A Filmy reunion

30th April, 2010, 0215Hrs - I wearily trudge to my bed and lie down, after having watched the inaugural matches of the T20 world cup. Sleep assails me immediately, and I willingly welcome the sensation of nothingness that clouds my brain. On a normal day, even an earthquake wouldn`t have roused me from such a deep slumber before 1200. But, 1st May, 2010 was not any other day. It was a day I had been looking forward to, for a very long time. It was a day, when I was to meet my friends from school after a very long time.

I had approached the first get-together quite gingerly, making small conversation politely, sizing up people, who I had last seen in school uniform, may years ago; exactly like you would with a stranger you meet at the airport lounge. By the time, we had dispersed after an awesome time at the resort, the ice had been truly and completely broken, the formalities done away with, and the old, ribald nicknames we used to have for each other were doing the rounds quite freely. An indication that the strangers had turned into buddies, if ever there was one.

This time, however, was different. I had got to know them all well, in the days after the reunion and was looking for an excuse to meet up. So, when Babitha suggested a re-union for the group, I was raring to go. After lengthy deliberations and a lot of mails doing the rounds, regarding the date and the venue that would be convenient for most of us, we zeroed in on Innovative film city, on Mysore road.


We decided that we would all meet at the Rajarajeshwari arch at 8:30AM, from where we would proceed to the venue where Gautam and Meghachandra would join us. Me and Vasi, had decided to go to Pradeep`s house in Banashankari, from where we would take Pradeep`s car to IFC. Things didn`t exactly go as per schedule, and by the time we left Pradeep`s house, it was already 8:15. Pradeep, called up Babitha and told her we would reach the arch, in 10 minutes, which made my heart skip a beat. The only way we could make the deadline was if - (a) Rajarajeshwari arch was closer to Pradeep`s house than I thought or (b) Pradeep was planning to fly his car. I realized pretty quickly, that I wasn`t geographically challenged and that (b) was looking like a realistic option. We however couldn`t take off, owing to the traffic on Mysore road, and Vasistha was left with the task of placating an irate Babitha who called us a little while later, a task which he handled admirably well, by telling her that we were looking for a parking spot at 'Kadumane' restaurant where the first group had moved to, for breakfast. By the time we reached the place, and if the excuse had been valid, we would have found a parking spot on the moon.

After a quick bite and some catching up, we decided to hit the road, when we were joined by Gautam who had come all the way from Tumkur for the re-union. The first thing I noticed about him, was the accent, which has a distinct Yankee twang to it now, and the obvious passion, he has for pediatrics. There was an impromptu Q&A session between Narendra and Gautam, to which I was privy. It was like watching a show on the Discovery channel.






We reached IFC at 10:15, bought the tickets and entered the park. Manjith immediately took out his camera, and started clicking pictures, which can make even a plain Joe like me, look like a million bucks..err..not a million..maybe a thousand bucks, which makes me reiterate the fact that Manjith should take photography more seriously. He, obviously has a flair for the thing. We had an award ceremony, where the Waterzz award, was presented to various candidates, some for obvious talent, and some because the candidates wouldn`t take NO for an answer. As you can see, posing for the camera, is not my forte.


Yeah..baby..yeah


Finally..my talent has been recognized


Err..There has been a mistake. Take it back.


One more award..ho hum..so boring


Thank you..for making the right choice


What took them so long?


Aiyyo rama...Gotta pose again!


Yaakappa ee awaaedu?

The mirror maze was the first attraction we visited. I told the group to split up, since it would be more fun that way than following each other, a decision I was to regret when I was hopelessly lost. The group, which was waiting for me on the outside, was seriously contemplating, sending a search party, when I stumbled out, totally disoriented, and having set a record for the longest time spent inside the maze. Poora paisa vasool, I say.

The sun was beating down ferociously by then and we decided to rest a while in the shade and indulge in some tomfoolery. Aditi, is obviously the photographer`s muse, because she ends up posing for invisible cameramen as well, as is evident from this snap.




'The Ripley`s believe it or not' was the next attraction on the agenda, and ended up charming the entire group. 'The laughing Buddha' was a huge hit, with everyone wanting to pose with him.


As was the fattest lady in the world, who apparently wasn`t fat enough for Aditi. The closest we came to equaling the lady, was when me, Gautam and Manjith got onto the scale, though Manjith`s contribution to the cause was negligible. :-).




Shock..lagaa..aaa..aaa..


Aditi on a feeding spree..this time offering herself

By the time, we came out of Ripley`s, the heat was unbearable, and we all decided to cool down and click more pictures, this time of our feet. What do you know? I realized that I could pose very well, as long as the shot was below the knee-level.




There was intense debate after that as to whether we should visit the haunted mansion or not. We decided to take a vote on this, and the majority was of the opinion, that we should. Aditi, tried to calm her nerves, by trampling on the grave of Ralph Lee, and coming away unscathed. Babitha had a different modus operandi, as she tried to strike a deal with the devil to leave her alone by cosying up to him.



However, when push came to shove, they wanted the entire arsenal of boys and girls to be around them, which wasn`t possible, considering only 4 were allowed in at a time. After entering the house, however, and seeing the pitiable sight of the zombies and the ghouls, we regained our composure and started posing with the ghosts. Vasi and me,however, were not as brave as the rest, as we had a 'Darr' moment, that led to a 'Dostana'. :-)



in fact, we soon realized that we were scaring the denizens of the house, with our antics.


Aditi and Gautam, went so far as to snatch a bite out of a ghostly banquet., which was a cue for us to head out for lunch.


We were joined by Meghachandra at lunch, who is a lawyer by profession. We had quite an eclectic mix if you ask me, with a doctor, a lawyer and a marine engineer. We had a good time, making Vasistha divulge the details of how he met the girl, he is due to get married to, and the single ones amongst us, were keen to know how the conversation with the girl had gone, considering that we might soon have to go through the same, unnerving experience.



After lunch, we had a taste of what watching a movie would have meant, before the advent of glitzy multiplexes and the like. With an option of 'Benchu, kurchi or nela', we watched a 10-minute screening of 'Sholay', complete with the cat-calling and whistling that made it a truly rustic and rowdy experience. It was so much fun singing along with Jai and Veeru, to the tunes of 'Yeh Dosti...' or aping the menacing Gabbar with 'Kitne Aadmi the?'. Meghachandra also decided to try his hand at an alternate career option here.



The movie experience really had the creative juices flowing freely, if the wackiness of the next set of pictures is any indication. We realized that we had our own set of Charlie`s angels in Vidya, Babitha and Aditi, who could kick butt just as well as the original ones.


It took us ages to get the pictures of the gang sprouting wings - either because my camera wasn`t quick enough to capture the winged ones or because the winged ones were too sluggish to take off.


After a lot of masti, we finally came out of IFC and bid a fond farewell to Gautam and Meghachandra, who had other commitments.

The rest of the group made its way to Pradeep`s house, where we were treated to delicious Onion Bajjis and mango juice. After the sapping heat, this was heaven. Pradeep also showed us pictures, of his travels to various countries and life on a ship. This fellow has been to so many countries that it is easier to get an answer to which countries he has not visited. Man, am I jealous or what!!! Must be such an exciting life.

With that the curtains were drawn on what had been a fantabulous day. The only grouse, seemed to be that the response wasn`t as enthusiastic as we would have wanted it to be, which hopefully will change when the next reunion comes around. By the time I reached home, I had a terrible headache, with the lack of sleep making its presence felt with a vengeance. I, however, didn`t mind it one bit, since I had got to spend the day with a perfectly awesome group of Buds. Kudos to ye all.