I had been to Leeds over the weekend. Why? Cos Denny - a friend from college lives there. The last time I met Denny was 2+ years ago during the convocation in college. We might have exchanged a few mails after that. In effect we were out of touch. Thanks to John, I got hold of Denny's phone number and called him. He obviously couldn't recognise my voice and when I told him "This is Bijesh", he was flabbergasted.

When Denny suggested that I visit him during the weekend, I immediately set the process rolling. Booked tickets and changed check-out date in hotel. The night before leaving I was in the room browsing my photos. I didn't have too many photos from college but what few I had flew me back to those wonderful memories. Life in college itself had been far from exciting. With too many rules and loads of regulations, my college was not the best place to unwind. Inspite of all that, I treasure my life in college. This is solely because of the people I met there. The people who made the best out of everything and the people that had fun even within those pale walls.

The photos played out my college experiences in vivid colour. I can still remember how we freaked out during the "college day" - the one day that rules were relaxed. Lunch in the college mess where even the crappiest food was eaten amidst laughter. The "industrial visits" which always turned into an impromptu picnic with singing and dancing and laughter again. The weird things we did to make our class "cool". Greeting signals. Class songs. Department mags. Farewell party. Scrapbooks.. All those images flooded me with a sense of joy. The happiness in knowing that the time in college was a lot more fun than I gave it credit.

I haven't kept in touch with most of the people from college. That's just my nature. But it was nice to know that I was not forgotten and I had not forgotten the myriad of faces.

When I was getting down from the bus in Leeds, I saw Denny waiting for me. His hair had grown long, very long. He looked a lot different without the trademark short hair but I spotted him in a moment. Unsurprisingly he recognised me too. To meet somebody after two years gives rise to a heightened sense of welcomeness. It did.

The weekend was sprinkled with anecdotes from college, remembering the antics of people in college and catching up on what they were upto. I wish that somebody all (almost all) of the class from college get together for a day. A day when we could look back upon those wonderful years. To share our experiences with those fellow humans that took, alongside us, the steps towards how our lives shaped.