The other day, I was sifting through a drawer full of memories and I was transported back in time.
The College Years!!
Those were the days… left the comforts of home for the first time.. made a group out of the first few people we met… hanging out together between classes… sitting together during lunch and dinners at the mess… staying up all night with a steady dose of tea and snacks to complete assignments. Complaining about anything and everything, learning to share opinions, discovering ourselves and forging some wonderful bonds….
And then life happened… new jobs, different cities, marriage and then kids… The ‘nice and wild’ days were all left behind as we embraced the newer roles and challenges of life.
One fine day, out of the blue, years later, a mail in my inbox popped out. It was from a college friend from the distant past. The heart did a time travel across emails and then Facebook, on and off, for a good two decades. The mails saw us exchanging stories of our lives, marriages, kids, work, friends and experiences.
And then we happened to be in the same city at the same time. ‘Can we meet?’, the question popped up in one of our chats. Of course, we can and we must! And as the day came closer, anticipation was killing me. What if, he is not able to make it? What if, there’s an exigency? What-if… What-if…
Finally, the day arrived and I could barely contain my excitement. And thankfully, all went well for me, no exigency, no traffic jams and I reached before the scheduled time. As I sat by the window at the cafe, lost in some last minute anxiety-laced-thinking… ‘would it be awkward… after all we would be meeting after two decades?’…
Someone tapped me on the shoulder — I turned around and found myself looking at his twinkling eyes and a beaming smile. As I got up and extended my hand, he engulfed me in a big bear hug. Thoughts of awkwardness on meeting a friend after a long time simply vanished and as we sat drinking coffee and talking… Talking about mutual friends, remembering the nicknames we had given to professors and some friends and telling stories we had forgotten…
As we emptied our first cup of coffee, two excited voices broke our chain of conversation. We looked up and added more to the buzz around us. In front of us were two batch mates. Oblivious to the minor pandemonium that we were creating, we chatted animatedly. Remembering and sharing the inside jokes that still sounded sooo hilarious, re-living the memories of life at the campus…
We talked about how we had expected our life to be and how it played out for each one of us. We shared so many stories that time simply flew by… so quickly!
We realized that though the greys and a few wrinkles, along with adipose layers at unflattering places had changed us physically but underneath we were still the same wonderful people who were friends decades ago.
Though, Facebook and Twitter had united us again but there’s nothing like meeting our friends in the real world. No matter how far we were all these years, we were able to pick up right where we left off… We all laughed so much that day and our happiness knew no bounds. The emotional connect cannot be replaced by the smileys on the internet chat and comments on Facebook posts. The bond is strengthened and deepened when we connect in the real world with real friends.
We realized that reunion reveals friendship potential that haven’t yet been emerged in the past. And that good things happen when we get together!
Hours later, I emerged from an almost trance-like state after having been swept back into the past. As I kept the photo album back in the drawer, I also realized that photographs are not just worth a thousand words, but worth a thousand memories. As the chores of the day called my attention, that warm and happy smile lingered on my face for a long long time.
51 Responses
The commercial has good music, and your write-up was impressive. I was in touch with a few batch mates until life caught up with them 😉
Destination Infinity
Yes, it is pretty catchy and upbeat. LOL @ life caught up with them!! 😀
Thanks, Rajesh, glad you liked this post! 🙂
It’s wonderful, isn’t it? How warm the heart feels after such meets, and that’s the essence of seeing someone in person… Love this Shilpa…Felt good reading it
Time and distance melt away when old friends meet. That’s specially true for college friends. Those are the truly real friendships when we are bond at a whole different level. Loved your post Shilpa.
Loved your write up…I was totally lost in the moment…
Such a beautiful post, full of warmth, much needed in winter:)
You can never replace old friends and memories.. they were all a part of a simpler time before the tensions of life and doublehandedness entered our lives. Getting to meet the true friends of old is a real pleasure .. good write up , Shilpa
Oh yes! There is something magical about meeting old friends especially over coffee. Coffee and friends is a great combination.
Some years ago I met my classmates at a 25th reunion. Hadn’t met them since I left school and it was like we had never left. Old friends are gold!
Awww…Shilpa!! Such a lovely post. I have similar such story. will share…i hope there is no time limit. This will make a memorable read years later.
The ad is quite catchy!
I’ve loved all the stories written for this write up and yours is just as precious.
Meeting old friends for a cup of coffee in Starbucks is ideal! 🙂
Thanks to social netwrking sites and Whatsapp we old school classmates have re-connected to forge new simple bonds. The grey in the hair, the wrinkles and the adipose add a dash of experience to our lives.
Wow – this is such a wonderful post! I read another one from Vidya and I feel like I have been transported by a time machine. I agree – meeting with people “live” is better but if there is a distance, Skype is always an alternative.
Great post just in the Christmas Eve, thank you.
Beautiful narration. Loved it.
Shilpa this is a very cute and interesting write up. Meeting old friends is so rejuvinating.
It’s always amazing to meet old friends after long and catch up on all the fun, laughter and enjoyment :D.
