Reunion -2002, Maryland, USA (Day 1)

Everything may not be true...but everything written here is partially true.....at least sometimes. -------------------------------

3 years had gone by. 3 years since we had seen each other for the last time. Sure I had occasion to meet some of us but it never was the same. Noone knew whose idea it was to have a reunion. Kaushik suggested it. Holmes no doubt looking to score some male ass before his marriage enthusiastically supported it. Dipti thought it was a good idea to sing his songs. Kanoo thought it would be nice to fix Aditya's marriage once and for all. Arun thought it would be good to see Basu after a long time. Susu wanted to drink again with his friends, CV had nothing better to do, Santo wanted to show his bank balance, Joy's reasons were always open to interpretation, Subhadeep came because he did not want me to be the hairiest guy in the melee. And I went because it was a long time since I had gotten on so many people's nerves. Shankar wanted to show marriage had not changed him, Adi had no choice once his house became the venue. Dipanjan of course had his evergreen motive of being Bond-- the eternal ladies man. [It was so disappointing to later hear about his canine escapades].

The venue was decided not without some heartburn. And about 100 emails. Ultimately the east coast lobby won because we were heavier in number. And since I am on the east coast you can imagine how heavy is the heavy east coast. Venue was going to be Aditya's luxurious condo in Washington DC... But disappointment struck early. Rajatish, the beloved of the gods, deserted his flock early on citing pressing commitments. These commitments were of course a function of time and a function of many other factors. Suffice to say, this was the biggest bummer . But then again maybe we are to blame. After all we have degenerated to a godless bunch...and God forsook us when we needed him the most. Then Rajib thought that a Florida trip would be better.....all I can say is that that it must have been very very special to forsake this trip. Nilu had to go to Sweden. Then Basu and Santo started some Sridevi style prima donna nakhrebaazi saying they wont be able to make it as they had lots of furniture to move that day. Phone calls, entreaties, logic, threats and husky male voices promising allurements of unspoken pleasure to Holmes were met with stoic silence and unshakeable resolve not to come to DC.

Oh you have gained so muchhhh..........

Kanoo, Dipti and I rented a car and set out from StonyBrook. The journey was unremarkable.....we reached Baltimore at about 12. There we saw Arun, Kaushik, Joy, Dipu, Adi.....I dont remember much except hearing  about 1000 times each how much weight I have gained. Pleese......as if I am not acutely aware about it. It seems that Dipanjan's neighbours were very worried about the decibel levels emanating from his house...... JU guys are not a quiet lot and at that time we were just getting warmed up. Dipanjan's neighbours called up the cops who seemed more eager to quell the pipings of JUCSE-ians than the domestic violence going across the road. Adi and Dipu were mighty pissed at CV..it seems he had been messing things up again. They wanted to beat him up. Of course we all agreed. I spiced things up by telling how CV only calls when its his interest to call and hangs up the moment his work is over. [Ref" The Latisha episode]. To everyone who wants to know what the Latisha episode is all I can say it is too irrelevant to go over here. In a line it was one among  CV’s long line of romantic failures. But suffice to say it will be on my forthcoming detailed expose about the JUCSE “characters” ..

Whom Gods forsake they first make mad.........

CV came and was promptly beaten up by everyone....many of whom didn’t even know why he was being beaten up. All of us were then going to drive up to Adi's place. Adi's place was lavish...particularly for us beggarly Phd students. Located on prime property, the rooms were luxurious. Surely Adi had made it big.....of course no one ever doubted his "big-ness". His fridge was generously stocked with beer and soft drink cans and of course big yellow exquisitely curved juicy bananas... Adi believes in doing everything "king-size". Joy went around showing off his digital camera, Dipti started vacantly into space with a smile on his face.

Dipti makes a weird face

We called up Rajo, begged him to come. We even offered to pay half of his air fare. We even told him that this time during Puja all the panjikas would be changed to show that God came on Jet Blue from Tulsa. But Rajo would have none of it....it seemed that there were reasons he could not tell us. Then he said there was someone who was getting married and Rajo was the sole person who could get him married. Rajo's presence was very important to this person. And he could not ditch his old friends could  he ?

We had had pizza at Dipu's place . Now fortified with beer we decided to call it a day. All of us slept on the ground in the living room. Well slept would not be the proper word to use in the context just as one cannot use the word “exam” to signify an AS class test. Lights went off and the aim became not to let anyone sleep. Kanoo and Adi strangely talked in turns which lead to the belief that they were at sixes and sevens (sorry make it nines) with each other. Accusations flew thick and fast...Koushik slept right through it....this man can sleep through a nuclear holocaust. [On secomd thoughts so can everyone]. CV slept under a blanket with pink heart signs all over it..possibly made in San Francisco. How Adi got it is of course open to investigation. The fortunate ones slept for 1 hour in the morning.. the less fortunate ones like yours truly who had bit too much beer and coke had heartburn throughout the night and so got zilch.