I had been pondering in my mind for the past few days on what I wanted to write about. I thought hard but couldn't come up with anything concrete. I finally zeroed in on one "aspect"...on one "thing" that I wanted to write about... I wanted to write a 'Tribute' to some of the best friends that I have had and that I still have.
No...I am not going to be telling any names and giving qualities of 'these' friends of mine. The tribute that I wish to give them is the acknowledgement on the impact that they have had on my lives.
Having parents who have a transferable job ensured that we kept on our toes and settled down in different places. Living in the office quarters in Chennai and Lucknow helped me gain many friends, not only in the quarters but in the different schools too that I had to study in.
When I recall fond moments of friendship during my school days, many pictures flash by...sports day in school and all of us huddled in our sports houses, rushing off to buy ice-cream during the sports day, planning trips to numerous friends houses, sneaking around in the quarters while playing and hoping that none of our parents called us back home or interrupted our games. These school friends and quarters mates of mine, believe it or not people, where some of my first experiences in mingling with people outside my comfort zone.
Constant bickering and gossips with each of these friends, actually enhanced my communication skills to an extent. Would you believe that we had to keep shifting our language by speaking in Malayalam a moment and then shifting to Hindi or English the next when somebody joined the group or left it.
Some of my fondest memories lay in my visits to the library. We were three and we would plan and go to the library together. Avid readers, we would plan and take the books such that we could exchange them and read. At the end of it, the discussions we had on whether Nancy Drew did the right thing or whether Harry could have escaped and so on, still bring a smile to my face.
In fact, my life so revolved around my friends that each year when the transfer list would come, I would be in tears as a few of my friends would have been transferred to somewhere new. So when the time came for us to be transferred, as you can likely guess, I was in shock and really unsure whether I wanted to go. But that's for another time and place.....
Initially difficult to form friends and understand whom to trust, I ended up befriending a few. Some of these chums are still close to my heart and though we don't keep in touch everyday or every week, we can still catch up on things where we left off without a hitch.
My friends in Lucknow, hhhm......we did have quite fun times. Games like before didn't happen much, time spent with friends were either spent cycling together or walking around or even just sitting down and chatting and 'observing others'.
I do not know how to put into words the impact on my life in Lucknow. All I can say is that those moments where really precious. To mention a few, all the big fights (though they feel really small and stupid now!!!), the peace prayers :D, the moments spent in the nooks and crannies of the quarters, the ultimate passing of comments on everything we saw....hhmm...wonderful....
So I completed my studies sin Lucknow and then landed in Kerala, Vallikav to be precise. I joined Amrita in Vallicav for my graduation.
You can imaging my horror and my disbelief at the turn of events. Kerala was home for me, but home to come to in the summer holidays and I thought it was going to be really difficult here. I joined Amrita with a 'serious' outlook. I had decided (God alone knows for what!) that I was to be serious and that there was to be no fooling around (like in Lucknow).
So my first few weeks went uneventfully and gradually I made a few friends. In Amrita, though I felt that I had friends, I never thought that I had very close buddies. It was only towards the end of my graduation and after my graduation, that I discovered my good buddies.
Times at Amrita are hard to describe. There were good moments and bad moments. There were instances where the person whom you believed was your friend was no longer your friends and those people whom you felt had nothing in common with you became very good friends. It can be aptly described to be like that of a roller-coaster ride. But when I got off at the end of three years, I did have a wonderful treasure of friends, not just among my classmates and other steams and disciplines but even a teacher or too.
My days at Amrita shaped me to a large extent to what I am today...
Last I come to my classmates and my friends at Rajagiri...What do I say about them....Quite a lot I guess...So I am signing off for now....Sign in later for the next episode of 'The Tribute' to know about this bunch of buds.....
No...I am not going to be telling any names and giving qualities of 'these' friends of mine. The tribute that I wish to give them is the acknowledgement on the impact that they have had on my lives.
Having parents who have a transferable job ensured that we kept on our toes and settled down in different places. Living in the office quarters in Chennai and Lucknow helped me gain many friends, not only in the quarters but in the different schools too that I had to study in.
When I recall fond moments of friendship during my school days, many pictures flash by...sports day in school and all of us huddled in our sports houses, rushing off to buy ice-cream during the sports day, planning trips to numerous friends houses, sneaking around in the quarters while playing and hoping that none of our parents called us back home or interrupted our games. These school friends and quarters mates of mine, believe it or not people, where some of my first experiences in mingling with people outside my comfort zone.
Constant bickering and gossips with each of these friends, actually enhanced my communication skills to an extent. Would you believe that we had to keep shifting our language by speaking in Malayalam a moment and then shifting to Hindi or English the next when somebody joined the group or left it.
Some of my fondest memories lay in my visits to the library. We were three and we would plan and go to the library together. Avid readers, we would plan and take the books such that we could exchange them and read. At the end of it, the discussions we had on whether Nancy Drew did the right thing or whether Harry could have escaped and so on, still bring a smile to my face.
In fact, my life so revolved around my friends that each year when the transfer list would come, I would be in tears as a few of my friends would have been transferred to somewhere new. So when the time came for us to be transferred, as you can likely guess, I was in shock and really unsure whether I wanted to go. But that's for another time and place.....
 |
| Some of my close buds at Chennai |
So now we come to my next set of friends...my friends at Lucknow...both quarters and school. It probably had to do with my age as I was joined the 11th standard when I reached Lucknow but my experiences here were certainly different.
Initially difficult to form friends and understand whom to trust, I ended up befriending a few. Some of these chums are still close to my heart and though we don't keep in touch everyday or every week, we can still catch up on things where we left off without a hitch.
My friends in Lucknow, hhhm......we did have quite fun times. Games like before didn't happen much, time spent with friends were either spent cycling together or walking around or even just sitting down and chatting and 'observing others'.
 |
| Going crazy at Holi :) |
 |
| After Farewell, at one of our favorite hangs.... |
I do not know how to put into words the impact on my life in Lucknow. All I can say is that those moments where really precious. To mention a few, all the big fights (though they feel really small and stupid now!!!), the peace prayers :D, the moments spent in the nooks and crannies of the quarters, the ultimate passing of comments on everything we saw....hhmm...wonderful....
So I completed my studies sin Lucknow and then landed in Kerala, Vallikav to be precise. I joined Amrita in Vallicav for my graduation.
You can imaging my horror and my disbelief at the turn of events. Kerala was home for me, but home to come to in the summer holidays and I thought it was going to be really difficult here. I joined Amrita with a 'serious' outlook. I had decided (God alone knows for what!) that I was to be serious and that there was to be no fooling around (like in Lucknow).
So my first few weeks went uneventfully and gradually I made a few friends. In Amrita, though I felt that I had friends, I never thought that I had very close buddies. It was only towards the end of my graduation and after my graduation, that I discovered my good buddies.
Times at Amrita are hard to describe. There were good moments and bad moments. There were instances where the person whom you believed was your friend was no longer your friends and those people whom you felt had nothing in common with you became very good friends. It can be aptly described to be like that of a roller-coaster ride. But when I got off at the end of three years, I did have a wonderful treasure of friends, not just among my classmates and other steams and disciplines but even a teacher or too.
 |
| Some of the wonderful moments captured.... |
 |
| Our farewell.... |
My days at Amrita shaped me to a large extent to what I am today...
Last I come to my classmates and my friends at Rajagiri...What do I say about them....Quite a lot I guess...So I am signing off for now....Sign in later for the next episode of 'The Tribute' to know about this bunch of buds.....
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