Saiki forwarded me the link to Dubey's photo album, and it unlocked a treasure house of old memories. Days past, old friends.
I met the 2004-2006 PGP group of IMI through Saiki. Let me try and arrange the events chronologically.
Day 1: Some cold evening in February 2006,Sector 44, Noida
I am running a temperature when one of my friends comes to me and says that I have to go out with her. Zindagi aur maut ka sawal hai :P (It is a matter of life and death) I have to oblige and we go out for a rendezvous with a guy she has met online. He has come over to our campus for a Quiz. I stand aloof at a distance while girl and guy walk towards each other. Each taking one step at a time. I yawn and think if they don't pace up I will fall asleep. Girl and Guy meet. I count stars in the sky. However, Guy walks towards me when he discovers that I am unwell and introduces himself. And I think: Bhodro Chhele ( Decent chap )
(To be proven wrong later. Ek number ka bandaar hai..)
Day 2: February 14, 2006. Valentine's Day, Delhi
Guy and Girl are too shy to ask each other out. So I decide to step in and ask the Guy : "Will you be my Valentine this year?" over the phone. Girl giggles by my side. He understands what it means. Jumps up and down and says "Yes.Yes. Yes". I ask him to wear something black, put on Green Brute and get a companion along so that I don't get bored :D
Four of us (Girl, Guy, Guy's roommate Sajal aka Biddu aka Dubey) meet at Delhi Haat and have a great time. Initially, I pretend Guy is my date and wink at him. He sees the joke and walks arm-in-arm with me, with Girl feeling flustered and turning pink.
We even click a picture to make my then boyfriend jealous. Guy sits next to me and keeps staring at Girl. And I say to myself: Aah! The Joys of Love!
Saiki and me @ Delhi Haat. The kick boxing kids :D
Day 3: March 5, 2006, Qutab Institutional Area, Delhi
Dada (my elder brother, Anirban) is about to leave for his visa interview in Kolkata. Dad has come over to Delhi to visit us. Girl says that she wants to go to the IMI Fest Kritva, but can't until I accompany her too. I ask permission from my two legal guardians and leave for IMI that evening.
I hop into a movie crossword round on reaching and team up with Dubey to come close second to the IIFT team. We get to the next round of Dumb Charades but lack of coordination results in hilarious results. Dubey takes permission from the judges to say only one thing, unrelated to the movie title I have to guess, and blurts: Kuch to bol yaar! and the whole auditorium bursts into peals of laughter.
In the evening , I meet Indu and get introduced to the others in the group. We dance to DJ Suketu's tunes and "Bin Tere Sanam" becomes an instant hit. I even make Ghosh dance. An achievement in itself. Next morning , Dad and my maternal uncle show me dancing on the TV. I smile and agree : I had a great time.
Day 4: April 8, 2006, Fun and Food village , Gurgaon
Water theme park. 12 odd people -Shivani, Anamika, Indu, Preeti, Kshitij, Swati , Ghosh, Rajat, Dubey, Saikat, Girl and me- have the wildest splash possible. And the only unaccounted for leave from my office :D
Day 5 : April 9, 2006, PVR Priya, Delhi
The same group goes to watch Shaadi Se Pehle. Dubey's suggestion . Rajat's sponsorship. We keep whining through the movie and waiting when we can butt-kick Dubey when we get out. We actually take turns to do it :D
Some weekend, PVR Saket, Delhi
Dada, Guy , Girl and me go to watch Transamerica. I click photographs of Guy and Girl holding hands together under the table and tease them about it. Girl blushes. Guy flashes his teeth.
Several days later, PVR Spice/Waves@CSM, Noida
After Bro has left: Guy , Girl , Me go to watch several movies together. And we always manage to make Girl feel embarrassed by our kick boxing fits in public. :D
Several months later, Boston
I am scripting this post and thinking - we might not be in love with the same people we were two years back, but our friendship has survived. Maybe this is why I believe in friendship more than I do in romantic love.
** A tribute to Girl, Guy and all the friends I made at IMI. The post was written in the present tense on purpose. The memories are so vivid that it doesn't feel I am so far away from them or so many seasons have changed since I last saw them .
