François de la Rochefoucauld once said: “The only thing constant in life is change”. That being a given, it’s still reassuring to know that some things in life never change.
We were so innocent. True, we thought at the time that we were ever so naughty - but in retrospect I see that even our ‘naughtiness’ bore an inherent quality of innocence.
Like the silly M*A*S*H nicknames we gave each other. Like the time we decided to buy condoms for Ally’s bday! Like our favorite & private hangout where we’d meet everyday - “the Dungeon” (!)
And of course nothing - or no one - could keep us apart. The five of us sealed our promise to be “best friends till the end”. We bought each other five silver bracelets - each one had the owner’s name on the front and the other four names engraved behind.
And this picture, taken in April 1993, shortly after our 10th std board exams was laminated in a nice big 10 x12 size. We had 5 copies made and as we moved around the world these last 17 years, the picture moved house with us…
The frame still hangs in all our 5 homes, across three continents.
THEN
(Left-Right: N, me, R, Ally & Jan - click to enlarge)
AND NOW
(In the same order as the earlier pic, only Ally missing - click to enlarge)
The first one to get married was N. Being a Muslim, we knew she’d be the first to go (!) but what we didn’t know it’d be a love marriage! And what a lovely wedding it was indeed. R had moved out of the country by then - but Ally, Jan & I enjoyed N’s wedding - especially the Mehendi day. Have had Mehendi put on my hands several times afterwards but I’ll never forget the utter excitement of the first time.
Sunrise, sunset. N left the country after getting married. Ally left the country. N had a baby. R came back to India, then got married. Jan got married. Ally got married. Jan had a baby. R had a baby. Sunrise, sunset.
It’s been 14 years since the photograph. And we’ve been friends six (some of us more!) years before that.
20 years!
20 years and we’re still as close as ever. Closer even, if that could be possible. We still call each other regularly - spend enormous amounts on phone bills - or keep in touch via email. I wrote this about Jan - whose maid-of-honor I was - and whom I still meet sometimes as often as three or four times a week!
This month, N was down in India! Oh what joy!!
Of course we all had to meet up (see ‘now’ pic above too) - and of course we suddenly all regressed and became loud, giggling little girls again!
(click to enlarge)
We met again, this time with the “babies” (of course, two of the babies aren’t babies any more!)
Since I don’t have one, I was generously loaned one for the day 
(click to enlarge)
We’re meeting again, this time to party. No husbands! No babies! Nothing but 4 old friends! (And yes, of course Ally, wish you were here, soon maybe?!)
20 years and we’ve all changed a lot.
And yet, we’ve not changed at all.
[For my foreign readers: The title of this post is from an old (1962), Waheeda Rehman cultic hit Hindi film of the same name, which is translated "20 years later"]
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January 23rd, 2007 at 12:46 am
20 years and Melody still looks 16!
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:01 am
You still look the same
Everyone else seems to have put on weight but still look like a college girl
Looks you had a great time. Meeting old friends brings such a great joy.
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:02 am
@ Ravi: Well, unlike everyone else, I’ve not had a child - I hear you put on some weight doing that! And yes, I have a fabulous time everytime I meet up with these guys, they’re amazing.
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:59 am
haha yeah! aapke twacha se aapka umr ka pata hi nahi chalta
Lovely!
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:29 pm
this is such a nice post ! that first pic is so bleddy cute !
u always had this naughty smile didn’t you !
p.s. for so many days i was trying to fig out wahida rehman’s name ! thank you for reminding me
January 23rd, 2007 at 6:46 pm
its fantastic to see such friendship!
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Hey Melody!
How’ve you been?
Very cute pic….you still look the same
C ya soon.
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Hello!
I just had an experiance just like this when I visited my hometown this past Christmas. How wonderful it is to continue in friendships, what a special blessing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it reminds me of my special friends!!
Warm Wishes!
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:57 pm
@ inexile:
Yeah I was a naughty lil thingie, though (if I may add) in the nicest way. lol…
PS: What the hey was that about Waheeda Rehman??! lol
@ Marise: Yeah and even more fantastic to have it. Truly am so blessed!
@ Andrew: Doing good, thx! Et toi?
@ Katey: Heya! My thoughts exactly! Hugs to you
January 24th, 2007 at 12:14 am
aww, this is such a touching post. reminded me of my friends. i will be meeting them when i land in india. jeez, few more days to go!!!
January 24th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Me wants one of those - baby i mean
noojes
January 25th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
This post reminded me of some of my old freinds….and nice invite u have designed for the blog meet…like the last time….u shud join an advertisment firm
January 25th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Whoa! This is awesome. Liked it
January 25th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
@ Noojes: Should I explain to you how to get one? Quite easy actually…
@ Sherriff: “u shud join an advertisment firm” - yeah well, been told that before - but the thing is, I love doing creatives for fun, if it were a job I’m not sure how much fun it’d be anymore. Besides, the hours (in the advt line) suck bigtime.
Hope you’re coming to the meet!
@ Prasil: Whoa! Glad
Merci!
January 26th, 2007 at 6:42 am
hey what happened to Ally? Did one of the other girls eat her? sure looks like it.. just kidding…these photos bring back memories of friends i’ve known for 30 years or so. You have so much mileage so to speak in life…so much that connects you to a common innocence that is now lost.
January 26th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Agree with you about the deep connection and bond… amazing indeed.
January 27th, 2007 at 12:23 am
Ahh… The comment section’s filled with nicety nice compliments about your ’sundar twaja’ and ’soundaryata ka raaz’, so I dont really need to do the same… 1993 - 10th… so now you would be ummm… *does some quick calculation in mind - eyes widen in shock*
Firstly, LOL at oneil’s comment.
Secondly, now I know the secret of you looking thin. Hang out with your friends who’ve put on weight since.
Thirdly, uncharacteristically of me, you’re looking cho chweet in the last pic with the kid.
January 28th, 2007 at 1:45 pm