It’s A Reunion!

The date is fixed, and so is the venue. After all these years, the butterflies have come back fluttering in the stomach. Is the scalp showing through the thinning hair? Must fix an appointment for rebonding and hair colouring. Will he be there? Won’t he? What rubbish! I am happily married, and a mother of two. But, I still think I should get into that black outfit that conceals my generous curves and handles. What the hell! I am who I am!

The first reunion can have anyone step back a little and take a good hard look at the mirror. And all the while, the mind rewinds to the yesteryears and throws up retro snippets, especially those delicious bits, the heartaches, the bitchy parts, the yearnings, the positive feel of conquering the world, or the shying away and being in awe of gregarious ones. Remember The Class by Erich Segal?

Rumi Sharma, a homemaker and a mother of two, was in two minds about her school reunion that was just a week away. A promising student during her schooldays, she was one of those shining stars who stood out in all that she did. Her husband’s job, which came with frequent transfers, and the responsibility of the two children tied Rumi down to the home. It wasn’t easy looking at the professional achievements of all her classmates on Facebook and not feeling a twinge of regret for the state she was in now.

When finally she did muster up the courage to walk in on her group of friends, she thanked herself for it. It was as though she had entered her classroom from many years ago. Besides, there are many spinoffs that add to good health!

Up The Oxytocin Level

When a bunch of school friends met after twenty years, nobody quite remembered the prank that had all the A-listers of the final year in school standing on the last benches. The rest of the class, including the regular mischief-makers, looked on, bewildered. But that one memory was enough to melt the distance that years in between had created: “Oh! That biology class!”

The easy banter that flows going down memory lane reminiscing all the pranks, anecdotes and punishments shared feels like letting the knots of an adult life melt away.

New Perspectives

Sharbani, a dentist, started having second thoughts on her resistance to relocation after she met a friend who was in the Armed Forces. His enthusiasm when he narrated interesting anecdotes of a life on the go was infectious. It helped Sharbani consider this as a wonderful opportunity, to travel to new places and live as a local there and spice up an otherwise routine life.

Networking

The old school or college group is the largest reliable network one can ever have. If one is looking for a change of job or information regarding a company they are planning to join, asking around in such groups can bring in valuable inputs. Don’t we all know that?

Rituraj Handa, a small-time garment manufacturer, landed some plum orders to supply to an aviation company after his senior in school who was employed there put in a word for him.

Developing New Hobbies

Subrahmaniam is a customs official. HIs frequent updates on Facebook about his many birding sprees got many in his class group curious. He offered to take them on a birding trip to Uttarakhand, since he was confident about his knowledge of the birds in that territory. The trip was highly successful for two reasons: Firstly, it was an outstation trip with old friends and family. And secondly, it pivoted around a new experience guided by a seasoned birder.

So the next time there is a call for a reunion, just watch that spring in your step, and you will come back with a ready laughter chasing the blues away. Just like Rumi did, wrapped in a cocoon of oxytocin, she went back to rekindling her flair for writing after her friends reminded her how well she used to write onc.

And, there could always be surprise elements like seeing the haughty-missy-in-pigtails mellow down, or the once-upon-a-time hottie turning out to be quite the average person after all, or better still, the shrinking violet actually being the next big name in the market!

I will sign off with this read that I came across, which pretty much explains our apprehensions of a school reunion.