Sunday 13 September 2015

FRIENDS - PETIT 89-90 BATCH WE ARE CALLED BUT WE ARE AGELESS WONDERS



Time just runs.The feeling of aging comes when one crosses forty,however some may not agree.But these things do happen.We tend to grey, some have hair fall instead. Reflexes slow, eyes need reading glass and so on.Whether we like it or not these things cannot be stopped.May be 40 plus is a age where people can feel young as well as old.A sort of buttress.



When this sort of realisation was going across my mind my friend Siva came up with the idea of a get together of Petit seminar higher secondary school.I was initially sceptical after a just finished get-together last year.But when Siva and then Ashok said yes I had no options in accepting.It all started with this social media called Whatsap. As a neurologist I intended to use it for neuroimaging but my friends have conveniently overwhelmed the former.When this cropped up I sent a email to Ganesh Kumar a successful UK based general practitioner to join WhatsApp. He was fast enough to send a email after 1 week explaining his aversion to social media.Suddenly he was enlightened to use it and then he wrote about the necessity and essentiality of this cyber chat.Most of the times I don't understand what he talks and I never had the guts to ask him what he really means.He will stand up for you anytime.I last met Pratap in school. I asked him did we met at PEC as well.We had a chat for 5 minutes deciphering when we met last time and ultimately we felt time to taste briyani.I knew him as a smart guy and very quiet boy.One has a funny feeling to estimate a person based on how he looks.In our social media he is like a fire.Every comment of others will be dissected by him.Pratap used to write reviews for movies and to be frank sollai a government servant working at Pondicherry told me machi I see movies nowadays after reading his opinion.He transcends across all strata.His timing sense in English and Tamil both are perfect.

Some people are quiet and do things quietly and very successfully.Srinivasaragahavan a senior consultant at Oracle, Sampath, Damodran and Rajaseghar are all busy people and work at Bangalore,Chennai,and USA.Taking time out,confirming for the trip and driving down to Puducherry,hats of to them.Prabhakar and Kadiresan are   my school time buddies.I know them in and out and their acceptance for the event is like my word.Prabhakar is a senior manager at SBI and Kadiresan is a busy anaesthetist at Cuddalore.Savio and Alfred are known to me since cluny days.Alfred loves dogs and his heart is pure white.He is a honest employee at Puducherry.I had a problem with a technical issue relating to my probation declaration.The file was dusted and lost in Department of Personal. Savio Razorio was working in that place and I just called him.He finished the job swiftly and that's the power of friendship.

Siva a busy ophthalmologist at Saudi, Muthu a entrepreneur and oracle consultant and Sathesh have several things in common.All 3 are very successful and when u sit and talk with them we will know how much we don't know.I always learn from these three guys.

Santhosh, J. Sathish and Arumugam have one thing in common.Their bellies.Outstanding.Santhosh is a business man in Russia and J.sathish is a pro in Singapore.Arumugam is a down to earth person well known at Thirukanur and its suburbs for being a busy and compassionate General practitioner.

We have two tremendous tennis players who could have represented Indian Davis cup team provided they had good grooming skills in tennis at Pondicherry.Vishnu and Siva are these two gentleman one in construction field and the other one   a naturalised US citizen now.Soupramanian who is in business, Kumaravel the document writer all filled on easily.Kannan is a busy man.He shuttles not only in India but it is most of the times intercontinental.You say get together all the work is put on hold and he spends time at the venue from the beginning till the end.Antony john started the spirit of Petit last year and Siva continued this year.John is very mature and to amalgamate people of different walks of life needs patience and perseverance.Siva and John had both this.The spirit was ignited and now it has entered the second year.Pattabi,Vinothkumar,and Ganguly joined us at the last moment. Pattabi from Chennai,Vinoth a government servant and Ganguly works for the benefit and at times fights for the rights of tribes.

People from differerent walks of life with different interests,different states,different countries,different works but the common factor which brought them all was the spirit of Petit Seminar. Ninth august came in and 8th wasa sleepless night.Guys started coming to Le Pondi by 11 am itself.Siva was there along with Balaji to welcome people coming .Rooms were allocated by him in a very professional manner.Balaji is a senior faculty at a private engineering college at Pondicherry and he was coordinating with Siva for the entire event.All were tired and had to take a short nap to get ready for the gala evening and night.

