Networking Positives

Having gone through the typical I love 'em to I hate 'em cycle of social networking sites, I have finally decided that for all the pains these sites have given me, they have also finally thrown up something positive that I could not have managed on my own: Reconnecting with old friends, and the proof of the six degrees of separation theory. This appeals to me coz I love human relationships and connections and everything associated. How enriching they make life!

Anna, my Swede "pen-friend" of 15 whole yester years was already a gift from FB last year. Until 5 years ago, we were writing real letters to each other. The frequency had dwindled to one-a-year. But now it's back to the usual once in a couple of months on Facebook. Old times! As girls growing up in different cultures, we would send real things like stickers, rakhis, hand made cards and arts in letters to each others. Now we send Facebook virtual gifts like hugs, flowers, pokes, etc. Technology! Sigh!

As a child in Bhopal, I was a part of this neighbourhood gang of 7 girls and Jatin, one poor little brother of two of the girls... Reena, Rashmi. We would do crazy things such as dressing alike and going out on mopeds. We would even take pains to make and burn Ravan on every Dusshera. Often we would stand at the gates of one of the houses and talk away into the night. Then life beyond childhood happened, we chose our paths and scattered away, losing touch. And now after 20 years or so, one finds the two sisters and their brother who have done well for themselves in Canada, Singapore and somewhere else in the world respectively. One an award winning jewellery designer, one a hotshot finance executive and one a techie in one of the big global firms. The surprise element came one day when a senior colleague walked up to me and asked how I knew Rashmi? They were ex-colleagues from apparantly. How nice!

This chance discovery triggered more. Found another old friend called Puneet. My dad and his dad were professors in the same college in Mhow, a small MP town way back in the 80s. There were no phones then, so we would drop by at Puneet's place unannounced. He was this ultra skinny boy, my age, studying in the boys' school of the same convent congregation my school belonged to. His mom would always serve hot pakoras when we visited. We would all go to picnics together. Puneet's dad, a classical singer had coached me for my first inter-school singing competition entry, which was in the bhajan category, by the way. When we left Mhow and came to Bhopal, the connection weakened, until I, in my college days decided to go down the memory lane and went to visit Mhow all alone. I met Puneet, who was home for holidays from IIT Mumbai. We started writing to each other. And soon enough I was in Pune for my degree in mass comm. I visited Puneet in IIT once and reinforced the connection, only to lose it all over again in the hustle of life. And now, suddenly we are talking again. I found Puneet only yesterday. He is a techie in Bangalore, a dad of two, and makes music in spare time. http://www.zonepuneet.com/index.html And then again, just today I discovered another connection between us, a professional contact in Bangalore, I totally revere for his astute marketing sense. It seems Puneet and he are ex-colleagues, too and best of friends.

I am sufficiently inspired. Next on agenda is to discover another old friend from Mhow called Vinay, who last heard of a decade ago, was circling the global waters in a merchant vessel of some private Norwegian company. Another decade before that we were trekking on the slopes in an adventurous Himalayan expedition, sharing the journey, the pains and the fun. Vinay, you are about to be found via this new digital espionage tool! Six degrees or sixty degrees, the connections I am rediscovering are making my life worth living today. God bless Facebook!