Because every time they get together, the “PJs” (“Poor Jokes” – what would be called Groaners in USA) start flowing.

“Do you remember what is a complex PJ?”
“No”
“P+iJ”

Ha ha ha. (This is a math joke, by the way).

Completely meaningless mirth, I admit. But that was what engineering life for me was with guys like these in the picture. Great fun without necessarily any purpose to it.

Thanks to Krishna, who along with his beautiful wife Lalita graciously hosted me at their house for dinner a couple of days back, I was able to get together with three of my hostel (dorm) mates from 1985-1989.

T Srinivas – we called him “T” – is the big time economist today. After engineering, we did MBA together. I used to visit his house in Kolkata those days and remember the culture of intense bridge playing in his house. His parents as well as he had represented India in bridge at various times.

Krishna – we called him Kittu – is the successful investor among us. One of my lasting memories is going to his house in Chennai to meet his parents. I distinctly remember his mother and his brother. Unfortunately, I also found out that I am not going to be able to see his mom any more.

Finally, Abir – we just called him Abir 🙂 – also did Computer Science with me and I remember his impeccable hand writing from those days. And that he was always fanatic about being neat and clean all the time (which for us college kids was a rarity).

Our discussions were decidedly esoteric – when not exchanging “pjs”, that is. Got to hear some great perspectives from the three of them on concepts like “biases”, “irrational behavior” and why we do not follow our own forecasts and predictions. That was a fascinating hour for me over dinner hearing three really really smart guys talk about topics that fascinate me (although I cannot claim to have the level of their IQs to fully understand what they were saying).

We certainly landed up overstaying our welcome and kept the host and hostess up past midnight. That said, it was way too much fun. And I will shamelessly do it again, given a chance. It was that good!!!

It was almost three decades that I had been fruitlessly trying to track this guy down. We went to school together from fifth to tenth grade. Then during our engineering days, I had visited him and his roommate Pratik once. Way later, when I was working in Bombay, he had come and stayed with me for a couple of days. And then for 26 years, it has been radio silence. I had come close to tracking him down many times and shot emails or left voicemails at what I was given to understand might be his email and phone number. No responses, whatsoever!!!

About five months back, Mrs. Godura gave me a tip that Amit was going to be at her daughter’s place and gave me her daughter’s contacts. And that was how the elusive person was finally nailed. I remember having a very long conversation that day catching with him as he drove down the highway to his home city. Amit readily admitted that he had become a recluse and was trying to get out of that.

This morning, I was able to see him finally! After so many years! Actually after too many years! What was to be an hour or hour and a half meeting was going strong even after three and a half hours. We could have easily gone for another three and half an hours if I did not have to go and meet my daughters!

Sitting at that coffee shop, we went thru an endless cycle of :

Step 1: Amit: “Do you remember so-and-so?”. It would be a friend from our class or a teacher.
Step 2: Rajib… rambling on some updates of the person and appearing distracted doing something on this phone. Finally he hands the phone to Amit saying “Here is a picture. I visited him/her a couple of years back”
Step 3: Amit, completely silent, zooms the picture and recognizing another friend or teacher after so many years is totally overcome by emotion. The emotion of remembering some of the moments of the past was easily discernible in his voice and eyes.

And we we would repeat the above steps over and over again…

It was hilarious for me to hear how Amit remembered some of his early childhood days. Especially how he would skip a bus stop so that he had a chance of seeing the girls (we were in a all boys school and there was a parallel all girls school) from Carmel school who would be walking home. But what he feared most was if any would try talking to him. Apparently, he was totally scared of talking to any of girls!!!

Thank you Amit for making time on a Saturday morning – driving up to the city to see me and spend so much of your time with me. It was a marvelous throwback to the years where we would sit in benches next to each other in our grey shorts and white shirts with that “Like Gold in a Furnace” emblem emblazoned across our pockets… 1977, as i recollect, we did it for the first time… we were clueless then… and if today’s discussion on pursuit of happiness four decades later is any indicator… we were clueless now too.

But blissful, all the same.

And that counts.

One of the very few guys that I can claim to have had as a classmate during my engineering days as well as in my MBA days is this gentleman – Devinder Kumar! In fact, we were in the same branch (Computer Science) and same hostel during our engineering days.

Two things I always remember Devinder by – the quietness in his demeanor and that constant smile. Met him today after 27 long years! He was busy with his work day – but was able to come out for half an hour to have a coffee with me.

Caught up with his life after we parted ways in 1991. The crazy part is that he has just not changed in his looks – in spite of all these years!!! Even crazier is that his son studies in Georgia Tech in Atlanta where I live and I had no idea!!!