The Plan It was the 2nd of August, 2024, a Friday, and as usual, Noida was bustling with traffic, giving off the typical weekend rush vibe. My sister and I had just come to a café for some snacks, breaking the monotony of our usual dal chawal lunches. I was in a hurry, eager to meet my college roommate, Joseph, who had returned to India after a long time. I was also expecting another old roommate, Sheetal. Back in college, we had shared a room and spent countless nights, gossiping, and having fun, never worrying much about our careers. Little did we know then that life would keep us apart for the next eight years. I was telling my sister how these clever guys had suddenly made plans while I was in the middle of my fourth-semester MBA exams at college in Kerala. I, too, was thrilled to see my long-lost friends, and we had even planned a trip to Himachal. There had been a lot of news about landslides in Himachal at the time. Sheetal didn’t seem to care much, but Joseph was hesitant, esp...