I met the 2004-2006 PGP group of IMI through Saiki. Let me try and arrange the events chronologically.
Day 1: Some cold evening in February 2006,Sector 44, Noida
I am running a temperature when one of my friends comes to me and says that I have to go out with her. Zindagi aur maut ka sawal hai :P (It is a matter of life and death) I have to oblige and we go out for a rendezvous with a guy she has met online. He has come over to our campus for a Quiz. I stand aloof at a distance while girl and guy walk towards each other. Each taking one step at a time. I yawn and think if they don't pace up I will fall asleep. Girl and Guy meet. I count stars in the sky. However, Guy walks towards me when he discovers that I am unwell and introduces himself. And I think: Bhodro Chhele ( Decent chap )
(To be proven wrong later. Ek number ka bandaar hai..)
Day 2: February 14, 2006. Valentine's Day, Delhi
Guy and Girl are too shy to ask each other out. So I decide to step in and ask the Guy : "Will you be my Valentine this year?" over the phone. Girl giggles by my side. He understands what it means. Jumps up and down and says "Yes.Yes. Yes". I ask him to wear something black, put on Green Brute and get a companion along so that I don't get bored :D
Four of us (Girl, Guy, Guy's roommate Sajal aka Biddu aka Dubey) meet at Delhi Haat and have a great time. Initially, I pretend Guy is my date and wink at him. He sees the joke and walks arm-in-arm with me, with Girl feeling flustered and turning pink.
We even click a picture to make my then boyfriend jealous. Guy sits next to me and keeps staring at Girl. And I say to myself: Aah! The Joys of Love!
Day 3: March 5, 2006, Qutab Institutional Area, Delhi
Dada (my elder brother, Anirban) is about to leave for his visa interview in Kolkata. Dad has come over to Delhi to visit us. Girl says that she wants to go to the IMI Fest Kritva, but can't until I accompany her too. I ask permission from my two legal guardians and leave for IMI that evening.
I hop into a movie crossword round on reaching and team up with Dubey to come close second to the IIFT team. We get to the next round of Dumb Charades but lack of coordination results in hilarious results. Dubey takes permission from the judges to say only one thing, unrelated to the movie title I have to guess, and blurts: Kuch to bol yaar! and the whole auditorium bursts into peals of laughter.
In the evening , I meet Indu and get introduced to the others in the group. We dance to DJ Suketu's tunes and "Bin Tere Sanam" becomes an instant hit. I even make Ghosh dance. An achievement in itself. Next morning , Dad and my maternal uncle show me dancing on the TV. I smile and agree : I had a great time.
Day 4: April 8, 2006, Fun and Food village , Gurgaon
Water theme park. 12 odd people -Shivani, Anamika, Indu, Preeti, Kshitij, Swati , Ghosh, Rajat, Dubey, Saikat, Girl and me- have the wildest splash possible. And the only unaccounted for leave from my office :D
Day 5 : April 9, 2006, PVR Priya, Delhi
The same group goes to watch Shaadi Se Pehle. Dubey's suggestion . Rajat's sponsorship. We keep whining through the movie and waiting when we can butt-kick Dubey when we get out. We actually take turns to do it :D
Some weekend, PVR Saket, Delhi
Dada, Guy , Girl and me go to watch Transamerica. I click photographs of Guy and Girl holding hands together under the table and tease them about it. Girl blushes. Guy flashes his teeth.
Several days later, PVR Spice/Waves@CSM, Noida
After Bro has left: Guy , Girl , Me go to watch several movies together. And we always manage to make Girl feel embarrassed by our kick boxing fits in public. :D
Several months later, Boston
I am scripting this post and thinking - we might not be in love with the same people we were two years back, but our friendship has survived. Maybe this is why I believe in friendship more than I do in romantic love.
