St. Anthony Gang ! Laa Boh Leeaa!! Potentials of ‘School days friendship’

Initially it has been unbelievable. But once the Whatsapp magical influence worked and about 50 of us got connected to 1982 and for some even prior to that phase of our life – and that in circa 2015 - we all seemed to realize that technology is truly a useful tool. The first battle fought and won was with ‘Memories’ and about memories.

What’s friendship when your age was 12-13-14? Who does not feel proud of the stint?

Stut lee ..... it’s a slang.

Move over, real formative years....when we discussed 'sleep disorder'....which angle near St Mary's girls paradise suited whom...when life was La Boh lee.

But once memories are handled; comes in Emotion. Each victory over certain small memories added a new emotion! Some of us chatted with moist eyes! 
There have been certain tragedies in between - Narayan Rao, Dharmendu Chudhary have left for heavenly abode -- owing to road accidents. Roads are not only sign of progress, they are also killers!

Pls sympathise with helpless Bottle

In the bed rooms, ladies have started to complain. “So even my useless guy has a mistress?” – a few ladies imagined! “Bloody mad after Whatsapp” – every wife seemed to have cursed. No ‘husband’ could have done it because St Anthony’s High School, Shillong has been all ‘boys affairs’.

Thus, when five of us (the NCR-gang of Anthony’s) met, Palungthang Vaipei lamented, “omg, we should have had co-education in St Anthony’s”.

I endorsed him boldly while gentlemen like Ainul Haq Mazumdar thought that’s a border line thinking – “I would not trust my friends any longer”. And in the meantime, I screamed, “then Gautam could have been Gautami and everyone would have tried to sit next to her/him". Incidentally I was sitting next to him and guys, just at that point of time, Gautam stood up and gave me a tight hug. A tighter than the one my wife gave probably a decade back!

“Laa Boh Lee…” screamed Vivek Bali and Chilis restaurant in posh Ambience Mall, Gurgaon turned pin-drop silent. 

Manoj, Ratnadeep and others in Shillong meet

Potential of ‘half-pant-days’ friendship have to be fanta-bulous – fantastic punctuated with fabulous.

Ainul’s mobile beeped, we received a couple of snaps from Shillong where another ‘sub-gang-Sanjay Das, Ratnadeep, Manoj and – probably Pranab, Stanley, Tashi met and boozed. The list can be corrected always – just make use of comment box below….

So did Surya Kafley and Shamik Bhattacharya in Powai/Mumbai.

Affluence can never be a yardstick of the stuff we are passing through these days. In north Indian neighbourhood, Sanjay Sabherwal had summed it up well….”who bothers, what you are doing in life, who is successful and who is not….but we are pals of school level”.

Shamik had summed up the paradox perhaps even better: “in post liberalism India, everyone is a glorified clerk”. How many disagrees? I am not sure.

If the Americans had 9/11, we had our 9/25 and what an Eid for Ainul. When did he imagine such a lovely Eid?

Surya Kafley, Shamik in Powai conclave

He responded the Godly gratitude with taking two/three glasses of red wine. How could he say no? For rest of us – Palung (Commissioner Secretary in Manipur), a UN official Gautam and a self-styled entrepreneur-turned-consultant in ‘mint money operations’ (aviation to real estate) – Vivek and me – a Science drop out !! and a poor journo…accepted life and liquor with fatalistic resignation.

 At the end of the game, as we screamed out of the mall saying “Laa Boh….....we were proud of each other....proud of Fr Steven Mavely !! His team....even as Gautam did not forget the verbal thrashing...tension….for hiding magazines ! Mind you, Shillong has been always a ‘magazine city’. Rest of us recalled Kelvin cinema hall....that’s part of legacy in Police Bazar now. A few years back it was a semi-park, now I am told a Mall stands there. Vivek is right, Shillong will be like Yarrow Visited and Unvisited kind of experience! 

Toilet Selfies: Ladies need not suspect

On the early morning hours of 26^th September, Herman Kharsati has taken a risk, hidden from his lady wife…probably again…Laa Boh lee….msged sexily: “Ratnadeep has become an owl…” and then he tried to put most of us back on track, “just to get a sense of direction after a heady night”. He fears whether we would ‘bunk’ class (shhh workplace) …..I am not sure…Palungthang had an early morning flight, who knows? I am not sure, how to end this blog. So let me sign off promising to write another one! Provided inputs flow in; like last night’s liquor. (ends) 

Post Script:

I wonder if I might be falling in friendship again/I wonder even if I knew before what FRIENDSHIP and LOVE associated with it before this Whatapp accident actually happened. Till the next piece, guys;….only regret being, “St Anthony’s was an all boys affair”.

What's Nature without St Mary's damsels