Looking for lost friends!

I won’t boast of having lots of friends, but can definitely say I have some very good friends! I moved from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, then to Petaling Jaya. In the process I have met, worked with and interacted with many, many people. Most were passing acquaintances but some have been special enough to win a place in the corner of my heart. I keep in touch with most of them.

Who I really miss are my schoolmates. Most will agree that the best part of one’s life is when we were in school. I enjoyed my schooldays tremendously. Especially when I was in Form 4 and 5, I had some of the most wonderful people as my classmates. The lessons I learnt from them were more valuable then what some of my teachers taught!

I miss Annamma Kochumen. She came to my school and into my life in 1975. It must have been her quiet and calm nature that drew me (the noisy and talkative one!) to her. Besides being a good listener, she was very patient with me. She was also a very staunch Christian. Through her I learnt about God’s love, patience, understanding and much more. We kept in touch even when she went off to India to study Medicine, but lost contact after several years. I have been searching for her through the internet. Her name appeared in some organization in Canberra but there was no address or phone number to contact.

Then there is Geraldine Loo, such a cheerful and fun person to be with. We have done some interesting things together, especially going to some hotel (can’t remember which one) to meet Vince Hill, a singer who hosted the program “They Sold a Million” on TV those days. I still remember and cherish my first Christmas celebration (I am a Hindu) when I stayed over at her place and attended Christmas Mass with her family. I think I met up with her once after her marriage and that was the last I saw of her.

Zaleha Salleh, Shikin and another girl came from Johor, calling themselves “The 3 Musketeers”! They were also a bunch of exciting people to be with. I learnt much about Islam from them. They readily accepted my invitation for Deepavali lunch at my house and didn’t doubt if the food prepared was ‘halal’. Our class went on a trip to Port Dickson after our MCE. Here is where I discovered what a lovely voice Zaleha had. Her rendition of ‘The Last Waltz’ was so beautiful; it brought tears to my eyes knowing that we will be going our separate ways after that.

Zahidah Omar was the bubbly and very artistic class monitor. However I think she had problems controlling the loud, noisy and naughty me! So what did she do? She always called upon me to ‘help’ her keep the class quiet – smart eh!!! Roziyah Ismail is another friend I loved very much. We got to know each other well when we spent a lot of our time in the school library as librarians. She was brainy, hard working and always did well in the exams so I used to compete with her.

These are some of the people whom I really want to get in touch with, to see if they still remember me and feel for me the way I feel for them. Whenever I think back about some of the good times that I had (I realize I do this more as I grow older!), they are the ones in the picture. I intend to keep looking for them.