The four of us—best friends from school, college and work—met after a long time, though it didn’t feel like we’d missed a single beat.
We came together, all decked out, at the beautiful wedding reception of Kashmira’s son; she’s standing on the far right in the picture. Next to the mother of the groom is me, Parizad, with Farida and Prema.
We were so excited about the evening and the chance to catch up that Farida, Prema and I even decided to time our entrance—but we almost didn’t make it, thanks to Mumbai’s rush-hour traffic.
Our reunion began in typical fashion. We hugged, laughed, ribbed each other, and shouted exclamations of “It’s always so good to see you!” and “You haven’t changed a bit!” (Who were we kidding?) over loud Bollywood music to which the lovely bride and groom, and their friends, swayed and danced on the floor.
There were reminiscences, too. What is it about friends who walk down memory lane every time they meet? I suppose reliving the good times, the happy moments, is one of the great joys of friendship.
I like to think of it this way—our common past somehow makes the present feel even more special; and in sharing those days with our children, now grown up and settled, we are passing down the baton of friendship.
The rest of the evening was spent in joyful celebration, over lively conversations, drinks and appetisers, a sumptuous buffet and yummy dessert, posing for photographs and making more memories to relive another day. And, of course, there was the promise to meet again soon.
In so many ways, my life is better for knowing Kashmira, Farida and Prema as friends for life, and I’m sure they feel the same way.
To our readers, when was the last time you met old friends?
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