A memory

It was a very crucial day. Our standard eighth results were going to be declared. But more than that, we would find out if our friends remained with us in the same class. "Shuffling" was, back then, the most feared word. Indrani calls me up, and sweet that she is, proceeds to tell me in her sing song voice.." You know whaaaat, aaaal the classes have been maintained, only section E has been shuffled". There, that moment, that was it.

Section E was very different. Very important. Very hep. It was a hybrid between the first boy and the naughtiest. It had the coolest class teacher. It had my then raging crush. But more importantly, it had DV. We had fought with teachers to let us sit together, we had gossip sessions every thursday afternoon after school, on the terrace attic, where weekly post mortem would be made of every word said, every look exchanged, every feeling felt....as if talking through every damn period, five days a week was not enough.

DV was my best friend then. In some unknown, intutioned way, she was the only one in school who always got what i said, and more importantly, what i did not. She understood my erratic mood swings, my continuous bad temper, my irritably faulty logic, my anal desire to be "always right"...and accepted me the way I am. But thats not the reason I loved her. I did, because I did. Simple. I hated that she was obsessed about her hair, that she was too girlish at times, that she always had to argue and put me in my place, but being her friend came so naturally ....we were the two most different individuals there ever could be, but there you go...

And so, being separated from her was unthinkable. Hell, if she came late for assembly, I would freak out, forget not being in the same class for a year !! We even considered mollifying the Principal, that if she wanted good results, she should definitely consider putting us back where we belonged. But this was in 2002, and a lot has happened since then...

Times change. People change even faster. I hardly talk to her once a month now. But think of her, I do. Very very often. Whenever I run into probable troubles with the other, more prominent parts of my life. And with me, thats not very rare :) But most interestingly, whenever I meet her, I feel not a day has lapsed. That we are back again, she still as passionate about whatever she is passionate about, me, still wondering what exactly it is that I am passionate about...

A lot has changed. But after a decade, we are, in a very weirdly, far away, twisted way, still the same. Love you leech ;)