Why are Reunions Important?

A trip to nostalgia, now and then is good for the spirit-  Dan Bartolovic

From the time FaceBook started getting family and friends back together in the virtual world,  things have changed for many.  The social media made people not only make new friends and new dreams, but it also brought back the memories of the past, and the people who were of it , a great part!

 Many have stopped making friends, and found the comfort of finding their old one's.   Many felt the need to relate to their past and make peace with it.  Many have crossed several hurdles and painful days that they look back at memories with a sigh of relief.   Many have come across people whom they would not want to be in touch in life..and took forward with the lessons learned.  

However, one thing remained growing.   People and their connectivity to the people of their Pasts...Be it school, college, sports friends, colleagues,  book club readers,  charity partners, pool club partners or even walkers together.    

Reunion is not a new term.  It has been there since times immemorial.  But with the kind of stressful pace with lives, many people have forgotten the roots.   Relatively in India, the get-together of families happen for all good and bad occasions and for all festivals very frequently.    Even in this kind of a culture, time became a rare commodity.  

People found excuses wide enough to keep away from what is close to their hearts.  One reason - fear, fear of the past and the anxiety of the future.   Competitiveness of the world brought in bigger comparisons with wider horizons to reach.  Ultimately, we are in the world; children buy time from their parents and the same Parents get neglected as they grow old and useless.  Everything has a direct cause and effect.   Then why reunions.

Reunions are the ties that bind.  As life grows and takes it own path, many of us move on with our own roads to travel.  Some of us run, some walk, some crawl and some drag.  Despite all this, the starting of the road remains the same however be the journey called life.  There are certain things that remain common and related for ever.  The bonding, the friendship, the care, the concerns and the times shared become more important to look towards a future with promises.  

People from our childhood reflect our dreams as a child, aspirations as a teen and focus as adults.  What does not come in the way of this path is how much you achieved in your journey...the roots remain the same.  The bonding is not scared of the new branches of life that emerged as we grow older.   Every one goes through ups and downs..but when it comes to reunions, there is warmth of understanding...a time to rejoice and a memory to recollect...and future to share.

Reunions basically show how we were in the past, how much we made of the time we spent at a particular place and how many of people's lives we touched in this journey. Be it a simple family reunion, or a friends get-together or school or office reunion...the joy is immense, expectations flutter in us making us feel good and bit awkward for certain embarrassing moments that would have been probably a gossip of the past....however,  with the age and maturity comes a reflection of joy in reunions.   Nothing of the past ever hurts unless it has got to be with two particular individuals..but as a group, the reunions are the time to introspect into our own selves and the happiness.

It builds a platform where we feel assured in life that we have people who care for us and whom we care.  Reunions make simple affirmations to the fact that how much ever faster the world may go, there are still roots that get stayed grounded.   The memories of first love, first friend, first job, first school medal, first certificate,  first child....and the list goes on...gets shared...gets filled in the air.  After all, what made Facebook successful is the factor that it brought this possibility of virtual reunion of the world, people and their emotions.

We had a 50th year of Inner Wheel Club of Madras South, where we cherished meeting the charter members, first President of the club and all the past presidents and members which means that over the period of 5 decades the thread of friendship and service continued and remained alive.

After 22 years, when a group of friends met in my hometown to grieve together at the loss of a school friend who made our childhood brighter with her dance performances, we had mixed emotions.  The emotion of celebrating her life and our reunion, and the sadness of her loss and meeting at the wrong time..however...the reunion had a meaning...togetherness at times of need.

After 10 years, when colleagues of Manmar Technologies are planning to meet over this weekend at MGM beach resorts, I am excited... the excitement is like that of a child coming back home from a hostel...or a worker returning home from an on site assignment ....probably the group knows how many challenges most of us have crossed....the group shared the glorious days of IT and also have seen the worst hit recessions that sunk the corporate that was once the highest tax payer in the state.  The group was small and successful, talented and motivated...all high in spirits and aims...together in friendship and bonding....supportive and caring..and hence the reunion surely has a meaning.     

This is the time to relive the memories of the past....and rejoice every bit of it for a night and then create wonderful memories for the future to hold tight till we meet again.............until then..its just ...See You Soon and Never a Good Bye to the Real Friendships that stand strong forever!