My blog and our sporadic emails that followed helped us stay in touch. We last saw each other in 1991, when we made our way past the hallowed precincts of Panjab University's Political Science Department. He went on to join the Indian Police Service and has done superbly for himself. I'm not surprised. A S Rai, like other civil service aspirants in the class of '91 was focused. After lectures, even the ones who weren't aspiring to be in civil service (like yours truly) made a mad dash for the Department Library or the main campus library. If there was ever a bunch of book worms, it had to be us. We were always the first to find out about the new books, always attempt to be the first to borrow them and studiously work on our notes.
I know our Professors loved us. 'The best class', was a phrase we'd heard often enough. We only made time for 'serious lectures' and ensured nothing was lost in trivial conversation. No cooler talk for us, no time for the Student Centre, no time for relaxed campus walks.
So in the two years that we spent doing our Masters, I knew virtually nothing about Rai, his interests or his family. Catching up after so many years, it was a surprise to learn he did his schooling in Mussorie, to meet his charming wife who studied law and his amazingly well behaved daughter. Seeing her and Aneesha yakking away, after Dhruv was ceremoniously dispatched home, it almost seemed like we'd never been away.
