But if I tell you that a restaurant name led me to meet my hostel friends after 22 years, and the chat went on for 12 hours straight (7:30pm – 7:30am), would you believe it?

Yes, a crazy story!

When I joined BBA at Lucknow, I had to opt for a hostel. But at that time, I was not aware that the people I had met by chance would occupy the largest space in my heart and that too, forever.

It was the 1st batch of BBA and BCA for the institution. As both the classes were adjacently placed, I ended up having a circle of friends with the BCA students who were hostellers. After all, living together in a hostel isn’t just about sharing a room, mess, or class but a part of yourself with them.

Time was flying by in getting to know and understand each other along with days filled with fun, banter, joy, and happiness.

Be it watching movies, having Dosa at Ritz or Fried Idli at Classic, going to a picnic at Kukrail or Imambada, Shopping at Hazratganj or at Aminabad, celebrating birthdays at Kapoorthala, or the new year party in the college, we would always be together, everywhere. It was blissful.

But life happened and we all moved to different places to pursue our dreams after 3 years. I lost connection with them like wildflowers in a desert.
It was finally in the August of 2013 when we all connected again via a WhatsApp group.

While writing my last LinkedIn article on Lucknow, I was forgetting a restaurant’s name, so I asked my friends on WhatsApp and everyone chimed in with a suggestion. We shared pictures we had of each other and took a trip down memory lane.
More discussion followed and we realized that two of our friends who had moved out of India were in Delhi NCR right now! As they say, few things are destined to be.

And within a week, we were all set to see each other after 22 years! A little well of joie de vivre bubbled up inside all of us!

When we saw each other it was such a surreal feeling. For a minute, there were no words other than, “It’s so good to see you”…and we hugged each other; in a long, tight embrace. Invariably saying, “I missed you so much”. Each one of us felt a whirlwind of emotions spiraling through us.

Once our conversations began, we all could see how much we had missed each other and cared for each other. We remembered the times we had laughed, cried, joked, and our friendship codes (a black shawl, maroon suit, half fry, tingli, cow, dharfeela, chachi) that only we knew.

The best part, it never felt like we have met after so many years. Nothing has changed and no one has changed. You can talk your heart out and no one is gonna judge you. Just a deep sense of trust and empathy built over the years.

Few friendships transcend distance and time. To me, it was the same group of friends sitting at Playpen, near the canal at IISE. Far away from the world, in their wonderland.

This time with a promise, to meet every year…