It was Alumni season, and yes I got an invite from my school to attend the same. Nostalgia time, here I come. Soon off we were to Pune to spend a few days at Anjeet’s house. “The meeting of old friends, teachers, ex-flames, preening about present status in society, meet my spouse... do you remember once we...blah, blah, blah”, Oh yes we had a ball.

Next day in Anjeet’s house ...Our spouses were busy exchanging juicy titbits about their husbands, while we were lost in regaling and reminiscing about good old times and our sons almost of the same age sneaked out to play.

An hour later Anjeet gets a call on his mobile.

“Ok, Ok, I am coming” he replied and got up.

“Come on Sai, we need to go on a rescue mission,” he said, grinning from ear to ear, and would not divulge a word more.

As we neared the mango orchid next to the school, I was overcome by a strange feeling of déjà-vu. Yes the same old rickety fence, the familiar mango tree and beneath it... our sons squatting on the ground with two guard dogs on their haunches beside them... the incriminating evidence in the form of mangoes neatly laid out in a row, like in police station photo op. Only the Chowkidar seemed to have grown older, he peered at us and the boys alternately. Hump like fathers like sons he chuckled...as he recollected the desperate pleadings of two boys from a long time ago “please uncle, please uncle we will not repeat again...

Sigh....

People do remember.