Unlike most New Years’ eve revelers, I had decided to take it easy and retire early. No surprises there. After seeing my brother’s family off – who headed to his in laws’ house in Durgapur, I went back to the hotel room, grabbed the phone and the laptop and went down to the restaurant bar downstairs to write down about my intersection points.

Sitting in a corner, I was writing about my trip to Sujan’s house when I heard somebody nearby say – “Rajib?”. I looked up, somewhat surprised that I would find somebody here who would recognize me – although, I have to admit that I absolutely stand out with my shaved head in these parts of the world.

And it was Suranjan-da! Suranjan-da is my classmate Sumantra Kar’s brother and a senior of mine from my elementary and middle school. I cannot even remember when I saw him last. Maybe when I was in sixth grade?

It was a delightful fifteen minutes catching up with Suranjan-da and more importantly, getting introduced to his family – Suvra-boudi and his two daughters – Saranmoyee and Sulagna. I got to know a lot about the cause that Saranmoyee’s NGO focuses on – Livelihood. I have to admit that I take so many things in life to be granted that till I meet causes like what Saranmoyee works for, I fail to remind myself about how blessed we are. It was also great talking to Sulagna about her aspirations of becoming a MBA graduate. It certainly brought back memories from my old MBA exam days!!

I am really glad that I did not go to bed immediately and certainly very elated about shaving my head without which Suranjan-da might not have recognized me and I would have missed getting to know a beautiful family.

Having seen my parents off, I hit the road with my brother heading out to Durgapur to meet my in laws and hopefully a few more folks from my past. On the way there though, there was a place I needed to drop by. I had found out the whereabouts of Sujan Sarkar a few months back and was hoping to see him, his family and his parents once during this trip.

Of course, the challenge with a very successful doctor is to somehow fit in their calendar. So, a few phone calls later, the time was fixed to meet at his home. It was a little inconvenient time for most households, but I did not have too many options open.

As we greeted each other at his house gate, my first words were – “What, it has been over thirty one years? 1985 right?”. You see Sujan and I studied for a couple of years in a residential school for my eleventh and twelfth grade. And I had not seen him ever since. Or so I thought.

“Thirty years, to be precise. We had met in my medical college in 1986 when you came to meet Piyali, Madhumolli, Mausumi and the rest of the gang from Durgapur”. I distinctly remember that day when I had gone to Calcutta Medical College and hung out with Ansuman, Sudipta and all in the evening. Apparently, I had met Sujan too but I had forgotten. I was certainly glad that he remembered me so distinctly.

The best part of the trip was sitting down and talking to his parents. They are both older than my parents. But I was delighted to find out that they are in a great shape health wise. And mentally too. During the whole time I talked to them, they seemed to always accentuate the positives in life. I am starting to conclude that a positive outlook in life and staying physically healthy are very highly correlated.

It was also great to meet his wife Rupa (who completely coincidentally is from a place very close to the resort that I had taken my parents to) and his daughter Teesta. Teesta was having a get together at her home with about twenty or so of her friends. In a move that is sure to draw derision from my two daughters, I totally walked into the crowd and started making friends with the youngsters. I even got them to line up for a photo op.

A memorable moment with the youngsters…. “So, what are the New Year’s resolutions”? Most were shy and mumbled.
One boy, however, was very clear. “Sir, in the new year, I am going to think once, twice and even thrice before I do anything”.
“Why?”, I asked, “did you get in trouble for not thinking things thru”?
“Yes, sir”, he candidly admitted.
Trying hard to contain my laughter at his candor, I just fist bumped him saying “That makes two of us” 🙂

It was memorable to get to see Sujan and his family. It was worth every bit the wait and the effort.