growing up with friends

Udupi was a small sleepy temple town. We lived in a joint family. So my cousin Ahalya was and is not only my sister but also best friend. It was strange that we had issues with our mother’s because of each other but between us it was not. She was of course all of a year and three months older so I had to do everything she did along with my own compulsions. So climbing trees, jumping the wall to the neighbours trotting behind the costumed dancers of the Janmashtami festival went along with picking and typing flowers.
My parents then left for UK leaving my brother and me with my grandparents, now I had been promoted to being the leader and protector, after all now I was fifteen months older than him.
When we returned to udupi, we shifted to Manipal the college campus. It was my first day at the play park. Having just returned from Madras, my clothes, my accent was all different. The entire group of kids just refused to accept me into the fold. The second day I reluctantly went to the park when a tall girl with a charming smile and dimples looked at me.
It began to drizzle, she popped open her umbrella and came up to me,
“What is your name?”
“shammi”
“My name is Anupa, I am in second standard, and will you be my friend?” she asked.
With Anupa accepting me Jyotsna, Jayashree, Lakshmi, Smitha we all became friends. Until careers did us apart. It took nostalgia and Facebook to bring us together.
Since day until we completed our professional courses we were friends, we walked to school together, we returned from school and picked up our snack and milk and sat together. Through the med school her friends we were mine.
Of these three great friends my sister and brother are still with me but I lost my friend Anupa to marriage and Uncle Sam.

ಬಾಲ್ಯದ ಸಂಗಾತಿ.
ಆಗ ಉಡುಪಿ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ತೀರ್ಥಸ್ಥಾನವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ದೊಡ್ಡ ಸಹಕುಟುಂಬ. ದೊಡ್ಡಪ್ಪನ ಮಗಳು ಅಹಲ್ಯ ಅಕ್ಕ,ಗೆಳತಿಯೆಲ್ಲಾ. ಆಕೆ ಮಾಡ್ದಿದು ನಾನು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಆದರೆ ತೊಂದರೆಏನೆಂದರೆ ಆಕೆ ಹೂ ಕಟ್ಟುವ ಒಳವಾದರೆ ನನಗೋ, ಮರ ಹತ್ತು, ಪಾಗಾರ ಹಾರು, ಹುಲಿವೇಶದ ಹಿಂದೆ ಓದು ಇಂತಹ ಮಹತ್ವದ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಿದ್ದವು. ಆದರೂ ನಮ್ಮೊಳಗಿನ ಬಾಂಧವ್ಯವಿತ್ತು.
ಒಂದನೇ ತರಗತಿಗೆ ಬಂದಾಗ ನಾವು ಮಣಿಪಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ವಲಸೆ ಬಂದೆವು. ಅಂದು ಚಿರಿಪಿರಿ ಮಳೆ, ನಾನು ಗುಂಪಿನ ಹೊರಗಿನ ಹೊಸ ಪ್ರಾಣಿ ಯಾರು ಮಾತನಾಡಿಸಲೂ ಸಿದ್ದರಿರಲ್ಲಿಲ.
ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ನೀಲಿ ಸ್ತ್ರೆತ್ಚ್ ಪ್ಯಾಂಟ್ ಧರಿಸಿ ಬಿಳಿ ಅಂಗಿಗೆ ನೀಲಿ-ಗುಲಾಬಿಯ ಹೂಗಳಿದ್ದ ಕಮೀಜ್ ಧರಿಸಿದ ಒಬ್ಬಾಕೆ ಬಂದು ಮಾತನಾಡಿಸಿದಳು.
“ನನ್ನ ಹೆಸರು ಅನುಪ, ನಾನು ಸೆಕೆಂಡ್ ಸ್ತನ್ದರ್ಡ್ನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೇನೆ ನೀನು?”
“ಶಮ್ಮಿ ‘
“ನನ್ನ ಫ್ರೆಂಡ್ ಆಗುತ್ತಿಯಾ? ”
ಅಂದಿನಿದ ನಾವು ವೃತ್ತಿ ಜೀವನ ಸೇರುವರೆಗೂ ಗಳಸ್ಯ-ಕಂಟಸ್ಯ ಗೆಳತಿಯರ್ಗಿದ್ದೆವು.ನಮ್ಮೊಡನೆ ನನ್ನ ತಮ್ಮ ಶಾಂತರಾಮ. ಅನುಪಾಳ ಒಪ್ಪಿನೋದಿಗೆ ಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸ್ನಾ, ಜಯಶ್ರೀ, ಸ್ಮಿತಾ ಎಲ್ಲರ ಗೆಳೆತನವು ಬೆಳೆಯಿತು.
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