After spending a night at my uncle’s place in Morshi, it was time to spend a couple nights with my college roommates in Pune and finish off some Duty Free liquor that I got for them from the airport.
After graduating from my undergrad institute, most of my classmates and roommates had moved to Pune for their work and better opportunities. I wasn’t sure whom I was going to meet during this trip, but I was sure to meet my college roommates and Reshma, one of my best friends since college and till date. I was excited to meet everyone and catch up on things going on in their lives.
When I reached Pune Railway Station, I hailed a cab from the station to my friend, Bakul’s, apartment. I was pleased to know that I didn’t have to book any hotel or other accommodation as my friends were generous enough to offer me to stay at their place. Bakul was neighbors with other friends from college, so it was nice to catch up with them as well.
After I got freshen up, I called one of my relatives whom I was scheduled to meet for lunch. We had grown up together and I had looked up to him like an elder brother. We were meeting after a decade or so, it was a nice feeling to see him after so many years. I don’t remember the restaurant we went to for lunch, but it was a nice one and filled with so many young people, as it was around the area where most of the IT companies were located.
We ordered a Butter Chicken dish and rekindled our childhood memories. We talked a lot, shared many things, and thanked each other for taking the time out to meet.
After that, it was time to head to Cognizant office & catch up with Vedant, who was working at Cognizant, Pune. I had to kill an hour before I would meet Reshma, who was still busy working. I called up Vedant and he took me to a nearby PaniPuri vendor, where I got to meet many of my SGGS classmates. This meeting was something unplanned for them as well, so they were surprised to find me in there.
We hugged, shared so many things, and ate many PaniPuris. After an hour or so, Reshma called and told me to come and see her.
I always look forward to seeing Reshma whenever I visit India. Ever since we left college, we had remained in touch after many years and have that respect and liking for each other. I am proud to say that I consider her one of my best friends, and I have relied on her a lot during my engineering, especially for completing my assignments! 🙂
We decided to meet at a restaurant, which served Rajasthani food, as Reshma was a vegetarian. As soon as she reached the venue, she broke the news of her engagement. I knew it was coming but never anticipated it to happen so soon. Anyway, I was happy with the news and spent the next few minutes mocking her and her future husband.
I have this weird habit of forgetting names of the spouses of my friends, so when she told me the name of the guy she was going to get married, I immediately forgot his name and had to ask her again to remind me his name.
The dinner went well and we had a lot of fun. We caught on so many things going on in our lives and I was glad even after so many things and years, we were the same people that we were a few years ago. I think that’s what is magical between us and I would always cherish that. She was kind enough to drop me off at a spot from where it would be easier to get a cab as I was staying quite far from her place. We bade our goodbyes, with the hopes that we would get to see each other soon.
The cab driver was kind enough to drop me at my friends place even though it was quite far away. What else do I say about this day? It was amazing to spend time with everyone that were part of my life just a few years ago.
The next stop is spending some quality time with my college roommates and emptying the whiskey bottles.
stochasticity 