As the academic year drew to a close on 14th of June, 2018 for the students of Light & Life Academy, Batch 17, nostalgia was a close companion.The students spent as much of their time as possible in the places around campus that they fell in love with,on this their last day of class in college. From the Table Tennis room to the lawn outside the cafeteria, the students made sure that they captured as many memories as they could before they left to begin working on their portfolio.
As dawn turned to dusk, the students gathered around the cafeteria fireplace to relive the year that was, through song and dance. The talented singers of Batch 17 entertained their colleagues and the faculty with a medley of popular hindi songs and The Tone-deafs, a student band from Batch 17, performed ‘Coconut’ by Harry Nilsson (a favorite of the founders), and entranced the whole gathering with a great performance of ‘Wish you were here’ by Pink Floyd, while the dancers dazzled everyone with their performance.
As the day came to an end, a roller coaster of emotions took over and many hugs were had and many tears were shed as they bid adieu to each other and a very special year at Light & Life Academy.
The Light & Life Academy staff too were overcome with emotion as they said goodbye to an amazing group of extremely talented individuals who now have a home away from home in in the hills, amongst the clouds.
Here are the thoughts of some students from Batch 17 as they look back on their time at Light & Life Academy:
“As a former engineering student, turning my life towards the world of photography was a hard choice. So I chose LLA as my palette to nurture my art side. So I came, vulnerable and scared, everything felt like a blockbuster movie, huge and lifelike. Every faculty walked into our life and taught us photography from their point of view. With a wide spectrum of learning we became, in the end, professional photographers. Confident and with the mindset to capture the world in our canvas, we continue our journey.”
“This place will be closest to my heart forever! It’s like a dream we lived. I love how cute the akkas are, but most importantly how well everyone here has taught me something about life, happiness and time. I will never forget Iqbal sir’s theory of One. Thus, I would like to say that there is only one heaven and to me that heaven is LLA. This year will remain in our hearts always.”
“It’s been 10 months in Ooty and I couldn’t have chosen a better life. I came to study with a lot of questions and excitement and now I’m leaving with a lot more excitement and lesser questions. Thanks to this amazing home and my guru Iqbal Sir for this beautiful journey that’s coming to an end.”