A moment for a memory

Yesterday marked the end of my first term at ISB. We were exhausted, as I had described in my previous post. But being budding economists, we were not at all keen on squandering away even a minute of our new found freedom. What does economics have to do with this point, you ask? I say, (given the fact that economics is indeed my heart's newly found desire), economics has all to do with everything. Water Diamond paradox is explicit here. Value in use of the few free days we have is far far lower than the value in exchange of these same number of days. Why? Well, what is the alternative use of these days? Study???? As against a movie or dinner with friends? As against shaking a leg at a party? As against using the library to chat with friends and read fiction books instead of course work? Isn't this a classic manifestation of the Water Diamond paradox?

What happened yesterday surely deserves a mention here, since for me yesterday marked its way as a special memory. A tiny 'post-it' sticks out of my book of memories, so that when at a later date I leaf through the same, yesterday's note would jut out screaming 'Read me first'. Ok, here is the story.

Adhering to the concept of the water diamond paradox, we, though, exhausted, wanted to use the free time we had to the fullest. So, exams done, we walked back home, the prudent few went to take a nap and the imprudent ones like me, who were starved for internet time, logged on to the world wide web, and finally felt emancipated! Till around 9ish, it was time to go have dinner. The original plan was to go to some place outside campus and get something to eat. So we swung between Pizza Hut and Dominoes and Subway and some place a friend suggested. So after loads of deliberation, we gathered (gang of five girls again), and went off to this place called Ista. A couple of us were not even remotely dressed for the place, with me in jeans and tee and another friend in tracks and a tee. Well you can't expect us to go dressed up to Dominoes right??? So, we hunted for a ric and in true Non-Bombay style we found none. Finally we found one guy who was willing to come, but was charging us an arm and a leg to go there. So we continued to walk, till finally we found another rickie who was ready to come. Again, in true non- Bombay style, five of us trooped into the ric. Well, we had three people who would collectively have been equal to 1.5, so technically we were just 0.5 above allowable limits! Doesn't matter. Made me feel pretty nice about myself, since I was able to be one of the 5 who could fit into a ric!!

We reached the place and it was breath-takingly beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Ramada and Land's End in Mumbai, and the salty air of Bombay beckoned me again. Sniff Sniff. Anyway, we trooped in, and had some of the loveliest food we have had in a while (two weeks actually, since we had yummy food at the Waterfront 2 weeks ago, to celebrate the end of mid-terms!). But what really made the time special, was the typical girl talk we had together. Very typical girl talk, stuff that makes our gender what we are. Stuff that makes us bond the way girls do. Somehow, we spoke all kinds of things, never for once thinking that we were actually talking to people we had known for just a little over a month. But somehow, we had so much in common, so much to talk about, so much to share, that there was, like one of us commented, an instant connection.

Somewhat similar was our experience soon after mid terms. Leaving exhaustion to the dogs, we just grabbed a shuttle, went downtown and had dinner at the Waterfront, which, for the record is an amazing place to go to. And back then, we were the'super six'. Again, a new bunch of people, with a sudden, yet instant connection.

And that is when we thought - School is not just about the subjects or the grades. Its about such memories. It's about the good times, the goofy times, the tough times, the easy times. It's about those memories that bring on a smile years later when you think about them. It's about the pictures you see ages later that make you recollect the exact conversation that happened around those pictures. It's all about the people - not just the ones you meet and greet, but the ones you meet and keep.