Year 2020
Venue:Cusat(also to be declared as IIIIET(expansion ,frankly is too long)itz not yet official,but will happen within an YEAR or so)
I walk in and see faint "romeos" etched across the switchboard,the electrical wiring,works of the class "artist" and realizes,i was back..back to my college after 10 years.So many things have changed ,yet so much is still the same.The benches are still the same,the encryptions bearing testimony to our college life,some "unfortunate" drawings still etched on to the benches....
It was the first alumni meet conducted by our college.I had recieved the letter a month ago,and was plain excited to meet my old mates,most of whom i had lost correspondence with,excited to see how they have changed,how they have not.And here i was,in the best classroom i have ever been..room no 18.So many familiar faces surround me..Familiar faces..a few celebrities as well.The class representative ,nerd Sandeep(IDEA star singer,2016) had thrown his well paid job away,and was into playback singing,making a great living out of it.Some ppl had changed after all.
The Dubai man as we used to fondly call him was indeed literally a "dubai" man,earning in lakhs,driving around the latest offering from Tata Royce.But sanju had not changed,well apart from the slightly balding forehead,he still came up with the most atrocious jokes ,which we still found funny,btw.I could spot nesha,kutts and neetu having an animated conversation,probably reminiscing..nesha had turned out to be quite a famous anchor and with her multicultural background ,was hosting shows all over south india!!.
Another "celebrity" walks up to me ,breaking into a grin,Mr S.Vasudevan formerly known simply as sanoop,sporting a stylish bulgan, was a highy paid film critic(paid to watch movies!!).Here was a guy,who actually loved his job.!!.. With horn-rimmed glasses,and hair tied up like a bun,sunita really did transform herself from a soft spoken ,helpful girl to a powerful lady,an integral cog in a corporate machine,keeping her innumerable assistants on their toes,barking orders left,right and center..People do change...
But some never change..Half an hour LATE,another familiar face walks in,but now he is the chief animator of a big time studio producing movies of the likes of Shrek 14,but the credits never show his name,why,because he is too damn lazy to attend any meeting..I could spot few of my northie friends nitish,nikesh,pandey and co having a good time.They were all accompanied by their beautiful 'biwis'....Sumesh,true to his tastes, had opened up a chain of gymnasiums over the state,and was raking in lots of cash..
Ryan,(who incredibly did not ask me for any treat!!..) had turned out to be involved in gaming(no suprises there!..),and sreeni ,alongside him was working in a reputed firm.
All of us,were in fact doing well.But we were all missing college life.Those 4 years of "hell".And as i walked into my classroom,all those memories came back...the "amazing" free periods,the silly crushes,some strong friendships,some silly fights(NOT the head banging ones!!..).Friendships stronger than steel were forged here,friendships that withstood the test of time.
The 4 years had changed us all,in some way,but finally we were left with the memories ..When i looked around the room,i felt a sense of grief..we all did..
Ultimately,we were never gonna get back those 4 years...
PS: When i am murdered(which i will be in the near future),i do NOT want the CBI investigating the case..the background music irritates me....though TV coverage will be kinda cool...hmm..
