Recognition

I just bumped into this guy at the Mumbai airport and the conversation went like this:
Me: hey I’ve seen you somewhere
He: ugh?
Me: you’re from Chennai?
He: yes
Me: svce?
He: yes..
Me: 2001-2005?
He (looking confused) : yes
Me: you represented your college at university challenge in 2003
He: yeah..
Me: you were goach’s teammate. I’m sorry I don’t remember your name… (two seconds later)… arvind chandrasekhar?

He had the look on his face that suggested he almost gave up in life. I decided to put him out of his misery. ‘Back in Madras I used to be known as wimpy’ I said. I’m not sure if he actually remembered me but he mumbled a ‘I thought so but wasn’t sure’ and we parted.

Before you find this way too unusual let
me tell you that he wasn’t some random guy in the airport I accosted. I was catching up with this long lost friend who I’d bumped into at the airport and he happened to be traveling with her..

Nevertheless I’m proud of my long-term memory. And I’m proud to be married to someone who has an equally good, if not better, long term memory. In fact both of us find ourselves on socially awkward situations frequently when we meet someone we recognize but they don’t recognize us back.

Oh and two minutes before I bumped into arvind I was talking to someone about twenty questions and tintoretto!

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