Reminiscence…

A lot can happen, in two years and a half. In fact a lot has happened…In these two years and a half!!!

Still fresh in my mind… is the day one… the day one @ Cogni!!

A cute smiling face peeped out of the car that was along side the bike my dad and me were traveling in… It was a very memorable ride for me… and with apparent excitement; she greeted me with a friendly ‘Hi’. She seemed very happy for some reason. I found out the reason in a few moments. Upon reaching our common destination, I was instructed by my new ‘middle-of-the-road-acquaintance’ to wait for her. She had figured I was from the same college as her’s… she had recognized me in the midst of the traffic!... and was elated that she had with her, at least one remotely familiar face, amidst an ocean of unknown faces we were just going to meet.

I was elated from my side too, to have found my first companion, and with whom I can share my ‘first-day-jitters’ with… as I ventured into my exciting odyssey into the corporate world…

...Introducing Karpagam… - Oh….I learnt not just her name…but quite a lot about this Tamilian Brahmin… apart from the fact that she is from the same college as me, but a different department from mine. In just 5 minutes of interaction with this peppy ‘chitter-chatter’ gal whom I gladly be-friended, I already liked her and was pleased to have met another person who loves talking as much as I do!! :)

After about quarter an hour, my class mate from college… a dimply mallu gal… Introducing Vidya… joined me, as we had pre-planned to meet at the venue before going inside the meeting hall for our formal induction sessions. A brief introduction was made between these two gals and after a little MOPian chat, we stepped inside the hall…Karpagam with her gang and me with mine.

[Amidst the sea of new faces, sat somewhere two more gals and guys from four different colleges… unknown to each other (…as yet…) equally excited and anxious as the 3 gals from MOP!!! ]

In the coming days… the once totally unfamiliar faces, seemed familiar and smiles and greetings were exchanged randomly between this new set of about a few hundred people… who together came to be called as the ‘ELT Batch mates of July 2005’.

Eventually after a week of group induction, this huge gang was split up into several smaller groups of ‘training batches’ of about 25 in each… college mates’ n newly formed friends were separated  in this process and new friendships were forced to be formed…however, we the MOPian landed up in the same group… which was named ‘AM005’!

As we celebrated our being together… one quite gal sat amidst us, quite apparently missing her friend who was put into the other class. But this Iyer ponnu was not gonna be left lonely… introducing Archana… joined the three of us for coffee breaks @ our favourite ‘Horlicks bar’ and girlie chitter-chatter. All being from similar background – BSc grad, day scholars from girl’s college… it didn’t take us too long to form a close knit gang and enjoy this new fun-life… which we referred to as a ‘second college’ @ Siruseri!

In AM005, there was this pretty looking gal, with whom I didn’t have much interaction with until we were put into the same assignment team… after which we grew so fond of each other, for reasons unknown. Delicately made up hairstyle, neatly done make up and a smile fixed on to her face at all times… oh yes…I still remember the way her face lit up during those frequent calls from her beloved (…at that time, I jus guessed...) …introducing Maha.

As I slowly mingled with my fellow trainees along with these gals, a new found excitement creeped up in me… after three years of college life with only girls around (…hehe...!) this mixed gathering brought a spark of excitement along… and several hidden qualities within me (…which I myself didn’t realize I had possessed…until then…) were brought to the fore!

One day, it was during the time when ‘Exit-Tests’ were round the corner and the neighboring class had already had them… we wanted to check on how it went through… I found one guy from that class approachable… (…or so I thought!) During a coffee break, I walked up to him and enquired about the test… and poor guy…I still remember (…am sure, so would Kappu…) the nervousness he portrayed just to answer a question put across by a stranger gal! :) It was a comical scene… introducing Harish. And hence grew the friendship (…slowly the nervousness ceased…and our friend’s circle also widened…)

There were several little gangs formed at Siruseri. One of the more prominent one of them was the bunch of notorious guys whose main hobby was teasing just anyone who passed by. And we were no exceptions to that. Gutsy nicknames were created… (…Maha was ‘Mema’ – Makeup Maha!! & Me – Candy!! Reason? Ask them!!... ) crazy remarks were passed and in this process these guys successfully managed to get into the hate list of many delicate gals… who feared these pranksters! But I found them extremely funny…! Especially one main brat of the gang… (…whose name we figured out from the register one day… :) )… Introducing Tommy. Never did I speak to this guy during training… but had decided one day I would… and that was to happen one day after our training came to an end…

Before we knew it, two months were up… and it was time to bid good byes to friends and batch mates. Much trepidation was created on the probable transfer of entire AM005 to Coimbatore. A week long of suspense prevailed… which I termed as ‘negative surprise’ for some reason…! It was during one of our anxious days @ TCO that I be-friended Tommy… the brat we were so used to seeing in Siruseri, had turned into a gentleman. Two reasons for this… (1) He was not with his gang of Brats!! (2) He was already allocated into a project and monsieur was probably trying to look serious on his new job!! :)

At last the long wait ended and each of us from our batch was allocated into projects right in Chennai! It was a bitter-sweet moment for all of us. The happiness of learning that Coimbatore episode ended… mixed with the somberness on parting with friends… once again… and this time for good!

Each one of us got busy settling into our new projects and our little gang was split.  

[But little did we know then, that that was just the beginning!!:) ]

Archu and Me ended up in the same project (…am still coursing my bad luck for that!!... :P ), Maha ended up in Tommy’s team. Kappu and Vids were allocated to different projects in different locations and Harish was yet to be allocated.

Slowly, (…I still don’t know how it happened so smoothly…!) we formed a sort of gang @ Navallur when all of us except dear Kappu moved to that location. Tommy and Harish were introduced to each other by us the gals, and they got along great. And then came by one team mate of Archu’s and mine who was a few months senior to us but somehow fitted into our gang so easily… introducing Swadeep.

Personalized-group mails were exchanged… fun and frolic never ended… the madness for photos were equally shared by all…birthday treat outing…surprise parties… home visiting……and lo!! “Dearies” was created!!! :) This bunch of 8… spelt absolute fun and nurture unlimited memories to carry for years to come…

Today as I sit here and recollect all the times we have had together, I smile to myself as I recall the various developments that have happened in each of the Dearies’ lives… “Promotions… job recogonition…project shifts…personal problems… little quarrels and fights… misunderstandings… secret moments…lending shoulder to each other, for comfort… higher studies…resignations… onsite travels… proposals… hints of wedding bells (wonder who is gonna be the first!!!)...“   and so on and so forth…

Life really has changed a LOT in the past 2 years and a half…and we have come a very long way from being absolute strangers….to the closest of friends. But one thing has never changed… and will never change… it’s the special bond that we share with each other and above all else…. Our Friendship!! :)