The People I Will Miss - Chapter One

There are lots of people and lots of things I will miss when I move to Boston. These are just some of them.

I am sort of used to missing Aditi and Sumit by now, but being in Delhi still gives me the opportunity to reminisce each time I visit places that we used to frequent together. And of course, since their families are still in Delhi, whenever they visit home, I would have been able to visit them too. I guess I'll need to plan a vacation to Melbourne some time.

Then there is Shashank, another good friend from school. He's been in Hyderabad for four and a half years now. I did plan a vacation to Hyderabad three years back, so that I could visit him. And I see him every time he comes home to Delhi, except four weeks ago when he wanted to spring a surprise on me by suddenly showing up in Delhi, and I was on my way to Manali. He has a very typical way of saying "hello" whenever he gives me a call, and it is pretty amusing and endearing at the same time.

Then there is the gang from St Stephen's. The six of us - Aarti, Anuradha, Kavita, Ruchi, Tanu and yours truly, find in each other a strong support system, a way of sharing whatever needs to be shared - worries, concerns, joy, jubilation, excitement, fear, nervousness, you name it. We've been through the process of finding ourselves a career path, finding ourselves guys, getting engaged or having our heart broken, and in Tanu's case, getting married, all with the other five girls standing by our sides. Right now, Kavita is in the States herself. We all keep in touch pretty regularly through e-mail, so Kavita says she doesn't really feel the distance so much. I find a lot of consolation in that. I also find consolation in the fact that, at least for the first few months, she will be about a six-hour drive away. But I will really miss the rest of the gang, especially Ruchi, who's been with me through my MCA, my internship, and, more recently, has taken up work in the same office.

Then there's Varun. It's been a little less than six months that he took up work at the same office as me. We've actually known each other for about four and a half years now, and we were always friendly with each other. But when we started carpooling, I started sharing almost everything with him, because for about four months, it was just the two of us in the car. I've discovered that he's a guy who can give even a girl like me (who tends to be rather unstable emotionally) a very objective and reasonable perspective on a lot of things. He's a guy who can cheer me up on the worst of days with his jokes that a lot of people classify as PJs but I tend to like.

Then there are the other friends whom I've known from my MCA years. There's Neeraj, with whom I worked on the Placement Co-ordination Committee and the Technical Festival Organising Committee. In the process, I learnt a lot from him about the need to have principles and stick to them. I also admire his commitment towards everything he does, and I am also trying to learn that. He's also been a great source of advice on personal matters. I think that it's great, the way he can analyse the most complicated issues objectively and impart useful advice. Then there's Tulika, who's been a great friend to me, especially through some tough phases in my life. And of course, Rajesh, who showed me that even if one person wants to change something drastically, and is strong willed and determined, he can do it.

As for my present and past teammates, I will do a separate post on the subject.