Union And Reunion

(I had been waiting to do this for a long time now, but still better late than never. This is my personal take on the reunion party that we had . And since I am writing this blog after a time since the party there were a few more things and experiences I would have shared but I have simply forgotten. My apologies !!!!)

It all started when one of my friends told me that he got a SMS from one of our other friends that someone was planning a reunion for us. My first reaction was of disbelief and I shrugged the thing of.(But hey wait, what if what he is telling is right and maybe there is really someone out there working towards it). I kept my fingers crossed!! The rumor really started getting a bit of air as I started hearing the thing from lot of my friends. And then finally had the email in front of me, formally announcing the evening.
Time sure flies. It just seems to be a thing of the recent past when we all would be dressed up in whites and blues carrying the big burden of education on our shoulders leaving for the school half sleepily in the morning. We started the day with the anguish that another night sleep had been ruined at the most crucial of times, and only if we had maybe ten minutes more we could get a world of sleep .Oh that was so perfunctory that I think I don’t need to delve on that more and without boring you further let’s get to the point.
It’s hard to believe that six years have passed since we matriculated. Starry eyed with dreams for the future we set on the paths of our chosen destinies. A few of us had similar paths and we moved along while with others we kept contact as far as was possible but somewhere down the lane the direct contact just snapped and all we were left with was the vicarious know-how of each other .It would have remained this way had it not been for the initiative taken by two of our worthy friends to plan a reunion to bring us all together again. It was a reunion, of sure, to be reunited with your fellow classmates after such a long time .It was union in the sense that it was for the first time that the Boys’ and Girls’ school had done something together .It was a great feeling to be among all others of both the schools to celebrate the bond that united us all – that of being a Josephite .


26th December, 2005 Hotel Raddison, Jalandhar

The day broke into one of the brightest mornings of the winter filled with the resplendence of sunlight but the warmth felt was more from the expectations to meet old friends than those photons of light could possibly provide. It broke the slumber and longuer of the gelid season to herald day so eagerly awaited .The ambience of the party hall provided the perfect mood for the nostalgic hearts. It really felt great to see each other again all over again, to recognize each other despite the changes evolution had imposed on us.
Some had grown tall, some that seemed so big in school days suddenly felt as if they had just stopped growing after school, some had eventually put on fat under the thin layers of epidermis covering those skinny calcium supports( I mean the bones…Surely something is wrong with me to use these stupid descriptions, but excuse me for these because I don’t want to tame the horses of my feelings right now) , some who used to be fat seemed to be cut into half and there were some who it seemed had fought a long battle with eternal laws of change and had emerged victorious as they looked the same as they did half a decade back and perhaps would look the same till apocalypse. All of us had changed in our own ways but it just took a few minutes to recognize the same old familiar people under those double breasted blazers and suits.
It sometimes felt embarrassing of sorts when you looked towards each other with expecting eyes trying hard to remember. You recognized each other but still were having a hard time placing each other. ““Come on, we know that we know each other!”” . We hug and then reintroduce ourselves all over again. And with the re-found names we overcame the temporary snags of human remembrance .There were some whom you failed to recognize but they seemed to remember you so vividly that made you feel a bit apologetic. It really is a nice feeling to be remembered, I tell you. And yes, there they were, your very own F.R.I.E.N.D.S, your chummiest buddies, your alter-egos, which it would even fail the fading memory of an Alzheimer’s because it is so hard not to remember them.
Each hug transported you back in time and brought back all the memories associated with the person out of the subliminal depths of thoughts which had remained dormant for so long. It felt as if a biography of that person was stored somewhere in your head that was replayed all over again in that evanescent moment. In a whisker all your experiences started kicking alive and you remembered the special bond that you shared with that person. There were some with whom you were not on very good terms or didn’t have that much of an interaction back then but it was now nugatory. All the differences were a thing of the past .Having exchanged pleasantries with each other the party was now really started jelling along. Talks started of the good old days, of moments so vividly remembered despite the weathering of the time flowed in between. Jokes were cracked remembering incidents of school and everybody seemed upbeat to narrate his side of the story. Anecdotes were told remembering how each one of us was weird in our own way and how these eccentricities more than often ended in situations with hilarious or embarrassing overtones. Those who could not make it to the party were remembered. Having refreshed the past, the enquiries about the present and the future started.
The ladies had also arrived and it seemed all who were expected were there now. I didn’t know much of the girls at the party except for a few who I knew because of the same coaching classes and some with whom I studied along in my senior secondary. To some I had just recently been introduced but still couldn’t manage much of a talk. But I did have some good friends among them. (And yes Miss Kate Winslet you have changed a lot and I think I am not alone on this for that’s what you got the prize for. I am not sure about your purported resemblance with the actress but surely you looked great).
All were now well settled and now it was the time to express your pleasure. The music started playing and foots started tapping. Everybody got on the dance floor to give an artistic expression to their happiness. Some pleaded diffidence but were coaxed along. Almost everybody was up there swaying his body to the beats of the music. I must admit that even after all these years, we still acted a bit coy (as it happens most of the times) when it came to dancing together. Boys danced in their own groups and the girls in their own. “Come on people I believe that we all are now sophisticated and suave enough to enjoy the occasion together and I find no reason to be afraid and shy of each other.” Maybe the only disadvantage of studying in a unisex school was that most of us still did not have a way with the girls.
After having spent those ATP’s and burning the calories on the dance floor the party seemed to have let off a bit of the steam. But soon repast followed. All had a dig in the succulent and luscious food and revitalized themselves. Postprandially, everybody settled down on the round tables and had a rendezvous with each other. People talked and talked and talked.
But somewhere in all these memories and discussions, I realized how life had moved along to the point where we all were now. I mean, just look at us, we all had changed so much. The shabby unkempt hair dirty loose fabrics dangling trousers popping shits had given way to trendy and swanky haircuts and the adorned formals gave a freaky feeling that we had grown up.(Yes Chetu,the Salman Rushdie style leaked in me too).Every second person was heading overseas with quite a few already NRI’s with half real half affectated accents. There was a feeling in me that wished that maybe we had not grown up after all. I do not have phobia about growing old, just that I feel that it was so nice And this is where I feel lies the importance of the evening for it made us relive our happiest past to be able to look back in time and be children again. . They say there is nothing like childhood in man’s life. I cannot agree more. And think we need to keep refilling the fuel to let this flame of affinity to keep glowing and to not let the child in us to die, for it is just the unconditional love for each other that makes the life so worth living. And without having anything to say more I wish you all good luck and looking forward to meet you all again…………………………………….................................


PS: The views expressed by the author are solely of his own and in no way generalize how those present at the party would have felt. Your comments and your personal take on the evening are most welcome.