Yesterday, I was getting late for college as I was looking for my scarf. As I looked through my cupboard, and pulled all the clothes down, on the top of the heap lay one piece of cloth, a piece of history. Each wrinkle on it whispered of a memory, a cherished one. The faded color reminded me of how we had evolved over the years. There lay my school shirt, my heart still beating in its pocket.
I remember the last day of school. We were all running around collecting slam sheets, slam books, clearing the lockers, clicking photos, wishing luck, hugging, ensuring that nothing was left behind.
I know something was. Something we could never collect...
The endless sessions of dumb charades, the waiting at the brownie counter for sale to begin, the innumerable sambar vadas munched up in the canteen, the long strolls on warm winter mornings, that mindless chatter, those careless giggles, broken hearts, mended hearts, again broken hearts, again mended hearts, crushed crushes, flourishing crushes, that random breaking into a song, that leg pulling, that hide and seek, hiding behind the Biology lab, that preserving of bills, those sweet messages behind those bills, those movies watched, those silly jokes cracked, "How do you put the elephant in the fridge?"~"Open the fridge and put it!", Lol!, that
oonch neech ka papda, those hair styling sessions, those hair care and skin care tips, those "pun intended" dialogues, those double meaning dialogues, that beatboxing, those confessions, those naughty grins, those sweet SMSes, that running behind the teachers for doubts, those long untiring fights for that half a mark, the jitters before the results, those truths revealed, that borrowing of blazers, those skits prepared, the Sholay remake, those first day first shows, those little chits of sweet messages, the endless carrot cake that aunty would make so sweetly, those cups of coffee, that gun powder...the one you have with idlis, hehe, masala dosas, overboiled beans, that copying of teachers, how they'd laugh, the flamingos, Chi chi, that Shanta ben, those songs transferred, those pictures clicked, those pranks on other people, those apologies after the pranks, hehe, those little misunderstandings, that laughing over it later, that badminton played, those misplaced shuttle cocks, that sweet "Frank"ness, haha, Dugs fan, SRK fan, ceiling fan, lol!, those birthday parties, fancy dress, those class tests, that cheating,
furra, hehe, that getting caught, "First time ma'am!", Liar!, that solving of doubts, "As if", those auto rides, four people, one auto, extra classes, warning the auto driver "
Bhaiya! Khatarnaak raasta hai, mat jao" in an effort to dissuade him,
hehee, that group study, Malayali music, peppy beats, those long phone chats, sharing gossip, a piece of each other, that "Best of Luck!" during exams, looking around the class for that familiar face, that swinging of chairs, the jumping from the windows, those tears shed, those tears wiped, that enacting of movie scenes, that ever smiling security guard uncle, "How will you put the giraffe in the fridge?"~"Simple. Take out the elephant and put the giraffe in!", God!, those little cards, that giving of "out of the world" movies in dumb charades, Howrah Bridge, what not, truth and dare, pen fights, "I want that heavy pen!", those lovely dance performances, those loud shrieky
seetis, that signature step, two thuds and a V shown to the world, hustle, bustle, loyalty, those little pups, respect, those cute cats, the assemblies, the speeches, the backstage drama, the cheering, the annual day, that ignoring, hehe, the only sir in eleventh, weird, Golden Guide and all that crap, "Myself RC", haha, those cartoons made, the limitless sketches, portraits, that waiting for break, that just lazing around, those lectures, the twitched eyebrow, that imitating that expression, the raised eyebrow, that "Xerox machines, all of you!", photocopying perpetually, keval buttery bittery coffee, haha!, the assignments, the chalk and duster, locker keys, cellphones, "Aaa! Bag checking!", the Essel World, haha, Moonsilk shampoo, the daily newspaper collection, sudokus, astrological predictions,"Oohoo", the incessant coughing, those dimples,
Kutta khansi, TB patients, hehe, "There was a meeting of the animal kingdom. Which animal was absent?"~"
Arey! The Giraffe
na, poor fellow was in the fridge!", haha, hehe, long hair, small eyes that close when the person smiles, requirements of a certain person, umm...hehe, those stomach aches after so much laughing, "You were born mad and you will die mad!" a little girl shouting, "And in between also, I'll be mad" that adding of that phrase that made the little girl laugh,
bas....aen, that patting of the back "
Control yaar!", that dusting of the back "
Jhaad!", lol, cough cough, the fisherwoman hairstyle, "Just joking around only OK!", "
Itna mat le yaar!", that bunking classes, that being seen and entering class with a foolish grin, "I thought I didn't have a best friend.....now I know I do!", awww!, those kites, our dreams flying with them, higher, mwahs, those "I will switch off the lights!", "What's the next period?", tick tick one, tick tick two, those forwards, "Where do you take the bus from?"~"From the ground!", ahem ahem, hehe, PJ!, that pulling of cheeks, those sprouts, those two cookies, that "Essence", cough cough, cough some more.....................
These are just a few of the so many memories that I carry, deep inside that pocket. May be our laughs still reverberate in that beautiful classroom, may be children still hide behind the Biology lab, and may be that half a mark is still fought for.
May be.
There are so many people we meet along the journey of life, but few who leave a lasting impression on our minds. I want to tell you just one thing friend.
Thank you for who you are and all that you mean to me. Thank you for believing in me, and making me believe in myself. Thank you for everything!
My warmest thanks to all of you - IR, JK, MA, NS and SN!! : )
I wiped my tears on the shirt, put it back neatly and left.
