In the darkened drawing room of an elegant heritage home within a stone’s throw of the Central Business District of Bengaluru, time stood still on a balmy October evening. The curtains were drawn, the lights dimmed and all eyes were on the wall where a video rolled back the years.

In selfie videos edited skillfully into a seamless thread, men and women, mostly on the right side of sixty, recalled the three years of studying together in one of the oldest colleges in the erstwhile Pensioners’ Paradise. They had come from as far as the US, Canada, the UK, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Trichy and as near as various layouts of the city. As they cheered on every reprised memory and the finale, a soulful rendition of ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ by the next generation singer, it was evident that the passage of nearly forty years had not dimmed their appetite for the simple joys of life. Their spouses and children of varying ages as well as other friends looked on with mild amusement, and perhaps envy, at these old Bangaloreans talking fondly of a gentler era in which social media was yet to be invented and doomscrolling was not even in the dictionary.

As reunions go, and this is much the season of reunions of all kinds of groups of schools, colleges, work places or even neighbourhoods and movie casts, it was along expected lines. Before the videos played out, there was much regret expressed at not meeting more often, much wishful planning for get-togethers in the near and far future, much delicious food consumed with hearty enthusiasm and much exchanging of phone numbers with promises of keeping in touch.

The hangover of cherished memories spilled over to the next couple of days when a tsunami of photographs inundated WhatsApp groups and long-lost emotions bubbled to the surface. For many who have relocated overseas, it was yet another reminder that home is still Namma Ooru. For many who couldn’t join the merriment either by choice or circumstances, it was a missed opportunity to reconnect.

Was it an attempt to cling to a simple past in this complicated world? Was it an impending sense of the inexorable passage of time which will soon render them weak in the knees and soft in the head? Was it a celebration of days gone by and moving on to another phase where they’re relegated to the greying “uncles and aunties” category of an ageistic society?

As the exhausting evening drew to a close and dusk crept it, friendships were quietly renewed. They lingered in the driveway over cups of sugarless coffee, with mostly everyone watching their glucose levels. It seemed they were reluctant to tear themselves away from the joy of a magical afternoon.

These ties that bind are the reassuring constants in a Bengaluru changing so rapidly that the sprawling turf club nearby may well give way to multi-storey concrete-and-glass block (though many attempts towards this have failed) and self-driving cars could soon add to the traffic gridlocks. It took the untiring efforts of some to mobilise and motivate others to come together for an afternoon that will be cherished for some time to come and will be the new benchmark for forthcoming reunions, if any.

Every now and then, there are reports of college reunions which mark the golden anniversary, and beyond, of passing out from college. The numbers will inevitably reduce over the coming years, for that is the way of life and death, but for those who meet, it’s a celebration of just being gloriously alive and tenaciously kicking.

(Full disclosure: The writer was one of the greying uncles who was privileged to be part of the event)

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