. In fact, during our three-year stint at the college, we have come to adore it so much that we will miss it profoundly.
For some of us, non-resident in this country, a short duration of three years in this college has become a turnaround point. It has added a new chapter to the history of our lives. I am in a state of euphoria with spontaneous pride of having received my education here. For, with the help of the teachers, I have vastly broadened the horizon of my limited knowledge, enabling myself to accept any challenge without fear of failing.
No amount of praise will do justice to our teacher's patience, efforts and attitudes.
They are all like a galaxy of stars shining our way towards our goal. We are also lucky to have a dynamic principal to guide us in our endeavour to rise above our mundane life. So, a big thank you to you and the teachers.
As I promised, I will stick to a few words and will evaporate right away.
I bid my au revoir with a quote from Brutus: "And whether we shall meet again. I know not. Therefore, our everlasting farewell take. Forever and forever."
Goodbye, and God bless.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 08, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
