A few weeks ago, someone mailed me out of the blue and said.. "You mentioned something about National Public School, Bangalore in one of your posts. Did you study in the Indiranagar branch? I don't remember you, but I am 23 and I studied there from 1986-2000."
I replied saying that I was indeed from the same branch and that I studied there from 1986-1994, but that I didn't recollect her either. We then exchanged a couple of mails about our teachers and classmates and concluded from their names that we only studied in the same section in the first standard! Since we had never known each other in school, the emails died down soon. But I was left wondering about my really close friends back then.
Although most events and people so far back in the past are hazy memories, I never could forget this girl who used to sit next to me in the fifth standard. The reason being that I used to make her cry almost every single day with some prank or the other. I would place my pencil box on her seat when she stood up to answer a question. I would imitate her voice. I would steal her pencils, rubbers and sharpeners. I must also mention here, the competition we had on who could write in a "smaller" print.. lol. You would need a microscope to read what we had written.
So I decided to try and look her up on Names Database. And *surprise* *surprise* it worked. I found the matching first and last name! I crossed my fingers and dashed away a quick message. A few days later.. I get an email that started.. "Hi Leon, This is the same stupid girl who used to sit next to you in fifth standard..." That made my day.. :-)
Of course, I don't expect to be in touch for very long. She studied with me 11 years back.. So what? We have gone our different ways since. No friends in common, no events in common, no classes in common, no job in common. We have probably grown up very different from what we were. She is as good as a stranger now. In fact, if I happened to meet her, I wouldn't have anything to say!
But that still doesn't take away the thrill of having communicated in some way with someone you never in your wildest dreams imagined you would ever talk to or hear of again...
To think my blogging triggered this.. :D.
I replied saying that I was indeed from the same branch and that I studied there from 1986-1994, but that I didn't recollect her either. We then exchanged a couple of mails about our teachers and classmates and concluded from their names that we only studied in the same section in the first standard! Since we had never known each other in school, the emails died down soon. But I was left wondering about my really close friends back then.
Although most events and people so far back in the past are hazy memories, I never could forget this girl who used to sit next to me in the fifth standard. The reason being that I used to make her cry almost every single day with some prank or the other. I would place my pencil box on her seat when she stood up to answer a question. I would imitate her voice. I would steal her pencils, rubbers and sharpeners. I must also mention here, the competition we had on who could write in a "smaller" print.. lol. You would need a microscope to read what we had written.
So I decided to try and look her up on Names Database. And *surprise* *surprise* it worked. I found the matching first and last name! I crossed my fingers and dashed away a quick message. A few days later.. I get an email that started.. "Hi Leon, This is the same stupid girl who used to sit next to you in fifth standard..." That made my day.. :-)
Of course, I don't expect to be in touch for very long. She studied with me 11 years back.. So what? We have gone our different ways since. No friends in common, no events in common, no classes in common, no job in common. We have probably grown up very different from what we were. She is as good as a stranger now. In fact, if I happened to meet her, I wouldn't have anything to say!
But that still doesn't take away the thrill of having communicated in some way with someone you never in your wildest dreams imagined you would ever talk to or hear of again...
To think my blogging triggered this.. :D.
23 comments:
I'm happy that you got in touch with someone you tortured. Hopefully she'll torture you now. :P
But since that is completely unlikely, let me just say that blogging is probabaly the best way (ignore orkut, it's almost worthless) to get hold of old freinds. :) Worked for me too.
Hey guess what .. i had a similar experience .... only this time i found my Class 3 friend on orkut ( Camphor , orkut does work sometime :) ) I know how it feels to get in touch with someone after so long ... Good that you tried to
Nice feeling na ...
PS : I used to sit next to her too :) only i "was"( cough cough ) a good boy.
cho chweet !!!
I am lookiing for an half irish half Mallu boy who played Joseph in the Xmas play where i was Mary :)
p.s. you need a haircut ;)
[Camphor] What have I ever done to you for you to want her to 'torture' me? Or are you just rooting for one of YOUR kind.. :p
Yeah.. "Best" way is right.. though probably not the easiest. You get to know so much about a person from what they write... and their style of writing.
