My Little Secret

The day was cloudy, around 3.30pm. The wind was chill but it had an air of warmth in it. "How else could it be with my long lost friends huddling around me", I wondered! The place was crowded like hell and we lost in the ocean of humans... one of the most noted places in Bangalore with all the jazzy and huge exteriors, the 'hep hep' crowd filling it in and out, the branded shops - a new way to disperse hard earned money, a cool place to hangout for coolheads, for families catching up desparately with the modernism, equally notorious for the traffic created by the vehicles pouring in to coverup the parking lot, amidst those struggling to find a way through the stretch of road leading to it... the Forum Mall.

We three were sitting on the raised platform inside the mall's campus, just facing all these show-offs and lost in our own tiny world. The sweet smell of hot corn in damp wind was a luxury in itself, and me relishing every single grain of it! My head dropped back to get the complete view of the mall in all it's grandeur when a sudden surge of awe and excitement gushed within!

I lost them and many others some 9 years ago... amidst the silent town of Neyveli, a pleasant place for people who love the serenity and calmness it has to generously offer. The innocence of our childhoods shaped in the stillness of such a place... The beautiful people who shared every aspect of my childhood... the classrooms, the gruelling exams, the monotonous classes and witty comments from backbenches, the lunches under shady trees, the tours and picnics, the grey and white attire cheering our commonalities... So beautiful are school friends... and they are even more beautiful when found after long years... brighter, more matured and shaped up in their own distinct way!

The glaring contrast between the place where we lost track of each other and the mall where we got together ultimately... it was a rude shock for me! Before I could realize I said something, I was startled by my own words, ringing in my ears "Idha naama school-la irundhappa nenachchi paathoma?" (meaning, did we think of it when we were in school?)

I knew my sentence was too vague to attribute to anything but Mr.S was ready to react with his comments on the atrocious pricing of these days. "30 bucks for such a small cup of corn!" he commented. Ms.M added her thoughts to it and the argument moved on. I was simply surprised at their misinterpretation of my context but somehow I didnot want to tear my feelings into a bunch of small words and hang it up for display. I sealed it as a secret in a silent smile and was listening to them attentively.

The excitement of meeting old friends, of talking to them after long years... the excitement covered up by a silent smile that lit up every now and then... the secret that sparkled in my eyes all day! Awesome it was, trust me!! :-)