Picnic at the big mountain

Chilly morning wind, bank of of an Himalayan lake and and a backdrop of breathtaking mountains, what could be a better spot for a picnic. I saw this group of Americans braving the sharp cold on the side of lake Pangong at 13,500ft up in the Himalayas. Swaddled in down jackets they were enjoying mangoes, the bounty of the tropics. Watching them made me hungry too. All you need is the company of your friends to make even an inhospitable terrain a party place.

Twenty years Apart

Till a year back, Facebook for me, was just another way to keep in touch with my family on the other side of the globe. My friend list was limited to a half a dozen of cousins. Then I added a few work friends to make connecting easy. And that was that. I did not go looking for people or try to make 'friends'. I live more in the real world than the virtual.

Then, one day I got a message from someone asking me if was the same Aarti who studied with him in school. I was surprised, to say the least. I never occurred to me that someone would go looking for me on Internet. I let the message lay in my inbox, unanswered. I mulled over it for weeks and then thought 'Hey! What the hell! If people want to get back in touch why not? I replied and accepted the friend request. Floodgates opened.

Long lost, some forgotten, some remembered and missed classmates started mushrooming on the site. Friend requests exchanged and accepted. Within a month or so I was in touch with so many of my schoolmates. Now they are friends!

After the initial messaging, all of us wanted to talk. It is very difficult to describe the flow of emotions that accompanied the first conversations. To hear someone's voice after 20 years is astounding. All those memories come rushing in. The sights , sounds, behaviour I associated with them in school was suddenly fresh. The time span of two decades fizzled out. There was no awkwardness no fumbling for words. Guess all that time spent together does account for something.

All of us have changed over the years. What has not changed, is the camaraderie that we shared amongst us in school. I think school years are magical. Growing up may make us cynics but the innocence associated with those childhood days makes us friends all over again.

Thanks to Fb and everyone's efforts to bring back old friends.

My friend list is touching 100 and not with friends of friends or random people. These are my friends 20 years apart yet close.