After journo school right up to the time I went to Holland, I was in touch with about 10-15 of my classmates. I initially worked in Delhi, where most of my classmates were. Even when I moved back to Mumbai, there were a fair number of people working in the city. I got along well my work colleagues in business journalism but didn't really hang out with the outside of work, except for one or two. My social circle in Bombay was limited to my school friends and my ACJ friends. I also visited Delhi at least once a year, when I would meet many more people from ACJ. All that changed after I went to Holland and later moved to Bristol. I fell out of touch with everyone except for 3-4 people. Many of the people I fell out of touch with were people I once considered good friends if not close friends. Over the years, I have also become less keener about putting in the effort to maintain friendships especially when it opposite party doesn't as much enthusiasm. I say this without bitterness or malice. Life takes us in different directions, both physically and emotionally. I am not the person I was 12 years ago in journo school, and neither are, I suspect, many of my classmates. Some friendships grow, others wither, that is life. Even the pandemic last year didn't push me to reconnect with many people.
But, this wave is different. Today, I reached out to some of those good friends from ACJ that I had lost touch with. Some of them were thrilled to see me, others less so. Conversation dried up pretty quickly in some cases, as I suspected it might. Other conversations resulted in tentative plans to Zoom. All I knew is if I didn't get in touch at a time like this, I would never get in touch with them. When the present is fraught, it is not a bad idea to take comfort in memories. And, these people were part of my past, and a mostly happy past, at that.
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