1. I reached Guwahati on 01 May at noon and the 22 km (or thereabouts !) ride up to the city convinced me that hardly anything had changed in the past 8 years since I was there. The scenery was the same. Guwahati University wore the same 'worn out' look (except for one freshly painted hostel gate !!). This notion lasted till I reached the city when it was promptly dispelled by the frantic building activity, high rise buildings dotting the landscape, flyovers at various places and increased traffic on all the roads. GS Road was virtually unrecognizable with the entire space filled up by shopping malls, multiplexes, eateries and swanky showrooms. I nearly lost my way to the RBI Officers colony !! Guwahati is really 'shining' (Incredible India !!).
2. Tapan and Avasthi had organized lunch and we started gossiping straightaway (worse than a bunch of old housewives we were !). I was shocked to see Avasthi. The guy whom I used to call 'heavyweight champion', 'मोटू' and 'भालू' (at various times depending on the mood) was a shadow of his former self. The following photos will testify that I am not exaggerating :
Avasthi is busy scanning the arrival schedule of the guests.
This is a 'forced smile' as he was too hassled to exercise his facial muscles otherwise.
Sorting out priorities !!3. The good news is that Avasthi will soon have the opportunity to get a thorough investigation done up regarding his health problem. More on this in the next post.