The gathering on 15th August 2014 was nothing short of exciting. I met up with Sunil Saraogi, Chapparia, Ginoria, Prakash, Pawan, Anish, Ashok, Manish Choudhary, Didwania, Thakkar, Sanjay, Rahul, Jitender, Alok, Anand, Ajay, Sandeep, Dr. Sid, Vikash Modi, Khattry, and a few others. A big thank you to Vikash Khattry for inviting me, as I wasn’t on WhatsApp at the time!
We met just outside Bhikharam in Kankurgachi and waited for a few more friends to arrive. The reunion was as lively as ever, with the typical Tantia-style conversations filling the air. In short, everyone was still the same at heart.
A Few Highlights from the Meet:
- Jain brought roses for everyone. Thanks, bhai!
- Anish has managed to maintain his weight — neither gained nor lost any.
- Didwania and Alok still have their charming faces, and they look like they’re still in their twenties.
- Dr. Sid didn’t show off his clinical skills this time, but he seemed to be the same old alumni of Tantia.
- Jitender and Ashok were the hosts of the party. Big-hearted as always!
- Manish Thakkar looked completely different. His appearance had changed quite a lot.
- Anand was hiding behind dark sunglasses, but still looked sharp.
- Sanjay Jain appeared more civilized than during school days — a pleasant change!
- Manish Choudhary was as expected — unchanged, and probably never will be.
- Pawan was busy doing PR and left after the kachori session.
- Samir Saraogi — we need more people like him who can keep everyone connected and bind the group together.
- Sunil Chapparia looked great! He doesn’t talk like he does on WhatsApp, but still had that boyish charm. Congrats, buddy!
- Sunil Ginoria looked fantastic and didn’t recognize me at first — though I’ll admit, I beat him in the weight-gain department!
- Sandeep Bhansali still carries the same warm smile he had in school. It was clear how happy he was to meet everyone.
- Rahul Sonthalia seemed to be recovering from a neck injury. Hope he's fully recovered now.
- Ajay Chaudhary — hahaha, he really needs to ditch the beard. Otherwise, everything else was good.
- Vikash came late, but he was in good form. Note to Vikash: leave Pan Parag or Rajni Sajni Gandha (Ganda)! It’s killing your communication skills, my friend! But he’s definitely more mature now and seems to have gained a lot of experience.
- Prakash — I reminded him that we once had a fight in school, but he forgot all about it. His face hasn’t changed much, though.
- Manish Jalan — Still has the same height and slim waist!
- Vikash Modi — Looked great and pretty much the same as ever.
I’m sure I’ve missed some people — the names are getting blurry, but after one or two more reunions, I’ll update this page with more memories from the 15th of August meet.
Afterwards, Manish Didwania and others suggested going to "Nashta" — the little shop behind Bhikharam — to enjoy Kachori and Jalebi. It was clear that we couldn’t enjoy the full Tantia-style banter in such a confined space, so we made our way to Nashta.
It was a great decision! We had hot, crispy Kachoris with Aloo Saag and steaming hot Jalebis. Jitender and Ashok were the hosts again, keeping everything in order while we enjoyed round after round of snacks.
People couldn’t stop talking about how Manish Thakkar’s appearance had changed, and how Anand Sancheti still looked so youthful. There were a few forgettable conversations between Manish Didwania and Manish Choudhary, but nothing too serious.
Most of the group seemed to be more focused on having drinks later in the evening. The talk was about a liquor/cocktail party they were planning at Salt Lake.
Enter Khattry… He was given a fresh plate of Kachori, and we all listened to him with great attention.
Nashta was truly blessed that day!
Afterward, we headed to Haryana Sweets near Phool Bagan for tea. The passersby were staring at us, especially since some of us had returned to our “old form.” Our loud voices certainly attracted attention, and we could feel people wondering who these enthusiastic group of friends were.
The conversation shifted to colleagues from past and current jobs, and we shared information about each other. There was a fun little argument about Shuddh Hindi (pure Hindi) between me and Manish. We reminded him that he was once the head boy of Tantia High School — the only head boy who became head boy mid-year after the expulsion of the previous head boy. Manish wasn’t too thrilled to be reminded of that story.
We took some photos to capture the memories and then parted ways. Those photos are now on Facebook for everyone to relive the moment.
Here’s hoping for more such meet-ups in the near future.
