Celebrating Silliness . That could have been theme for the evening full of fun and laughter it was an informal gathering of old school friends that, without any rhyme or reason turned into an impromptu party…and, needless to add, all the  stories and tales  so neatly & lovingly stacked away in the crevices of our minds came tumbling out

We spent that evening laughing like maniacs till tears rolled down our faces.

Once, when I was in the 7^th standard, I had hurriedly written my name on the answer script and the letters got a bit mixed up at least the "r" & "i" did and while handing out the corrected papers my teacher had read out my name as "santa" singh .. To this date my school friends tease me by that name & never fail to fwd to me every santa singh joke they ever come across!!!

Nina was a very sweet and shy girl whose family returned to India when she was in the 8^th grade. New to the subject, she had struggled with Hindi our Hindi teacher had the habit of saying half sentences and asking someone from the class to complete it. While teaching "Kabir ke Dohe" she asked Nina to stand up and complete a Doha, "Bura jo dekhan main chala, bura na milye koi / jo man khoja apna " The   teacher said till point & Nina immediately and very enthusiastically completed it with "tujh sa bura na koi" (the correct answer would have been "mujh sa")

The spontaneous laughter of the whole classroom, sight of the teacher's stunned face and Nina's confused one (she didn't even realize what was wrong) made the scene an unforgettable memory .

Exam times & cheating went hand in hand .the biggest partners-in-crime of our class Mahesh & Ravi, split up the syllabus between the 2 of them. Each studied one half & for questions from the other half, they relied on copying from the other

During a term exam, Ravi finished his "label the diagrams" part of the question paper (which was a separate sheet) and quietly pushed it towards Mahesh to copy. But, before Mahesh could stop it, it slipped and fell on the ground landing at Aditya's feet. Aditya smartly picked it up & kept Ravi's solved sheet along with his own answer sheets . Then, he stood up and told Ma'am that someone's  paper has fallen near his feet and handed over his own blank "label the diagrams" sheet to her .the "chase Aditya" mission of Mahesh & Ravi  soon after the paper was over would have put James Bond to shame!!!!

Our principal was a very somber and strict gentleman who loved giving us impositions to write . They were to be written no less than 1000 times & he actually checked it!!!! . So getting caught by him meant HELLLLLL .

Once during a teacher's absence our class was naturally noisy and our principal came to check out what was happening. One smart guy promptly slid under the table to avoid imposition and seeing him a few more (including me) followed. The logic was simple sir would give imposition to write and then go away and if he did not see us we would be spared!

 But, as luck would have it he decided to stay back for the whole period and "talk" to the class and we were forced to stay back under the table for almost an hour!!! My neck still aches from the memory!

Endless memories   I would run out of  space  if I were to   list all of them but so beautiful, so special  that even  time cannot rust them out ..In fact time has only polished them and added to their sheen!

The dew washed fragrance of the breezy morning filled the senses with headiness. Most of the early morning joggers and walkers seemed to be lost in their own world .

Away from our familiar social milieu we were all here to unwind, to lose ourselves and once more seek our identity from anonymity. Strange it was, but here it was so easy to be "me" in a place where now one knew me, amongst people whom I will probably not meet again. The friendly smiles with which people greeted complete strangers was proof enough of the relaxed state of minds.

The sheer expanse of the horizon, the limitless view of the blue skies, and the bountifulness of nature had unlocked the floodgates of my soul as well. The instinctive wariness about strangers seemed to have evaporated from my being. The wish to reach out was so strong. Amazing, being far away from my carefully constructed world of security, made me secure and confident enough to be the real me! During a weekend break from my daily life, at a lovely resort by the riverside, I penned the following lines—

No questions asked, no answers given

The 'whys' of life matter no more

In the beauty of the dew washed morn

Everything seemed so calm, so pure

The silver ribbon gurgles by

Playful like a happy child

The rainbows that skirt the path

Fill the air with fragrance sweet

Music flies across the blue

And candy floss floats in the sky

 My shackled heart  cries out aloud;

"Set me free, I want to fly".

The silence that masks our words

Says more than what the words expressed

In solitude I touched my soul

Felt complete and truly blest!

 ————————–Sarita S——————

During a recent official visit I met someone I knew "once upon a time", & the person was someone I did not particularly like. For the first time, during the meeting last weekend, we actually "talked" to each other and were generally able to laugh away our so-called "differences" which seemed ridiculous to us now! It also made me realize that how talking about misunderstandings actually helped in clearing them faster (and not escalating it to a full blown fight, as I feared)

We were in the same college. Our first meeting coincided with our not getting along. It was the ragging session of our college. He was a year senior to me. Although, it was not common for guys to rag girls alone, this guy and his friends had gone ahead and done just that. Being a fresher, I had done his bidding. There were other "sessions" too; but freshers, especially girls, were always ragged in groups. "Season over", a grand welcome party followed and soon everybody were friends. But, although I did not bear grudges, somehow I could never treat him like a friend. Yet, I was curious too, about his strange behavior with me, as he was one of the better behaved students of the college. Our further interactions have always been very stilted, if at all. Since their batch graduated out of college, we never met again. That is, till last week!

