The lobby and the veranda outside the dining hall where residents gather
before the appointed meal times is where you are likely to meet old friends or
make new friends.
It was the first time I was visiting the dining hall in the Club House
complex of Nana Nani where I had just moved. While waiting for the doors of the
dining hall to open, I saw a lady who looked familiar. The lady was also
staring at me. I remembered that for a short period, she was a member of my
Rotary club in Chennai, 30 years ago. I, however, could not remember her name.
But she remembered my name and introduced herself. She and her husband became
my new friends with whom I have become close in Nana Nani.
During meal times at the dining hall, I try to sit at different tables
allowing me to make new friends. Once the gentleman sitting opposite me stared
at me and started describing an old friend he used to know in Chennai whom I
resembled. He couldn`t immediately recall the name. When I introduced myself
and assured him that it was me he was describing, he was pleasantly surprised.
When he mentioned his name I could relate to the incidents in Chennai he
narrated. We have become good friends since then.
Another long-time resident, my namesake, recognized me the first time I met
him, claiming he knew me well from my school days in Matunga, Bombay. Though
his face looked familiar, I could not place him. We both could not remember
where we had met. After two months of scratching our respective brains, we
still could not remember the place where we had met first. One day when he
mentioned the name of my friend whom he used to visit in the Chawl complex
where I was staying, it struck a chord. I realised that I used to meet this
gentleman in the company of my good friend. Since then, this gentleman has also
become my good friend.
I have made numerous friends here who are either relatives of friends I
know or friends of my friends or friends of my relatives. I have already
mentioned about a group of friends I meet in the evenings for gupshup. Slowly but
surely I am getting integrated into this friendly community in Phase 4 of Nana
Nani.
Like many other octogenarians, I too have a problem remembering names &
faces. Many of the residents have similar features landing me in embarrassing
situations. Whenever I sit with strangers at the dining table I have the habit
of introducing myself. In the last four months, at least four people have told
me that I had already introduced myself and they know me. Making me squirm with
embarrassment.
In an earlier posting, I have already written about the new pair of
Chappals I lost outside the clubhouse of N& N a month ago. This time I was
the guilty party in the missing chappal story of a good friend. I was sitting
with some friends in the dining hall during breakfast time. One day this friend
sitting opposite me was delighted to announce that he found his missing
chappals in the same place where he had left them the previous day. I
sheepishly confessed to him that it was me who had by mistake walked away with
his chappals in place of my similar-looking chappals after breakfast and
replaced them quietly during lunch, without knowing that it was his chappals.
We had a hearty laugh. I told my friend that I was not as lucky as I never got
back my new pair of chappals which I lost outside the clubhouse. However, another pair of chappals similar to mine had been lying like two orphans
outside the clubhouse for more than a month unclaimed by the original owner. The
admin guys removed them recently.
Watch out for many more interesting stories from Nana Nani!
No comments:
Post a Comment