Time takes toll on all
friendships; even the best ones fail to endure its test. Chats get
occasional; phone calls, few and far between; get-togethers, rare.
They say you should accept the best times of your life as nice, little,
finite chapters and just move on. Can’t be helped - people disperse;
but memories are locked in for ever.. Once in a while, it’s nice to open that
box, to reminisce and ponder over paths these lives take.
Ten years is a long long
time.. People transform – in appearance and outlook (but this journey down the
memory lane would have me believe the very core of the person still remains the
same). So here goes a very subjective (and judgemental – can’t help)
then-and-now view of a bunch of crazy friends I made during the best two years
of my life.
Anish
Then: A stereotypical nerd. Razor sharp wit and
memory often practiced to the point of exhaustion and annoyance of everybody
around..
Now: Still all those things; plus the only
reason I am aware of Taher-Shahs and Dhinchak-Poojas [sic] of the world.
Gaurav
Then: A definition of laid back, easygoing,
happy-go-lucky. A thorough gentleman. I am yet to meet a soul who was
intentionally hurt by this guy.
Now: (From where I see..) could not have married a
more similar person. I have a feeling they might score perfect on those
compatibility tests. My only complaint with him is that he never has time to meet!
(Can’t believe I haven’t yet seen his daughter.)
Manasi
Then: My most favorite room-mate (that’s saying a
lot.. and she knows it!). A typical first bencher. Always in a hurry to do
something, get somewhere. Watching those Federer-Nadal matches in Bharani
hostel’s TV room with her are some of my fondest memories from IISc days.
Now: A person who busts the myth of
you-cannot-do-it-all. And doing it all also includes running around Tanmay, her
4-year old son! BTW, I am still a bit a(u)nt-sy that she did not take my
suggestion for his name. You have to agree with me on this - Amol+Manasi = Aman would have been (admittedly a bit Brangelina style, but) so perfect!
Mukta
Then: A madcap. Her definition of “wild” was
eating bhuttas (roasted corn) on the streets of Malleshwaram.
(That reminds me-) A girl with erratic, whimsical and worrisome diet and sleep
patterns. On a more selfish note, a person I absolutely needed to
meet. There is a lot to be grateful for here that’s hard to put
into words - she had an impact on me in ways that I cannot possibly
ever recognize or acknowledge.
Now: I am hoping Aditya has managed to make her diet
regime more humane. After years of professional commitments forcing them to
juggle between continents, they finally seem to have (somewhat) settled in
Oxford. Last time we met, I told her she is getting ever wiser and wiser (except
that idea of seriously considering life-long post-doc). All in all, a major
envy alert!
Onkar
Then: The chosen one to have a face like Danielle
Radcliffe. He is one of those people you would want to strike an argument with,
just for the fun of it. Our fights about him terming Nadal as the GOAT were
legendary and brutal.
Now: No longer the chosen one - as male-pattern
baldness seems to be catching up fast on him ;). And I am guessing Samta is
using the argumentative side of hers to her most amusement. Also, how surreal
that the GOAT part is still unsettled. Or is it?
Pallavi
Then: A sweetheart. A poster-girl of ideal
daughter, sister, friend (and all such other titles you can think of). This is
the kind that usually irks me a little because I can’t stand it when others
take advantage of them.
Now: Still a sweetheart, who now conscientiously
decides to be well-behaved. I like this version of hers even better.
Prajakta:
Then: Rumor has it that she made grey sweaters
(in)famous on campus. For years, I have been planning to sit her down and
explain how she is a model example of what they call – a fundamental
attribution error. Or how aptitude is nothing without attitude (and all those similar things..)
Now: She continues to bear the brunt of my worst
versions just because of (what I think is) sheer indiscipline and laziness.
Enough of all that, though. Here comes the best part – in spite of having seen
me play badminton, swim and dance (and some of it in 15kg heavier version of
me), she thinks I have a “swag” about me. Just for that legendary comment, she
warrants my life-long unconditional love. Not kidding, I hope she knows I was
and will always be sincerely rooting for her.
