Back to College... O Bodi Ke !!!

Acceptance (Antonym of Disclaimer): 

In the true spirit of our era in Roorkee (the reason for mentioning 'our era' is solely to save the current batches), I have blatantly topo-ed from one of my earlier blog... :-)

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"Will I recognize anyone?" was the question that repeatedly did rounds in my head (like the rounds we used to make around Sarojini Bhawan), "Will my batchmates still remember me?", "How has everyone changed in so many years?", "Does the UOR spirit still lingers?" and many such thoughts were put to rest the moment

I laid my eyes on the first set of classmates

who had flown from around the world for the Bodi cup which was effectively a reunion after 23 years of our batch of University of Roorkee that passed out in 1993. While I might be telling others that I am from IIT, Rookee, somehow I still get the real feel when I loudly mouth UOR or University of Roorkee and I know for sure all of us feel that way.

The moment I laid my eyes on the first person I came across, at that very moment the quarter century just time warped from the memories and the time we spent together flashed back, fresh as if it all happened just yesterday. Most of us had just started menstruating. Yeah Yeah I know most of us were boys but physically & mentally most of us had actually started 'men'struating. Mind you, some hadn't and by the way, there are no sanitary pads for boys. All we had was each other performing the same function though. Nubile teenagers thrown out to the ravaging seniors at the time when ragging was as acceptable as smoking at public places. We all had our share of stories to tell - Thomso intro (which Venky out of all people remembered in toto), copying seniors' tutorials while they took a nap, replacing "this library card" in the terms & conditions of the library by close female relative's genitals (it doesn't sound all this 'foki' when uttered in our matrbhasha) and finally the closure with the Great Grand GC (which Bodi won against VP to lift the third position trophy). It took a few seconds or maybe more to link the faces with the names but once it did all the memories came rushing in. Thomso fest, rock shows, movies in hangar,

Gupta ji's canteen, Satkar, Bhatia Maggi,

marking proxies and getting caught, Dean Call (or did we call it "love letter") and the Javed Akhtar's brother separated at birth, Irshad Miyan (Aunty hai lekin maal ki guaranty hai) who also came over from Roorkee to serve his yumilicious bun-om dripping with butter which we all ravished upon even though most of us are not allowed to what with cholestrol, diabetes, BP, obesity having made their presence felt. An English movie, MBL, TL, Treats at PD, Savera, Cycling trips to Haridwar, Dumb Charades, JAM, Biotech, Treks...  

God, I can go on and on... Everything seemed to be just happening right in front of our eyes AFTER 23 f@#$in' long years...

We all grew up together on bun-om & special maggi and went through our teens guiding each other including sex education for some. Being an almost all-boys batch had its own charm and peculiarities. The friendships were pure, straightforward and uncomplicated. Everyone was equal and no one gave a damn anyways. And in those days there was nothing like homosexuality, at least I didn't know about it. In fact, we realized, that even religion, race or caste had absolutely no relevance in those days. TV programming was limited to Doordarshan (Mahabharat, Chitrahaar), no computers, no mobile phones, no nothing that we are dependent today to while away our time. So, how were we actually spending our time then? Surprising, isn't it? 

All of us chose our own paths - some driven by choice and some by destiny - Businessmen, MBAs, Bankers, Police, Bureaucrats, Stock Brokers, Filmstars, Gigolos... (The last two are to just add some glamour but then one never knows as they say "Life begins at 40"). Most got married and subsequently made their contribution to the country's population. From then till now, the only change were balding pates and expanding bellies.

And then we all met AFTER 23 years...

And we forgot that we were all in mid-forties, we forgot that we were married and forgot that we have kids elder than us when we entered Roorkee. We backslapped each other like we did then, we forgot we were CEOs, VPs, IPS, MDs etc and back to being the bumchums we were back then. None of us wanted to return to the present, to what we are now. We all wished the time would stall and we could be in Roorkee forever. We hugged and held on to each other.

As we drank Single Malts the entire journey of highs & lows between Old Monk and the Glenlivet bottle flashed past. We were all apologetic we hadn't kept contact all this long but then we all promised to each other that we would not repeat the same mistake and meet again for the Bodi Cup next year. I am sure as we get back to our daily chores we are going to forget the promise unless another VP & Bodi raise their heads and take it upon them to create yet another grand event. Friends, raise your glasses to VP, Bhodi, Naveen and all others who contributed to make this event much more than just a cricket match.

Some of the classmates couldn't join, I heard someone saying "We are definitely missing them but more than that it is THEY who have missed this once-in-a-lifetime get-together"... Out of the ones who couldn't make it, it is sad that 7 would never join including the heart-breaking news of Chhota Sushil who chose the same date to bid his final goodbye... May their souls rest in peace... 

Some of the classmates were untraceable... We wish they are all safe and prosperous...

Smile... Sob...