[Harish] But if I remember right, you studied until 10th in the same school. So you probably knew someone who knew her.. And sure Orkut works.. it is DESIGNED to work. Yup.. nice feeling indeed.. :-)
Like I'm going to take your word. :p.. Anyways, good for you.. but I had more FUN.. :D
[Silverine] Thank you.. Hope you find him.. Perhaps he's already among the horde of your male readers, but is too scared to come out in the open.. :p. What are you going to do when you find him?.. hehe.
You're right.. I DO need a hair cut.. It's just that my mom's not here to keep pestering me to have one. Thanks for substituting.. :p.. What would I ever do without you?
hey... i had a similar experience too.. but only that it did not happen thru the cyber wrld... this really close 3rd std frnd of mine whom i had totally lost touch with since.... one day walks up to my house and asks for me... sad that i wasnt hme at tat time!!! mom had a nice long chat with her and i happened to c her much later.... wat a gr8 time we had!!! however i havent been in touch for more than a yr now... hoping to spend time with her when i go in december!!!
//We have gone our different ways since. No friends in common, no events in common, no classes in common, no job in common. We have probably grown up very different from what we were.
I completely agree with u.. but my frnd dint seem like a stranger to me after all those yrs(14 to be precise)... both of us had this strong yearning to meet each other... about which ofcourse we discussed when we met... it was such an AWWWEESOOOME feeling!!...
I am glad u had a similar experience!!
Hey div.. that must've been a cool experience.. imagine someone actually coming to your house after all those years!.. :-)
Hope you guys get together in december..
Do you have to keep reminding me that you're going to India.. when you know I'm not.. grrr.. :p
(bawls).. I wanna go home too.. :-(.
Well Nirmal my man , i have been to FIVE schools from LKG to the 10th and she was from the second school in Coimbatore... I kinda remembered her name abd the fact that she used to have double plaits ... thats it . Nothing more Nothing Less ....
Oops.. I was wrong.. :D
But you still didn't have as much FUN as me.. hehe.
I used names database too...but no luck finding the gal I used to do the same things that you have described here well excluding the fine print...wish me luck :)..
Its indeed a small small round roung world. You tend to bump into people lot many times.
As for me, I think all ma colleagues from school and college are extinct...I neva got any contacts :(
Best way short of running into the person RL, I guess. There are things you don't say, and parts you don't show on Blogs.
Ah well. Now you've got me wishing SOMEONe would show at orkut, it's impossible that I've been in seven schools in my life, and I havent' found anyone who was in those schools when I was. What are my classmates doing? Studying?!
hey i was in NPS rajajinagar branch from 87 to 91, i cant forget one boy who used to trouble me a lot always for no reason, he used to hate me and on one occasions i was saved by my friend.. really good post and it made me go back to those school days :)
[Navin] Good Luck!!
[Arz000n] Well.. you never know.. You might bump into someone TODAY..
[Camphor] True but then even when you "run into" a person, "there are things you don't say and parts you don't show.." In my case, my blog pals know as much about me as my friends around me do. (Or rather, could know if they choose to).. :-)
I wish you wouldn't use 'RL' so often.. After all bloggers are real too... :p..
[Sugee] Talk about coincidences!! Another one from NPS!!! Happy reminiscing... :-)..
Amazing!!!!!! :D
ps: I see the tall, dark, handome guy has a new profile photo! ;)
Sayesha, the girl who first mailed me said she bloghopped over here from your blog... So thanks.. :-).
PS: *blush*
NPS is one of the better schools in Bangalore and they do produce the so called "brains".
Coming to your post, its really nostalgic when you bump into an old friend, isnt it? It makes me feel good.
Err.. I doubt very much if I'm one of those so called "brains".. :D
You're right of course.. In fact this post was a result of nostalgia.. :-)
@Leon: When I find him I will first twist his ears for daring to leave my side in the Nativity Scene to have a look at Baby Jesus! The whole auditorium was laughing because he was busy playing with the Baby Jesus doll. We had not seen the doll during rehearsals you see.I was in Kindergarten then :))
Ouch..
Haha.. Poor chap.. (suspiciously) Are you sure it wasn't you who left his side to go play with the Baby Jesus doll?.. Or were you a tomboy back then? :p
PS: I have made an appointment with my hair dresser. Please do not twist my ears... please... :D
Hey! Thanks.. :-).
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