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The lock-down is not yet over and at the oddest moment, old memories long forgotten suddenly spring up. I recall some years ago, attending a friend’s wedding where they deliberately put up strangers on a common table for dinner. It was an experiment to get you chatting with people you would otherwise not make an effort to get acquainted.

It was a strange evening where in the beginning everyone was awkward and missed their regular companions but as the evening progressed, slowly everyone dropped their guards and looking back it was an interesting evening to spend with strangers.

On my table were two homemakers and I was fascinated by their daily routine described with passion, fascinated with their multiple skills and a selfless life devoted to the happiness of their families. The third, a doctor, shared that post retirement he spends most of his time reading newspapers and watching television, simple joys of life he always craved for but never found the time for all his life. He said all through his practice years, nobody ever asked him how he was because they were always so busy telling him about their ailments. “Now, for the first time whoever visits home, asks me how I am and I bask in the attention.” 

The fourth guest, a young girl who has just finished her MBA and was waiting for a placement revealed that this is the worst time to be qualified with fancy degrees because every youngster is super qualified and nobody has a job in time of recession. She was both angry and sad!   

When it was time to introduce myself, I was hesitant to say I was a film journalist because it is always followed by “Oh but you don’t look like a journalist” and then a question I always dread, “So how does it feel to be a film journalist and do you believe in the people you write about?”.To be continued