15 comments:
sometimes the time spent is known as past...sometimes its cherished as memories :)
IMI days are the days which are never meant to die...can never relive them...i met the best bunch of frnds here and lived my best days there...
as u rightly mentioned it always floats infront like present
the time spent in the malls where unparallel...i still laugh when i rem the scared look at her face when both of us used to do kick boxing in public...that she never ran away was in it a great acheievement :D
the pic u took holding hands was cheating *mad* ... but lol it was sweet :)
abt the first meet hell yeah..we have discussed it earlier....u looked like someone had forcefully pulled u out of ur bed... :P ..n i am a bhadro bandor :P
Kritva was heavenly....even aaj tak acknowledged..what shaimak davar had missed in his talent search :P
fn n food village was fun and scary...i had promised after it....no more water rides...how can u explain me getting self drwoned in 2 ft of water :P
had awesome time together...me ..u ..her n dada...especially dada's amazing comments...hell yeah miss those days ...but will cherish them till eternity...
as rightly mentioned...times have changed...relations have changed..but then everyone has recovered from the past..some in whole..some in pieces...but the best part is the group still prevails..frndship..n contact continues...n still whenever we rem those days...n will read ur post...the lip will get an upper curve..n the smile will splash out :)
have loads more to say...will recollect the thoughts later n write more..
and yeah thaaaaaaaaaaanks a lot for this amazing post...u really made my life :)
gud one.. nice to read along... but i will never ever get tht slightest idea to write something abt LOVE... but friendship sure i can give shot!
Long live the friendship!!!
to be honest,IMHO, friendship is a necessary element in love.. else even if you things don't work out... you'd always have a friend if not a lover...
you might have heard this, but still... one day love asked frrndshp, "Why are you here in this world, wen i'm here?", to which frndshp smiled and replied, "To spread smiles, wer u left tears!!"
Cheerio!!
"we might not be in love with the same people we were two years back, but our friendship has survived"
.. :)
@Da Rodent
Doesn't it always ? :)
@Sam
"even if you things don't work out.. you'd always have a friend if not a lover..."
Do you mean to "be friends with your ex"? Or you are recommending to be in love with your best friend?
I dunno about romantic love. Am not even sure if I have ever felt it for anyone. But yeah, I know I'd want a companion for life and at least someone who knows that he is in love with me. Even if I can't love him back , and only feel something akin to love: eg admiration/gratitude/ affection but not really love.
People change. And so do their emotional requirements. What I want today might not hold true tomorrow. So, I'll wait until I know for sure what is it that makes me truly happy. And how far I can go to preserve it. Baaki- aur bhi gam hai duniya mein mohabbat k siwa
And right now - mere liye gam hi gam hai duniya mein mohabbat k siwa :P Internship, job etc etc
@aparna: yes it is so always. one reason why I wish that I parted in better terms with every one of them. Sigh.
@Da Rodent
It's never too late to mend :)
@aparna: trust me, I have tried. i guess certain things cannot be undone. its best that they are not done.
Take light then. Start caring less and less about more and more. If you don't want to become a kvetch, start looking at things like they were less important. Your pain or regrets have no cosmic significance, probably it doesn't even effect those whom you think it does. Stay happy. Sometimes for no reason at all. And yeah, learn to direct your happiness inward.
:) 'the art of letting go' :P
The thing that, a person that you got to know so much has to be let go, does not feel very right. After going out with a person for a real long time, it is not fair that you have to walk away when you see them on the road. Maybe not back to misty-eyed-romance, but definitely atleast a warm friendship. Trying to mend such a situation to be atleast in talking terms, in a friendly way, always ends up futile. Bringing one to a point where he/she regrets the bad terms in which he/she had to let go.
hmm.. never mind. This rant will never stop :P
hey saw dis post 2day....thot o lvn silently as ever...bt cudnt help scribbling sumthin...dont have ne words 2 express nethin rt nw bt i knw i dont need 2 explain nethin 2 u ever....u simply understand :) ....thnx 4 being der...and thnx 4 showin me d beautiful dream 1nce again dat i had 1nce :)...luv u...tk cr...miss u
@Paromita
Could not reply to this before calling you up :)
You can't judge a person you love. And I couldn't have been a friend if you had not been so too. Thanks for everything. Lv ya 2. Btw, I appreciate your silent love but your expression overwhelms me :D Be there- as always :)
i see 2 frnds conversing *feels so good* ...tc and both of u keep smilin :)
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