How wonderful to reconnect with your old friends from college and relive the carefree times. 🙂 Good memories bring joy.
It is so nice to be reading blogs again. I intend to meet up old friends this year, come what may. I have slacked a lot in this area for a long time. Hopefully this year will see a lot more reunions for me too. Happy New Year.
Late last year we had a reunion of our MBA batch and it was exactly like what you described – the anxiety, the rush and the happiness. Isn’t it amazing how there’s no awkwardness despite the years that have gone by? There are the people who knew us before we became ‘worldly-wise’ :-). They have knows us at our most raw unsophisticated time of our life and that puts us at ease. Lovely reading this piece Shilpa.
Reading this gave me such a warm and comfortable glow of happiness on your behalf, Shilpa. Surely, there is nothing to equal the feeling of meeting friends in person. As we age, we cherish these moments even more. Social media, among other things, has done the good deed of keeping us in touch. It is up to us to take the step and meet offline as much as we can.
May there be many more photographs, laughter and memories in your life. 🙂
Oh yes! Every single time. There is another joy and connect which we experience when we meet up with our old friends. I am so happy for you, Shilpa. So glad that the reunion was so beautiful!
What a lovely post.
I’m sure it brings back memories to every one of your readers, too. 🙂
These memories and meetings are priceless, aren’t they, Shilpa!
We cherish them as they take us back in time. Glad you met your friend. Wishing you many more such meetings.
What a beautiful post! Made me nostalgic.
Such a beautiful feeling this is, isn’t it?
Every time I meet my college friends, we share so many stories and the love and nostalgia is at such a high.
This is the first thing I read in the morning, and I couldn’t have started my day off better. Such a wonderful, heartwarming post, this. I am so happy for you, Shilpa.
There are very few things as wonderful as reconnecting with old friends, and seeing the friendship evolve into something different yet familiar, and equally amazing.
During my India visit, I could not meet my best friend and the regret is going to last a lifetime. I’m glad you met your friend, this is such a heartwarming piece, sharing it with my bestie too.
Whether it be a 100 words fiction or a musings, I have always loved your writing style. It’s very engaging. Old friends are jewels and college days are the best days of anyone’s life. Meeting an old friend, exchanging chats and re-living those carefree days again is what we all wish for.
Such a beautiful and heartfelt post! It transported me back to my crazy reunion. Meeting friends in person can never be replaced with social media.
Just today I had a wondery chat with my 12 years ago room mate and it was so beautiful reminiscing the last times we had together
Friends are so much more fun to meet up with than just online chats. Pics do have a thousand memories and it’s a wonderful way to time travel.
Reconnecting with an old friend is really wonderful.
Right buddy there is nothing like connecting with old friends in person. Reading your experience was so heart warming
Such a warm deliberation. Truly, meeting old pals infuses so much positivity n happiness in us. I loved reading your narrative, and experienced déjà vu.
Good memories always bring joy and it’s always good to catch up with dear friends
What a beautiful account of your meet with the friends. Truly, the experience of meeting in real life cannot be felt through chats. I wish I could meet my besties like that. We all have the strongest tiea with friends made in school or college, mostly because we have shared and grown so much together.
The joy of connecting with old friends, of meeting them face to face, is unparalleled!!
Meeting old friends makes us realize that friendship is forever young, rather its ageless! And one more thing,.. there isnt any super sonic jet build yet that flies faster than the wandering thoughts which originate from old photo albums.
Nice post! The joy of meeting friends is unparalleled
Such a beautiful post, Shilpa. Reminded me of meeting my school friends in Jaipur, almost three years back and how we hugged and warmed up to each other with our stories, our nonstop banter, our old memories and what not! There can be nothing as wonderful as meeting old friends face to face after years, no matter how connected we are through social media! I hope there are many more such wonderful memories for you, Shilpa.
This year coincidentally I also met a friend after 23 years and I can relate to the expectation, anxiety and anticipation that you are talking about. It is always great to meet real friends from the past in real world.
Lovely post. Photographs are precious and memories a real feel good shot
We school friends meet every year and it seems we never parted ways after college. Thanks to FB AND WHATSAPP we are always connected.
went through an old album with school collge days pic – I too am engulfed in nostalgia today!
So happy you had a wonderful time meeting up Shilpa- its true what you said that the actual meet up is far more than the ocassional catch up on messages and social media!
Old friends are always a treasure .
Ah, I so agree with you, Shilpa. Meeting friends for real is always wonderful. I go into a trance when I see old photographs 🙂
And, those were the golden days. Stay in our memory for ever.
This was such a beautiful read, Shilpa. Meeting old friends is always a wonderful feeling. I absolutely loved your account of meeting with your friends. 🙂
Taking pictures us a special part of weddings too, so that you can cherish the memories later
It is nice to reconnect with some friends. To be honest, there are some people I’m not too fussed about not having in my life anymore but there are others I’ll continue to make an effort to keep in touch. It’s nice though to go down memory lane
“there’s nothing like meeting our friends in the real world.”
Absolutely true.
Very beautifully penned!