Pushkaraj
Then: A classic case of spending energy and talent in
trivial pursuits, for the most part. A compiler of comprehensive
database of all girls around campus. As a follow-up, also one of the pioneers
of transforming Marathi Mandal in a marriage bureau.
Now: Another person on list of people-who-get-onto-my-nerves.
Don’t even get me started. Yesterday, he interrogated me on effectiveness of my
Aloe Vera gel, almost gave me a lesson on selection of right kadhai type
(I promptly changed it) and told me that iPad user experience is below par. I cannot fathom
how Pallavi manages to stand him 24x7. (BTW, what a lucky ******* to have patao-ed her!).
On a more respectable note, so happy that both of them have completed their
PhDs and ready to move abroad to do their post-docs. (Lately, I have this
realization that I am going to feel truly alone once they do so.) I know deep
down that I will miss them the most.
Ravi
Then: Weirdly enough (because I still don’t completely
understand why exactly we got along so well), my closest confidant through the
years. My go-to sounding board. With his in-your-face honesty and sarcasm, at
times, he gave me an impression that he probably understood me better than I
understood myself. [Convenient-slip-in-alert:] He once told me I am like a coconut – hard on the outside but all soft and mushy inside. That was an one-off thing, though. I mostly just hated it when he was
right.
Now: A little birdie told me one of the things
worrying him (I know Juthika is no part of this) the most these days is how to
avoid his friends from taking temporary shelter at their place in bay area. (I
am just going to ignore this detail in my next trip) Here’s hoping we get to
catch up sometime soon!
Swati
Then: First things first- I have recently
been informed that outsiders regarded her as the beauty queen of
Marathi Mandal! A girl with heart on her sleeve. I
mean, come on, she liked Mysore the second we stepped out of the bus.
Best part- she was the only other person who knew all old Hindi and Marathi
songs by heart and would have me ruin them with her. All in all,
though, I gave her some really tough time with all my incessant jibes and
japes.
Now: Where is this girl? The last
memory I have of her is our big showdown on which movie is better – Ram-Leela
or Hasee Toh Phasee. I concede a movie date is not negotiable anymore. But surely, we could just meet at a coffee shop (that sells only one type of
it).
Vinay
Then: My partner-in-crime in convincing people to get
out for trips and treks. Apart from being unfairly
talented, he had this aura of calm and peace around himself – a combination so
rare. Unarguably the person who managed to call me “Mita” the best way.
Now: Busy, busy, busy. I am told he has lately spent
more time with his lab-monkeys than with humans. Anyway, amongst whatever
humans he is hanging around with, I am certain he is the most admired and
loved. Well, I am guessing the inner-peace situation must have gone for a toss
since Prajakta came around.
Vishal
Then: He could talk to anybody and everybody, and
anybody and everybody (read, mostly girls) wanted to talk anything and
everything with him. Which also meant he was the glue holding the group
together – I will give him that; but I honestly don’t know why we let
him boss around so much. E.g. Not that he was a typical
Mumbaikar in any definition of the word, but for some reason he cracked up way
too many jokes on me being a small-town (actually his exact word was “village”)
girl. (For the record, Satara is a major district place and may even get
a Maha-Nagar-Palika soon! True story.). Seriously - my laptop,
my accent, my looks, nothing was spared... So this is my time to expose him:
Apparently, his mother once asked him not to open a new 100gm carton of Amul
butter and manage with the current one; but he would hear none of it. Aunty
then warned him that if he opens the new carton, he will have to eat all of the butter.
This guy - he had the entire thing sandwiched in two slices of bread. Eww! (Not
that it’s needed; but to put it in perspective,) he directly consumed the
amount of butter in five minutes, that I may not have consumed in last five
years! The day I heard this incident, I made a note to myself not to (for the
lack of better phrase) take any panga with this guy.
Now: Still a glue that manages to get people
together. I don’t have a first-hand account of his interest in Australians and
vice-versa, yet. The tables have turned a little bit - I am
more on the offensive side and he is more on the sensitive side. I am not sure
if I completely like it that way, though.
Cheers, guys and gals! Here's to a decade of friendship..