Lost & found

Just a day back I found one of my childhood friends on a popular friends networking site. I wasnt really ecstatic in finding him, but as always felt like "ah! Gotcha". His face hadnt changed a lot because one glance at the profile picture he had posted told me that it was indeed him. We had studied together in 1st std in a small little school, far away from my native. I was notorious there because I was always late for the 1st afternoon period. Reason being that I would play more than the others & finally have to eat lunch with both hands instead of one. So while teacher was out calling the attendance, i would be at the taps trying to wash off lunch leftovers from my face & hands & shirt and wherever else I managed to smear it. I remember him as a very pious guy perhaps because he had "vibhuthi" on his forehaed every single day that he came to school. I also have memories of him as an ardent Ayyappa devotee, because for some reason "ayyappo swamiye" used to come out of him at regular intervals. He was also the class topper in 1st std. I remember this clearly because achan was always pushing me to beat him at school. Besides all these, there is another bigger reason, why I hounded him on networking sites. I have very vivid memories of him getting beaten black and blue by his father, for any number of reasons.

Forgetting about the report card, not mentioning about a PTA meet, hiding answer papers because

he got only 48 in math & not 50. They sure didnt believe in sparing the rod or spoiling the child. Of course I have had my share of beatings & slaps both publicly and privately, but achan was never a tyrant, he was much easier to deal with. After 1st std we parted ways, he went to a boys school & I was sent to a convent. We used to visit their place once in a while so we were also invited for their house warming. I can clearly remember that the house was beside a canal or something. But by then, we were both grown up and had lost that innocence binds children irrespective of sex. When you are 12 or so, there this distinct charaterisation of boyish stuff and girly things. So we never cared about each other, after all he had his friends & I had mine. Years passed, and now i see him again and all those memories come flooding. I am yet to ask what is happening with him, though I feel it might be the same old routine. Sometimes i feel that all the friendships i had in school never withstood the test of time. They just withered away or simply gave way to stronger more fruitful bonds.