Reminiscences ~ Don Bosco to New Delhi

I always think of sharing my memorable days with Chandan, but tears restrict me from jotting down...Still, I would try to bring forth those days we had cherished together till his last breath.

Sometime in 1990s - DBHS

After spending the first few years of schooling @ various institutes like Hemlata Handique Memorial Institute (Jorhat), and St. Joseph's Convent High School (Tezpur), I stepped in Don Bosco High School (Litchubari, Jorhat). Class IV was a memorable year in a grand new school with great friends. This school, however, had lower classes only.

Luckily, DBHS had opened its main building @ Baghchung, a stone's throw from Litchubari. So, we all moved to Don Bosco High School, Baghchung for our higher standards. Then came into my life a gem of a friend, Shekhar Chandan Goswami. A guy with an unforgettable smile and unbelievable wit!

Worth mentioning were his gimmicks and power to keep himself stable even after sharing a hilarious joke which would leave his bench mates laughing in front of the whole class and the teacher.

Benchmates - Mandheer, Shudipta, Shekhar......................

1991 and ahead.

I remember those days when Shekhar, I and Mandheer would be the back-benchers, especially during our Moral Science classes. This guy would bring some other novels/comics and go through them during the class. Fr. Alex would start his lecture on the Omnipotent God, and we would all nod our heads to his satisfaction. After all, Moral Science is basically keeping one's moral character strong with belief in the Almighty. We all did and never felt that going through a comic story was worth reading instead of reading through each of the stories which had a moral that we were either already aware of or not in favor of.

During one such class, Mandheer started something bad and Shekhar added some fuel to it....We all started whispering and could not control our laughter. Our dear friend Shekhar would just warn us and then laugh a little and then show us how to control the laughter in a jiffy.....But, we were not made up of the same ingredients and ultimately end up laughing uncontrollably and then being punished by our Father. We would be asked to stand outside the class, face towards the wall. Mandheer and I would be standing outside and our dear friend who is the best boy in class, would later approach Father and say that he is the main culprit. Lo and Behold, after just five minutes, my dear friend would also accompany us in the matter of shame. He would say, it's better that he spent time with us instead of going through the unwanted. This team spirit was always there within all of us and you could always find the three of us together as the Partners of Crime!

Around 1994

Studies were the main priority at that time. We used to envy this guy acquiring the top rank in class. If he stood second, I would be at third or fourth, and Arpan, Ajitabh would acquire the top positions. He envied these two guys and surpassed them with better marks and so on and so forth.

But, the main difference between all of us and this special guy was that he was an all-rounder. Not at all a bookworm, he had this God-gifted attribute of remembering the lessons at the very first look. And, we had to rummage through all the pages till the day of the exams.

He was a great footballer, cricketer, chess champion, Table Tennis expert, and whatnot! He even had a great sense of humor and wit. No matter, how envious we might be, we loved to be with him and adored his company.

One fine day, we (I, Gitartha, Rashmi, ......) cycled through the busy streets of Jorhat to the Regional Research Laboratory, which was around 5 km from my place. Shekhar had invited us for lunch at his place in RRL and we enjoyed the afternoon with various games and adventures. One of the adventures was the Military game which we played in the backyard facing some high Military walls. We played our Military ambush game and even tried to cross the barricades. Had we not resisted climbing the walls, we would have been in deep trouble that day.  LOL!

Missing You Dear - 2004 and later

"Dear Shekhar,

How are you? Hope you are fine and in the best of your health and state! We are also fine by the grace of God.

How are Uncle, Aunty, and everybody at home? Pay my regards to them. How are your studies going on? .......................................

.....................................

Keep in touch,
Friend Forever,
Shudipta (Rupty)" 

LOL...This is what our formal letters looked like...After I had left Jorhat in Class X. I had a new set of friends, a new school, and a busy scholastic life preparing for the Boards. Still, we never forgot to share these letters via snail mail. Life rolled on, many friends were forgotten, and many new added to my friend list. But, this person never evaded the real space of friendship. We continued and continued - postcards, Greetings, letters, the blue envelopes............ Still searching for a new communication method to let him know the ins & outs of my life, the good and bad news. None to share with, I am stranded all alone. You were the one with whom I could share each and every personal detail. All is gone! Still anticipating a dove to carry your messages to me.

Missing You Doc!!

Love You Always,

Rupty.....

Cheers!

Tequila Shots with lemon ~~~~~~~ Remember this day when you threw a treat for me at a Bachelor Party. I was to leave for Assam for my wedding and you invited me to your place for the shots.

We three (U, me, and Maina) had discussed lots of things and how you managed to explain to me a valid reason for not attending my marriage. I wanted you to be my 'Hokhi' at my wedding.

You offered to use the to & fro journey fare for my Wedding Party once I am back in Delhi. How you provided a judicious reason for not wasting the 15K in flight fares and using the same in the party left a great impression on me.

Now, I feel that every decision might not be that smart. Had you come to my wedding and been my 'Hokhi', I would have been happy to at least remember those moments. Love you, my dear Doc..... Cheers!!