Through thick and thin

From the albums

This picture was taken at Amoeba in 3rd Block, Jayanagar in 2006. Seen in the picture with me are my classmates and good friends Preethi, Amrutha Patil and Mishba. It was taken when some of us  schoolmates got together.

I completed my schooling from Sri Aurobindo Memorial School and went on to do my pre-university and degree course from Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College. I got into modeling when I was 18 and soon after, got an opportunity to act.

I’ve come across many people but these three schoolmates have remained my constant friends. They know the person in me better than the actor.

Amrutha Patil is the daughter of Basant Kumar Patil, who is the president of the Film Producer’s Council.  We studied together from lower kindergarten till class seven. We are still in touch and talk almost every other day.  Mishba and Preethi are batchmates. We never studied in the same class. The four of us have taken different paths but we call on each other just to keep the friendship alive.

School days were memorable for me. I was active in sports and played volleyball, kho-kho, badminton and table tennis and participated in tug-of-war. I was also the captain of the badminton team. My interest slowly changed to dance and music when I reached college.
  
The four of us used to hang out on Brigade Road and were regulars at Café Coffee Day, Mota Royal Arcade and 5th Avenue. In those days, there weren’t so many street vendors selling junk jewellery and clothes on the footpaths. The roads and pedestrian paths were free and we enjoyed our walks on Brigade Road and our movie outings to Galaxy theatre which has now been pulled down.
  
Even after I became an actor, I would occasionally walk down  M G Road and Brigade Road with my parents, because I truly enjoyed walking on these stretches. There would be people who would come asking for a picture. I would sometimes oblige them and at other times politely excuse myself.
 
Bengaluru has changed a great deal. Today, traffic has taken over and determines whether our movement on the roads is pleasant or not. I miss my walks down Brigade Road and a coffee at my favourite joint there.  It has become so crowded now that I think twice before deciding to walk anywhere in the city.

(As told to Nina C George)