Dignity Dialogue — May 2022

 TRAVEL ISSUE — Cover Story

                                          Swami Vivekananda Temple at Kanyakumari

Buddies and Bonding

Raj S. Rangarajan

We have been buddies since college in 1958 and remain in touch. For our 60th anniversary as classmates in Ramnarain Ruia College in Mumbai, nine of us — four men with their better halves and yours truly — decided to traverse down memory lane. 

Thanks to Club Mahindra Resort membership spearheaded by two trip organisers, we have done the gamut of outings ranging from Ashtamudi and Poovar in Kerala to Yercaud and Tanjavoor in Tamil Nadu and Mahableshwar in Maharashtra, and many more. Our eclectic mix of nine comprised former corporate and government executives, bankers and entrepreneurs, homemakers and consultants.

We were as adept at playing rummy as spending cool evenings with elixirs from Scotland or dancing away the evenings. Our homemaker bunch was happy and grateful for the worry-free breaks from daily chores. Some of us were content in discussing gardening or shopping, and of course catching up on gossip. Others excelled in spiritual outpourings or astrology.

The mornings at these Club Mahindra breakfasts were leisurely accentuated by professionally laid-out culinary spreads with forbidden specialities becoming the norm, never mind the health standpoint. We got to indulge in some of these goodies that one does not make at home. Occasionally we felt there was no tomorrow!

Desserts were exquisite and one could die for the almond baklava. Afternoon boat rides on the Ashtamudi Lake in Quilon, Kerala were experiences to cherish and reminisce about. Not to forget freshly-fried mouth-watering cholesterol-rich “’bhajiyas’ at 4:30 pm, washed down with masala chai while admiring the placid lake. Camaraderie and fellowship were unmatched. Nostalgia formed the fabric of our conversations. Every old episode had a story to tell and the retelling of some had their own inevitable embellishments.

While we did have the usual arguments and lapses in memory, it was always a fun experience to meet up in March every year. Year 2021 was the exception. Each of us had our favourite tale of woe blended with geriatric affectations — some more dramatic than others. Having known each other for more than 60 glorious years, we were very predictable and argumentative: we laughed at the same old jokes, and occasionally completed each other’s sentences like so many seasoned couples.

With an approximate total age count of 700+ years between us, one of the aspirations of some was to skydive or bungee jump. If a former US president could do it at the age of 90, why not us?

                                                            Thanjavur Mandir