I had always
been nostalgic about time spent in my first school, where I had completed the
first 12 years of schooling. Unfortunately my father’s untimely transfer
ensured that I was unable to complete my schooling from this institute.
In spite of
numerous opportunities to visit this institute over the years, I always managed
to find a reason to not do so. My reason was simple: my revisit would have
changed my almost idyllic image about the school. It was for the same reason
that I hardly ever contacted my school friends. The fact that I was not one of
the popular students made it easy for me to accomplish this. I don’t think I
was ever missed and I don’t recall any teary farewell in school.
Not
surprisingly my resolve to not get in touch with old school mates started to
change as I grew older. Occasionally I found myself wondering about some
batchmates. Sometimes I wondered if I might end up interviewing one of them as
part of my job as a journalist; whether my close friend would recall me if I
would bump into them at a public place and so on. But I never did bump into
anyone.
My biggest
regret was that my school time was full of complexes. I was too scared to speak
for most of the time. I was mostly a wallpaper, so there were hardly any memories to bind me to the classmates...I didn't bunk classes, didn't participate in annual day celebrations, I didn't flunk flunk but I didn't top the class either; didn't have any specific talent which would make it easier for anyone to recall me. My personality was very different at home but that is subject of another blog.
And then
Orkut happened and lo and behold, an old classmate did manage to find me.
Whether it was an accident or deliberate is something I would never know. One
friend led to another and within no time I was in touch with most of my
classmates.
So I was
extremely happy and at the same time full of trepidation when I was finally
invited to a reunion of the class twenty-five years after leaving the school.
What do you say to someone you haven’t met for 25 years? Do you ask them how
they are? Do you wait for them to share their life troubles/challenges? Do they
recall you at all? I was just 14 years old when I left the school so it
wouldn’t be wrong to assume that they didn’t.
Without a
doubt it was awkward to meet old classmates after such a long time. I was so
anxious that I puked before going. Surprisingly it all turned out fine in spite
of the fact that there was more than one classmate who didn’t recall my
existence at all.
But then an
ex-classmate decided to form a Whats App group and it was magic. We were again
part of each other’s life. Right from wishing Good morning every day to solving
puzzles to sharing books to read, movies to watch to discuss the political
happenings in the country, the Group became an important platform to talk about
and share almost anything and everything that bothered us.
It is easy to
argue that it is just a Whats App group and not to be taken seriously. I take
it as a second chance to do things differently. I don’t have to be wallpaper
this time around. I could and did participate in relevant discussion
topics. Sometimes shared recipes, musings…things that I never did in school.
The fear of ridicule doesn’t bother me this time around. Sometimes I just
listen to others talk without butting in.
Just like in
a normal classroom, some students are more active than the others; some who
fight more and some who lead. If I am honest I will say that I am not the most
active member of the group…not by a long haul but I am not hiding myself behind
the curtain like I did in school. Hardly ever does one get a second
chance with the classmates to change the perception. And this was the closest I
could get.
The Group is doing really well in other ways also. Recently, a classmate committed suicide because of depression. Beyond RIP messages on the group, we decided to help his family financially since they were going through tough times. So the group is beyond online camaraderie. Here's to more nostalgia...
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