I got a surprise call when I was having my lunch last Sunday. It was from an unknown number. I called the number and there was a familiar voice on the other end.
It said, “What’ssssup??” with T silent.
There is an unwritten law that a response to this string of words is expected as a longer “What’s upppppp” string but I could only muster “What?” with wild shocking expressions.
Back in 1999, Budweiser came up with a commercial where friends have an entire conversation using these words. What’s up.. not to forget the t was silent. A lot gets said using only these words. The commercial demonstrates a close-knit bond of friendship between these friends. My friends and I identified ourselves with that close-knit bond so we started greeting each other in the same manner.
So you can understand my shocking reaction when a familiar voice on an unknown number greeted me in that manner. Another reason for my shock was that the number was an Indian number. My brain was identifying the voice of a man, it was Vivek, who I know now lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Therefore I broke the law and instead of responding in the usual manner, I questioned the voice,
“What the heck, have you come to India?” Incredulously, I asked.
The response was his famous exuberant laughter.
Indeed it was Vivek.
In the next 5 minutes, a plan was decided and it was in motion. It was after a long time, that the trinity of MUV was converging.
So you might have guessed M is me, V is Vivek and now it is time to introduce you to U.
U is for Qua. Well, his name is Urvish but during college, once he wore a white loose T-shirt that inscribed the letters Q U A and that was good enough for us to rename him as Qua. He lives in the Biden’s USA and I haven’t met him since…… damn I can’t even remember when I met him last. Maybe it was when he got married.
Compared to that, Vivek and I have met fairly regularly with a frequency of at least once a year.
But we three have not met together for a long long time. So the plan was very very special to me.
When we met, we all discussed “When was the last time we met together?”. As usual, Qua quickly scanned his memory and confirmed that it was 2015. Vivek and I just nodded in agreement without an argument.
Vivek shared how cleverly he navigated the internal politics at his office to land a better job, I talked about how beautiful it is to be a father but Qua was a bit more silent. When inquired as usual he needed a dose of tea or coffee. The poor boy was having a fast. He’s a big foodie so it is almost painful for me to watch him hungry. Eventually, we three broke out in a huddle of two. Sometimes mischievously, these two would remain behind as I would roll my wheelchair ahead of them. Sometimes it is me and Vivek talking about our pixel stories, how we can’t really hear Qua in the noise of the mall and sometimes it is me and Qua talking about politics, privacy laws, US judgments about how politicians should have thick skins, etc.
Time flew with my dear friends.
Despite meeting these boys after 8 years, it was as if we met yesterday. But obviously, we had not met yesterday. These boys I was meeting now were different, old, mature, and more thoughtful. We all were fighting different issues in our lives and just talking to each other had greatly relieved our minds of the burden.
But some things have not changed. The foundation of our friendship was still based on watching movies together, eating out so we could ridicule Vivek’s slow eating, Qua’s ability to use his vast knowledge and make any conversation boring, let’s not forget his insistence on sharing how funny his Japanese friend is, (and I am sure I may also have some annoying habit which my friends will gracefully reveal in the comment section).
But more importantly, we ensure that we laugh aloud at life.
No meeting with the boys would be ever complete without reminiscing on a few of the best memories such as the Goa trip or our famous Maggi preparations and how we miss those days.
Those two days were magical, we saw 2 movies together and had lots of fun. Hugs and handshakes were exchanged and we knew the time was up.
It was at this moment, my mind got flooded with thoughts.
How long I would have to wait to meet these extraordinary gentlemen again? how much they would have grown by the next time I meet them? Where would they be in their life and where would I be in mine?
I closed my eyes and a scene appeared in front of my eyes.
I see Saif, Aamir, and Akshay Khanna from Dil Chahata Hai, sitting on the edge of a fort at Goa.
“Hume har sal 1 hafte ke liye goa Ana chahiye?” says Aamir in a relaxed way.
After Saif’s agreement, the camera moves to Akshay Khanna, who is mulling over something.
He says, “Dekh raha hu woh jahaj jo jara der baad dikhi nahi dega. We are like that ship and soon we will set out in search of our destinations and it is quite possible that our journeys might be different.”
He takes a step back from the edge of the fort and says the iconic line,
“kabhi socha hain, har sale yaha ana ek taraf, 10 sal me 1 baar milna bhi mushkil ho” loosely translated as forget about coming to Goa once a year, meeting once in 10 years might be difficult.
I felt that exact line at that exact moment when we were saying our goodbyes.
Damn you, Akshay Khanna! I hope we prove you wrong!