Last week, at an official meet, our paths crossed again.  He was the one to say "hi" first. Honestly I hadn't noticed him till that moment. During the lunch break we exchanged whatever information we had about our old friends and professors from college! It surprised me that in spite of not being friends, we had so much in common!

Strangely, it was he who raised the topic of that fateful ragging day, though he chose to refer to it as our "first meeting". He talked about how he had been given a "Dare" by his friends to rag the first fresher girl they see alone. It was just my luck that I happened to be the one!!! And he added that he was scared I might report him to the anti-ragging squad and even "dared" thank me for not doing so!!!

I was struck dumb for a few seconds and then I started laughing all these years, all the feelings of hurt that I carried within me was, in reality, only a game of truth and dare!

If I had dared then and there to confront the issue, all these negative vibes could have been avoided it also took me back in time to all the "dares" that I have been given by my friends, or the ones we gave to our friends & wondered how many people we offended with our antics just for a simple game that we played. But, with the air cleared, we could talk like two normal people, if not as close friends.

 For the uninitiated "Truth & Dare" is a game, where friends gang up to give 1 person a task, which has a high potential to get him or her into trouble. Inability to do it means having to treat the whole gang to a meal, or copy everyone's notes or do something else equally tedious and be labeled a loser. Seems very silly now, but  it was very serious matter in college no one wanted to fail(talk of king-size egos) this meeting took both of us back to the days of pure joy we found in simple  and silly things and really made us wish that college days had never ended! In spite of all the hard work and uncertainties, those were the days of pure fun.

Trying new food while traveling is both exciting and scary, and fun too if you are adventurous in this matter. The sweetest or should I say the hottest memory was of my first attempt to treat an American friend to the flavors of India has become a private joke between us. Before anything else, let me tell you, this dish ranks very, very high on my list of favorites. If anything can coax me out of my self-imposed exile from non-vegetarian food it is this the name of this dish is KARI MEEN CURRY.

We were visiting Kerala for a holiday along with my American friend and her parents. Our host was a childhood friend of my dad's. Holiday was fun as their daughter, Ritu is exactly my age and a childhood friend of mine as well. One evening, when we dining out, uncle suggested a dish called "kari meen curry". Of course aunty, his wife, suggested that they order something else for our American friends as it would be too spicy for their taste buds. While her parents agreed, Amy's (my friend's) ego, stung to the core, rebelled. She said firmly that she liked spicy and tangy food and that it was her love for all things Indian that made her come to India, that she felt a "soul-connection" to this country. She was here on a "discover India" mission & wouldn't like to miss out on any experiences or flavors of India. To top it all the “Indian” part of this contingent were eating Kari Meen.  

Orders were placed. Food arrived at the table. Amy attacked the food with vengeance like she was eating for the first time in her life. After the 1st mouthful, she said wow, it's so yummy. 2nd mouthful—- okay, a bit spicy and drank some water, 3rd mouthful .no more words only finished the water. 4th mouthful and that was it. She started asking hysterically for water her glass was empty and her eyes were definitely full of water! Someone suggested sugar, a gentleman from the next table said —give her a banana. She was almost in tears and this drew everyone's attention. By that time, uncle had already ordered a double scoop vanilla ice-cream. The waiter almost ran to our table with it. Ultimately her dinner consisted of that vanilla double scoop followed by a chocolate sundae! Great Indian flavors, indeed!

 By the way, since then, she has visited Kerala two more times, but never again tried Kari Meen.

I had no plans of posting a new blog today but a sudden feeling of nostalgia impelled me to put my thoughts on paper. Here it is

During my walk to the gym, I heard strains of "Om Jai Jagadish Hare" floating out of someone's window I had passed by. What a calming, soothing sound! There is something about it at least for me. Whenever I hear it or sing it I feel reinvigorated, as if filled with new energy, new vitality, and new faith to fight & conquer all demons that exist.

 It takes me right back to my early childhood spent in the lap of idyllic Himalayas where my father was a tea garden manager. Diwali used to be & still is (though we have moved away from the tea garden many years back) a big event in our family as it is with all Indians. Festivities start with Lakshmi Puja which ends with the whole gathering of family & friends singing "Om Jai Jagadish Hare". And though, we moved from there when I was in the 6^th grade,(dad  took a head office posting to facilitate our education)  I have very clear memories of  of those days 'wide expanses of beautifully manicured tea 'gardens follwed by dark untamed greenery of the Himalayas dotted with hundreds wild flowers, most of whose names I don't know. But they were beautiful. Even today just shutting my eyes & thinking about those wide expanses of green mountainside & uninterrupted blue skies sets my soul free.

Since we have always followed a strict traditional dress-code on festival days, jeans & shirts were set aside for Diwali. I remember  aunties wearing a beautiful attire called 'mekhala chaddar' —-woven pieces of cloth which can be described  in only one word?EXOTIC —such intricate & perfect weaving.

Memories of  the time spent in the such beautiful surroundings  act as a balm on my soul even today .as the strains of "Om Jai Jagdish Hare" bind together my yesterday, today & tomorrow

PS— even as I am typing this blog the TV channels are full with news of serial blasts in Bengaluru—-a city where I spent my adolescent years .WHEN WILL THIS MADNESS END