I remember a straight tarred line piercing this dry and arid land, there was a single powerline to the left of me as I headed to a murky lake, the shrubs that adorned the land were perpetually thirsty due to the seemai karuvelam, a thorny bush left behind by the british as a gift that matched their colonial tendencies, the seeds of the bush were thrown from planes to dry out the land and make it uninhabitable for the revolutionaries and now the only things it deters are pesky cyclists like me who enjoy peddling in deserted roads like this, heading to points of interest in the middle of nowhere, such as the murky lake which houses tiny fish, and then I cycle back home with the sun now leaning closer to the powerline, this road is as constant as my isolation, unceasing and persistent, though at times turning and showing signs of becoming less bumpy and less fraught with thorns. The land being consistent, the wind being the only noise I hear, it carries no scent with it except the sense of freedom that resonates with me.
Omar Shaji is a first year Undergraduate English Major with a concentration in Creative Writing. He hails from India and is an international student who’ll be going through his winter term from January 8th. He finds the act of talking about himself 3rd person odd and hopes that you bear with him as he tries to sound ‘correct’. Omar’s experiences with Carleton, resting on the unceded algonquin territory is acknowledged by him and the rest of the students at Carleton.
