Time stands still.... friends forever

Facebook has changed the lives of many people... and I am one who has been profoundly impacted by the power of re-connecting with friends ...long lost but never forgotten... Early this year I randomly typed in some names in the search on FB and found Gaurav Puri... and sent him an invite... Lo-behold in less than 24 hours I had connected up with 27 old friends after almost 28 years. We decided to meet up in Delhi and just as I sat back to think I got this urge to write about those days ....

I realized that getting my thoughts in chronological order is almost impossible after 28 years and specially when these amazing flashes from the past almost blind me with the vividness of spring greenery...We had started using fountain pens in grade 5 and I had earned the choice of my "First" pen by passing my "CAT Board" (A term used in the Airforce to referto Catergory board exams- qualification in flying capabilities) which involved taking dad from Central Vista Hostle Rajendra Prasad Road to Connaught Place ( Indian Oil Bhavan)... I loved my pen ( still have a penchant for collecting fountan pens) - it had a transparant body with a navy blue cap. Given the time and age I realize now that it must have been an achievement to have kept it safe for over one year without breaking the nib or losing it... ( I had gone through 2-3 other pens in the same perod) This one was truly special.

When I joined BBAFS (as AFBBS was called then) It was this pen that I carried with me, having washed the pen clean and filled it with royal blue Chelpark ink.One day at lunch after Ravi and I had done our Doodh ritual and the Food part was over we came back to class to find Bobby Rakesh Mailk, Sunny Rajesh Malik, Vijay and if I recollect correctly Joydeep and Asim playind catch with various thing collectedfrom different desks. My Pen was one of the articles...!!! My heart skipped a beat and I rushed to grab it from Sunny but he ran and dodged around at this point mind blurred to the rest of the group... all I could see was Sunny with my pen in hand. he grabbed a SetSquare while on the run and stuck it into the clip of the pen... I had not the faintest idea what was playing on his mind till I saw him stop - take the cap off and stick it on the other end of the pen ... I was at the other end of the class... He called out to me to catch... as he launched it like a paper plane...I froze and saw my pen fly through the air and hit the soft board. ... If it had stuck ... maybe ... it would have survived ... but it went on to land on the floor and before I could react someone stepped on it...I was devasted and Sunny was on my "most hated " list for some time. I swore never to forgive him.... for an 11 year old it was almost like the end of the world... though one still gets strong emotions about people and things .. it was very big for me then....

TIME FLIES
Almost 20 years later I was on my way back from Calcutta to Delhi on Jetairways - Late evening flight- The in-flight supervisor (Mukhya priveshika) announced the name of he captain and the first officer on the flight deck (in Hindi - Mukhya vaimanik ) and I heard Sunny Mailk... I waited for her to repeat the names (in english) ...at that moment and for almost 3 days after that the episode of the flying pen did not even strike me..... I picked up the a tissue scribbled a note to the captain and asked the purser to give it to Capt. Malik... The gentlman came back and told me that the captain would be just out as we were approaching cruising altitude. Sunny had changed a lot, but his smile was still ass (as) bright... brighter infact due to lack of contrast that we have to suffer because of all the hair we carry on our heads!!!We chatted for almost half an hour and he took me up front to the flight deck and let me get a peek into his office. ( this was before it became illegal) he intoduce me to a his first officer and it was a day to remember...

TIME HEALS
As we grow older (and I have done 2 score years on this planet) I guess some of us figure that what is critical today may well be totally insignificant later... Today I am really looking forward to meeting Sunny again at the reunion. The Pen is now only an anecdote I use to tell my son - to behave now- else 28 years later it may just come back to haunt ( He is in the 5th garde)... Today Sunny would call in sick and not take an international flight if he knew I was comming into town... That's a friend .... a friend I cherish... May be he will buy me a Mont Blanc writing insrument someday... maybe he wont! I still Love Sunny...He is a pilot now... he was a pilot then...I could have killed him then - I'd trust him with my life now...It just is not fretting about things ... objects... Life is too short... It is about Loving People and Using things ... and not Loving things and using people...

ps. We had our reunion .... The first person from our class that I met was Sunny ... he insisted I meet up at his place and since I was flying in just for the re-union I drove straight to his place... The Cherry Smiling face of Capt. Malik greeted me at the door and he pulled out this gift wrapped box... A CROSS fountain pen ... Silver and Gold... today it is my MOST prized possession

pps. I write this note my friend Sunny finishes his Final days with Jet Airways after 11 years of dedicated service to 9W and is on the move to the middle east to a new assignment... All the Best Sunny .... Happy Landings and glad tidings!