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Buddies for life
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The years fly past when childhood friends catch up on their lives
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TANI, MAMTA and Preeti were childhood friends. They grew up together in Calcutta in the same para (locality) and went to different schools, but met every single evening. Till a quarter to seven when it was time to get back home, they would chat, laugh, giggle, argue and do all the things little girls did all over the world. Their life was uncomplicated, exciting and there never was a dull moment.
Soon, they grew up and it was time to move on to newer places and a life very different from what they knew. The friends got caught up in the maelstrom of their own lives - college, career, marriage and children - and they lost touch. Years sped past and there was no communication.
Meeting again
Decades later, they decided to meet up - three women in their forties; older, wiser and bereft of the innocence and naiveté they carried around them like shining armour. For 24 long hours, they left their office, husbands and children behind them. When they finally met, the moment was indescribable. Suddenly it became difficult to swallow, their vision turned hazy and gait became uncertain. Then, amazingly in one swoop, all those intervening years just vanished and they fell into each other's arms laughing and jumping up and down with excitement.
Notwithstanding the grey hair, spectacles and matronly bearing, they were once again the same old pig-tailed threesome. They sat up all night talking, laughing, listening and sometimes even crying as they shared the sorrows and disappointments life had dished out to them. But they rejoiced and laughed as well, at those experiences, the happy ones that warmed their hearts and made them feel life was worth living.
"Remember, how we always knew when the other was upset and tried to comfort her just by being by her side," asked Tani.
Report cards and boys
Their most memorable escapades happened when it was report card day. "If there were mad parents to contend on that day, we would steer clear of each other's homes lest we should get caught in the firing line," they recall.
One favourite topic of discussion was the boys, who had also grown up with them. "Everyone says that when one person in a group `acquires' a boyfriend, it alienates the others. In our case, that just did not happen. Every last detail of where Tani and her boyfriend went and what they did was relayed faithfully to boyfriend-less us," recall Mamta and Preeti.
"I was the one in love, but the thrill and excitement of first love was shared by all three," chips in Tani.
Their 24 hours up, the real world intruded and the three friends had to get back to their respective worlds. But, each of them came away feeling enriched, younger at heart and spirit and incredibly happier. As for the children, "They are still amused at how their normally sane mothers turned girlish and excited at the thought of meeting each other," they chorus.
PANKAJA SRINIVASAN
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