A Walk Down Memory Lane

At the outset, let me dedicate this piece to all the girls & boys of the ’89 batch who could not make it to the reunion yesterday (19th Dec.) evening! You were missed! Too Much !!

… On an evening when nostalgia surrounded us like a mist, the highs were provided, not by the booze that flowed all evening ;), but by the shared reminiscences, the rekindled memories, the meeting of long lost, ‘oh-you-look-the-same’ or ‘oh-you-have-changed-so-much’ friends. The ones who often meet blended seamlessly with the ones not seen these last 20 years and time, for 6 hours or so, melted away as 125-odd students were transported back in time to Hindu Colony, Dadar, Mumbai. Uniforms and black boards seemed to be the only things missing.

… Anxiety, eagerness and a dreamy look was evident on every face as a star-studded evening (there were stars in the sky ;)) descended on the Worli Police swimming pool grounds. All over, a moment’s hesitation would turn to gleeful recognition, as a perfect stranger would turn out to be the one you shared the bench with, or wished you had shared the bench with (get the drift? ;)). God bless the organizers for the idea of badges!

… All around, there were friends, friends and friends! Who knows (and cares) what the status was at school. It is nostalgia, and as such, only the golden memories persist.

… The teachers (a salute again to whosesoever’s idea it was) added to the excitement of the evening, although most of us carefully avoided meeting them, fearful of what would happen if they actually did recognize us. Bhor sir was, of course, the highlight. Clear and straight from the heart. Thanks for coming over, sirs and teachers.

“Yeh shaam mastani, madhosh kiye jaaye…”

… Laughter and booze were flowing in equal measures; there were smiles all around as photographs were being clicked at the speed of flash (hope each one is posted as quickly); dancers (the bathroom variety) were tripping over each other as the DJ played tune upon tune of rollicking numbers; people were lounging around even as delicacy upon delicacy was being served. In general, each one was having the ‘time of his (or her) life’.

… It seemed that from the humdrum of our sedentary lives, each of us had stolen away an evening to reflect on the life that we once shared, to be with friends who were together for the best 12 years of their lives. Because it is these loved ones who know us as we are, and not as what we have become. Nostalgia is truly a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect!

... Had it not been for the people who thought about this and executed it to perfection, we would never have been able to regale in these lanes of nostalgia, albeit for a short while. So take a bow Jaideep Palep, Anand Mhapralkar, Pravin Patil, Sujit Raut, Mangesh Chaubal, Geetanjali Subhedar, Shipa Tawte, Priya Awasare and a whole lot of people whose efforts lit up the Worli Police grounds yesterday (excuse my ignorance if any name was missed out). Love you all!

… As Sameer Warik mentioned on FB somewhere, “I can rock for at least next 10 yrs avec des memoires.” I couldn’t have expressed it any better, mon cher ami. The French is again, a subtle touch of nostalgia.

Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven – Tryon Edwards

… Will we meet again? I don’t know, but I sure as hell would like to and I know I am just echoing what 125 hearts felt as we were departing yesterday.

… Till then, let’s light up Facebook and enthrall our dear ones who couldn’t make it with words and photographs.

That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, the happy highways where I went and cannot come again. – A.E.Housman

luv,
aditya soparkar

(have tried to summarise a whole plethora of emotions and fun that happened yesterday night. Might not have done justice to everyone and everything that happened. Please add anything that I may have missed out)