Old Friends

The really great thing about friends you go to college with is that – irrespective of the time gap you meet them after – you can just pick up a conversation as if there was no break!
I met two friends for drinks and dinner a few days back, who were with me in engineering college. I have been meeting one of them off and on but the other one, I met for the first time after graduation. Though we kept exchanging mails, we were meeting after exactly a decade.
But the conversation was electric…

Sample these snatches spread over the evening seasoned with large quantities of Bacardi.

About a common friend (actually, Mad Momma’s OA): “I had great respect for him in school because he was the first in our batch to write love letters.”

Recounting a bunked Physics lab: “No really… I did not switch off the mains that day.”

About cost-saving techniques: “When I got off the bus, I used to hand over my ticket to another guy – who would be sitting next to the window. So on one day, he did not buy a ticket. The next day, I didn’t!”

Retort to the above: “You are still like that! You are always doing really sidey stuff to get a Business Class upgrade.”

Suddenly: “You were responsible for their breakup.”

About an extremely eligible bachelor's reasons for not getting married: “Do you remember his boobs? There can’t be four breasts in a marriage.”

This was reminiscent of another time I was meeting another batchmate (from b-school) after a very long time. We were both feared far and wide for our inane conversations.
An excerpt:
Me: “Tera moving ka saara formalities complete ho gaya?”
Him: “Arre, bahut fight chal raha hain… itna kaam baaki hain. Kabhi ghar ke peechhe bhagna padta hain, kabhi gaadi ke peeche.”
Me: “Ghar ke peechhe kyun bhag raha hain?”
Him: “Ghar ke peechhe ek garden hain. Wahan bhag raha hoon. Exercise ke liye.”
Me: “Toh phir gaadi ke peeche kyun bhag raha hain? Kutta hain tu?”

Ah – the inanity of youth!