After 25 Years, They Met Again—and Realised They Never Really Grew Apart

Life has a way of moving people forward without asking for permission. Careers grow, families expand, cities change, and years quietly stack up. Yet sometimes, when people meet again after decades, time pauses—just long enough to remind them of who they once were.

That moment arrived when friends from the 1997–2000 batch of BSc Hotel Management & Catering Technology at the SRM Institute of Hotel Management (SRMIHM) reunited after 25 years.

What began as a reunion trip at a resort in Pondicherry, where ten batchmates gathered, gently flowed into Chennai, culminating in an intimate meeting at Hotel Savera. It wasn’t planned as a grand event. It didn’t need to be. What it carried instead was something rarer—authentic connection.

Once students juggling lectures, kitchens, exams, and dreams, the group today stands rooted in diverse walks of life:

Ajith Shankar Narayan, now trading tyres and rubber in Dubai, serving the MENA region since 2006.

Gaurav Verma, guiding young dreams through his international education centre.

Roshit Ravindranathan, Zonal Head at IndusInd Bank, Chennai, steady in leadership for over 11 years.

Milan Karnik, founder of Explore India, turning journeys into memories for others.

Roshan D’Souza, a psychologist and HR innovator, helping people and organisations find balance since 2013.

Hari Balaji, CEO of Ferrgra (Urban PCT Three Pvt. Ltd.), the Greater Chennai Corporation’s PCT Management Concessionaire, shaping unseen yet essential aspects of urban life.

And then, something unexpected happened.

Within minutes, the years disappeared.

They didn’t “catch up.” They continued—from exactly where they had once paused. Stories resumed mid-sentence. Laughter returned without effort. Inside jokes resurfaced without explanation. For those few hours together, the weight of responsibility, age, and time fell away.

They weren’t professionals or titles anymore.

They were simply friends again—25 years younger, if only for an evening.

The emotion deepened when their teachers re-entered their lives. Mr. Devesenapathy and Mr. Ravishankar joined the gathering, turning memory into presence. A video call with Mr. Manokumar and a voice call with Chef Vijaykumar bridged physical distance, reminding everyone that mentorship, once given, never truly leaves.

There were pauses. Quiet smiles. Eyes that lingered a second longer than usual.

Because this wasn’t nostalgia—it was recognition.

Recognition that the years had changed everything, and yet changed nothing at all.

As the evening drew to a close, there were no dramatic promises—only a shared, silent understanding:

This time, it won’t take another 25 years.

Some friendships don’t fade.

They wait.

And when they return, they don’t ask what you became. They remind you of who you always were.

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