New found excitement with old buddies (St. Ann's High School, Narasaraopet)

New found excitement with old buddies

The very thought of meeting childhood friends was so intriguing and it left us all with bundles of enthusiasm and excitement. We have been classmates from 2nd  to 10th and have been best buddies. We used to be so affectionate to each other and found the same affection again after a long gap of 24 years. We got to know that it’s the essence of getting together. Plans were made, sources charted, venue decided, time fixed and menu selected.

The day had come!

Everyone walked in with style and grace, without leaving behind the natural smile that glued to their lips. In no time did we met, were we filled with awe. We were even unable to identify a few of our pals. Girls turned to women and boys to gentlemen; we have discovered ourselves with grey hairs, bald heads and puffed personalities. The knee-length skirt girls are now cladded in sarees and the gutsy guys are in manly moustaches.

We have recollected the events of past and roared into loud laughter without caring a bit about our surroundings. We literally brought the roof down. The naughty boys now seemed so responsible. The aggressive boys have become assertive men. The talkative girls seemed more talkative and more energetic. The shrinking violets have now bloomed with confidence.

It was like a blend of various fields- doctors, engineers, teachers, trainers, software employees, government employees, home makers and business magnates.

We exchanged pleasantries and tried to pull each other’s legs. The mobiles were sent into hibernation for a while. Discussions ran on everything under the sun—The carriers we used to share, the nick names we gave and were given, how matured we have become, nature of our jobs, our respective families, our teachers in school, infatuations, crushes on classmates and teachers, so on and so forth......and someone rose a question to the one that has come all the way from the USA, whether Obama would again become the president of America !

An enquiry went on, " Do you cane your students in school?"

Pat came the reply, " No student seemed as mischievous as you, otherwise he would have had that."

The one who scribbled in our autograph books that 'earth is round, we will meet again' is reminded of that and we confirmed and concluded that earth is really round as we have met again. We even tried to measure it in terms of years and traced it to be 24.

We foamed at our mouths when one of our friends tried to give unnecessary respect and everyone chided him for his formal behaviour. The men were asked to clear the air by revealing the mystery of who used to make our cycle tyres totally flat. They didn't let the cat out, and without any second thought, put the entire blame on the one that was unable to make his presence.

We missed the ones that were unable to turn up but somehow managed to overcome it. Our SPL (school pupil leader) thanked everyone—in general for their presence and in particular for their contribution—in his thunderous voice and announced the upcoming meet.

There were no regrets for not having met these many years and no heavy-weighted hearts that we had to call it a day. Resolutions were made for further meets and we felt grateful to the social networking sites that made our get-together happen.

The time ran swiftly and we bade goodbye with affection-drenched hearts. Ultimately, we had a good shower of energy and life seemed to have been dipped afresh in spotless colours. The bond got strengthened in togetherness.

The next year, we were able to trace a few more friends and were thrilled to know that one of them is into film industry. We immediately went crazy chalked out a message-oriented short film which would feature us all, but it didn’t happen till now for some unknown reason.

All this happened in 2010. We have been meeting once or twice a year, from then. However, we look forward to the next meeting as soon as it ends.

We are still the same, whenever we meet. Where else would you find people who give health advices to doctors, soft skills suggestions to trainers, perfect plot construction tips to script writers and crisis management secrets to business magnates?  Only a childhood buddy dares to do it. The best thing about intimate school friends is that, we neither have to refine our thoughts nor have to filter the conversation. It is raw, crude, fresh and pure.

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