At around 5pm guys started assembling at Le Pondys beach and the fun began to unfold.VNV Sathish a dentist at Delhi had come taken of for this event.A very nice man with lots of knowledge especially in English.Whenever I want to read a English novel I used to take his advise.Karunakaran had the stumps inserted and a seven over match began.One side was lead by Karuna and other by me.Karuna is a man from France and he is the unifying spirit cutting across all friends.Before coming to Pondicherry he will call all and after coming he will invite us to his farm for fun.We used to eat there and play.A person with great energy and a brilliant allrounder.Napolean a man without any ego accepted to be wicket keeper.Wilson and Kirubagaran just joined the fun but opted out of cricket.Kiruba has hotels at Pondicherry.He is a  computer science graduate left a govt job to concentrate on his business.Wilson is a pious man, a software consultant at Bangalore.He had driven his Verna just to meet us.

The match started and Karunas team had stalwarts like Ashok,Prabhakar and the captain himself.Our bowling was pasted all over the park and they had rattled 63 in 7overs .Even if they had said 90 we would have accepted.We tried to chase that score and we gave a fight and lost only by 20runs.We can never beat the willy combination of Ashok and Karuna.The flick of Prabha was like Azharuddins master class.Ashok hit the single stump to run out Mohan.Jonty Rhodes would have been proud of that.Vishnu and Karuna bowled very well. We had a tea break and then the glistening pool waited for us.Aravind a senior manager at a software company had just joined.A softspoken mild mannered gentleman.A ball match was organised at the pool.I joined Karunas team so that we can win.Ganesh did not enter the pool.Ganesh is a Prof of Physiology at a medical college in Chennai.He likes to live a  life of king size. A no nonsense guy with whom I have spent lots of times  together.We did splash water on him.Game went on.It was fiercely fought.No one gave a inch.In the end it was tied.Mohan played very well at the pool and he works for Puducherry government at the Secretariat.


The venue

ARAVIND,SRINIVASARAGHAVAN,ANTONY JOHN

SATHESH CALLED BABA 

KARUNAKARAN AND ASHOK -DANCING TO WILSON'S SONG - TILAK WATCHING - WHAT ELSE HE CAN DO


Alfred,Tilak raj and Subramanian

Supramanian,Tilak raj,Damodran and Rajasekar

THE PARTY HAS JUST STARTED

Pratap and Ashok - Skit

Myself,Kadiresan and Mohan

Pattabhi with the king Siva - the organiser

Arumugam,Kannan,Prabhakar

Sivakumar and Kumaravel



Guys got tired and we trekked of to the rooms to get ready for the dinner.I took a quick shower and walked back to the private hall were our dinner was supposed to happen.To our surprise 5 persons had decided to change the dinner into a musical night and a night which no one should forget.Ganesh, Ashok, Karuna and Pratap had changed the entire script of the evening into theirs. Pratap had written beautiful punch dialogues and there was a brilliant acting by Ashok mimicking Nayagan.Ganesh was shades of Aravindasamy and Karuna was for a change doing supporting role. Pratap had done the entire script writing and the show was applauded by all of us.Vodkas, Whiskey and Beer was entering and chillling the tummies of all of us and we all became seventeen.Dance followed.People who knew nothing danced.I never knew Kadiresan and Arumugam could dance. Guys never became tired. All of a sudden it became ten pm and dinner buffet was spread out.Ashok, Ganesh and Baba danced till their feet started aching.We were not eating.It was like eating somasas at our school canteen.Ice creams were like nanari sarbath and juices were like paneer soda which we used to drink near our school.We have children now and I think Sivas son is going to college now.Some of us became tired.Had a lenghthy discussion with Pattabi about Siva and kadiresan reminded me machi mental agadha.There was another group with Kanan  eating slowly and discussing things of interest for them.At around 1230am I decided to sleep and said good night for another ecstatic group which had reached god by now.Ashok, Abou Karuna, Ganesh and Baba knew nothing. They were dancing through the night and in the morning I heard they were dancing till 3am.Thats the energy of petit 89.I dozed of at the cozy room number 124 with Arumugam.By 6am I woke up and started walking towards the pool and everyone was asleep.Arumugam and myself had sipped a tea and then walked to Ashoks room and we chatted for sometime.Breakfast was ready and some just started to check out.Napolean left early and some guys left the day before itself.Breakfast was delicious but the feeling of leaving left a pinch in the heart.Damo, Rajasekar and myself started of after giving hugs to all our childhood friends.


            When I exited Le Pondi the thoughts of my school days friends also came with me.I had difficulties in controlling emotions but had to leave.The grind of Monday and the materialistic world was waiting for me.Meikandar my spiritual guru talks about entire universe in 12 verses.He is my guru.He does not talk about friendship even if that is included in pasam.May be he also did not understand about friendship.There are lots of stuffs, songs written about friends and friendship.All that is incomplete.I understood that when I reached home   and asked my mother,"send me to school again"