August 07, 2011

The Decade


Suddenly over the last few days everyone from the 2001 batch has been getting psenti over facebook on how a decade has passed since we all went to Pilani and I guess it does deserve a post. 10 years is a long time but somehow I have a feeling in my heart that perhaps it’s not just about the fact that we went to a place which has shaped our lives, but it is about who we met, who we fought with, who we loved; brotherly and not so brotherly; who left us along the way and who we remember even today.

10 years makes sense only when you have comrades who have made a difference to your lives as you walked. Why else would 3 grown up men, one of them now a father, block tickets in advance to watch another movie about 3 men going off to Spain. They might not have made the road trip, but they never left each other’s sides. Coming to never leaving sides, you might just want to reconsider staying by your friend’s side when she decides to showcase her driving skills while trying to get it up on a ramp, 10 years and closest bro or not.

10 years at times makes you realize the worth of a friend, (with whom you have behaved in a sulking childlike fashion and tried to hide those tears of joy at her wedding) who calls you up the night before another coming of age movie releases and you suddenly realize that you owe her your last Book Quiz trophy and also your initiation into Hogwarts.

10 years is that interesting time when you leave a friend in need and yet shamefully carry off her book as your only reading companion in a new world and a book which beautifully captures the history of your nation. And then you message her making it her fault that you never met.

10 years can do a lot of crazy things. Friends go off to the B schools in the US and you know it might be a long time since you can have a Bisibelle bhath or perhaps finally get to taste those amazing recipes that another claims to have picked up from in laws in Jharkhand.

It makes the first chap I met on the rickety bus ride to Pilani come back from his extremely tough job on the oil rigs and all of us drink our lemonades to the fact that his risk profile is now doubled. While monetarily it might be exciting, the question remains what does it do to his profile on mallumatrimony? And everyone shakes their head and promises to double our search efforts.

The journey that began in Shankar continues, but somehow the Vyas New block facing mess which later became the revered Budhfront seems to have stayed true to one another. That wing was one of its kind – extremely non regionalistic/departmentist in nature, which was pretty rare in those days, with GPAs ranging of near 6 to near 10, half the cultural association office bearers of the batch giving away free grub coupons, clubs, departments, future politicians (Jai Maharashtra) even Department of Spectator and Audience or DOSA as we called it and a possible future Noble Laureate. Sigh that’s probably not me, but I am hoping in the memoirs I am mentioned as the guy who the Nobel Laureate chased with a broom across Budhfront.

Batch of 2001, it has been an honour. Happy Friendship Day. This post had to wait till today.

Here's to perhaps the only thing we learnt in common - a new language. Courtesy - someone in FB :)

ID - 2001*, PR No., Timetable, FDs, Refli, Centli, ID Mom/Pop, IPC, pine, IC, Audi, Grubs, Lachcha, Niteout, Vetti, Guss, Tests, Compre, Tut, Sup-T, Av+2, CT, Zuk, Makeup, RAF, Stubs, Common Hour, Bhavans, Gate Call, ThermoD, CP, GenB, SPM, MuP, APOGEE, BOSM, OASIS, Razzmataz, FashP, Juke Box, Depts, Clubs, MAMO, BOB, Redis, SamChat, Jamun Rabdi, ANC, Cnot, PPW, SKY, SAC, ShivG, DW, PS, Senti-sem, Writeups