#203: From my unlocked diaries: A meeting with a long-lost friend!

Have you ever knocked on the door of a house after several decades, trying to trace and connect with a long-lost friend??? If yes, can you relate to the range of emotions that one goes through of self-doubt, the reluctance of just knocking on the door like a total stranger; all with that faint ray of hope that your good old friend still lives there??

The first day of the Deepavali it was - yesterday.? It was a cloudy, overcast Bengaluru October morning.? My niece Dr. Jayashree Rao (Jaychu) and Dr. Suraj (Suraj) had just arrived arrived that morning from Karkala taking an overnight bus.? A morning walk addict that she is, I decided to take Jaychu and Suraj to a nice little park tucked away inside a quiet residential area nearby called Jayamahal extension.

For those of you not familiar with Jayamahal extension, it is a green residential area very near Cantonment Railway station tucked away between Nandi Durg main road on one side, and the TV tower main road (Munireddy Palya road) on the other.? Located right in the middle of Jaymahal is this small but a beautiful park with a water body. ?

After walking for a couple rounds inside the park, and yes, obviously Jaychu taking some pics and selfies, we decided to go around the area, to take a peek around the lovely houses and bungalows that dot the area.? As I walked past of one of the inside roads and approached the corner of the road, a house painted in pale yellow caught my attention.? My memories went back to early 1980s.? Hmm yes, it is the same house ... I was pretty sure.?

Pointing to the house I immediately turned to Jaychu and said – “You know what ... this is where my school friend Prabhakar used to live. We were together from 8th to 10th standard in St. Xavier's School. I used to visit his house often.? I still remember playing cricket on this road and roaming around in cycles”

Jaychu gave me a funny look, and said – “Mama, it is now clear - you are getting old, forgetful and hallucinating. ?I think you are imagining things.? Even if this was your friend’s house, it has been over 40 years and why will he still be living here?" she asked

Maybe she was right, I thought, as I walked past the house, not having enough conviction and courage to give it a try, to knock on the house and check.

But, another look at the house - nothing had changed over so many years. The structure remained the same – just ground and 1st floor, as it was etched very clear in my memory.? It was perhaps an indication that the house was not sold off; maybe the original owner still stayed here?? I was hopeful and turned to Jaychu, and said – “I am going to try and knock on the door, do a ‘cold call’ and give it a try, to meet my long-lost friend”.

Both Jaychu and Suraj dissuaded me from executing on my crazy, impulsive idea of knocking on the door of some random house, especially in this day and age when people have to forewarn before descending on homes. Both of them were very sceptical, to just knock on some unknown house like total strangers.?

But something inside me was telling me ... I should give it a try.? I told Jaychu – “I am going to give it a try”.

Both Jaychu and Suraj were quite clear; they are going to scoot from the scene, if it turned out that it was the wrong house, or Prabhakar did not live there anymore! Unmindful, I gathered my courage and entered the house, opened the gate and knocked on the door and also rang on the calling bell on the ground floor.

There was no response. After almost 2 minutes an old lady came out and looked at me with suspicion. Adjusting her 1970 vintage spectacles, she asked in Tamil – “Who are you, what do you want?”

By then Jaychu and Suraj were laughing at me.? They were getting ready to scoot from there; “Mama, I told you.? You are just scaring that old lady – let us leave right now.? You will make a fool of yourself”

Almost giving up, with a faint hope, I asked that old lady in Tamil – “One Prabhakar used to live here many years ago.? Is here still here?”

It seemed like the old lady was hard of hearing.? As she came closer, I repeated it louder. Yes, she now heard it!? Her eyes lit up when she replied – “Next door, upstairs”.

Though I was not sure what the old lady heard and replied about Prabhakar, I decided to press the calling bell on the next door leading to the first-floor house.

After couple of minutes of pin drop silence, out came a person opening the door.? There he was - standing right in front of me; Yes, it was my school friend - Prabhakar!? I had caught him by complete surprise.? He had just perhaps finished his bath.? He was in his shorts and banian!! Prabhakar looked totally confused, as if like a deer in the headlight!! He looked at me, and then at Jaychu and Suraj, thoroughly confused and just not able to place anyone of us.

I then decided to jog his memory by asking him – “Prabhakar, right?”.? To which he just nodded like a doll (that 'Prabhakar' nod had not changed even after so many decades!).

“Do you remember me?” – I asked

He said – ‘No’.

“Do you remember St. Xavier's School … 1980 to 1983? We were in the same class. I used to come to your house often”?

By then, slowly but surely I could notice Prabhakar’s neural connections getting fired ... and finally he said – “Balu”!

There I was, after almost 40 years I had connected with my long-lost friend from School!!

After introducing Jaychu and Suraj, we spoke for a while remembering our good old school days.? Prabhakar particularly remembered how I used to teach him mathematics after school, and he in return would give me cricketers posters of famous cricketers like Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Viv Richard posters from Sports Star and Sports World magazines to which his father subscribed.

I was so glad that I had made the connection and knocked on the door, to find a long-lost friend.?

It is so ironical that both Prabhakar and me lived in the same house for over 4 decades, just about 3 Kms from each other, but have never made that effort to just knock on the door, take that chance, to check on an old friend. I am so glad I did it today.

Friends, next time you go back to your roots, do take that chance, to knock on that door, to check on a long-lost friend. You never know…?

Friends, would love to hear any similar experiencing of reconnecting with a long-lost friend…

Nov 1, 2024

Balu

Please feel free to write in your comments & views to the author at - [email protected]

(The views, ideas and opinions are of the author alone; they cannot & do not represent the views and opinions of the author’s employers, nor do they represent the view of organizations, businesses, or institutions the author is, or has been a part thereof – either present or in the past)