Two women who went to the same village school in India 40 years ago have discovered they now live just miles apart in the UK.

Smruti Dodhia, 57, and Meeta Jethwa, 54, were both pupils at Maharani Shree Baluba Kanya Vidhyala School in Porbandar during the 1980s and, unbeknownst to each other, both married and moved to the UK – and just towns apart.

In all these years, their paths never crossed – until now.

The pair recently connected through an alumni group set up to save their now abandoned school.

Meeta explained: “The school opened in 1936 and after so many years it needs a lot of repairs so it’s not in a condition for pupils to study there.

“It needs a lot of work and, as far as I know, the government isn't going to do anything.

“The current pupils have moved to a building opposite the school which is really small and there’s not enough space for them to do all the different classes.

“[An ex-student] Nutan Gokani – who still lives in Porbandar – had the idea to get the alumni together and create an association. They thought that if every girl that studied at Baluba gave a donation, we could all give enough for the repairs.”

Past pupils are now dispersed gobally after moving away for various reasons, so Gokani created group-chats for each country to make communicating with each other easier.

Meeta said: “She created groups country-wise so that whoever studied at the school can find a friend. A lot of people have found each other again after so many years.”

Currently, the UK chat has more than 70 members and is expanding as more people learn about it.

They held their first zoom call a few weeks ago, on April 16, when the girls all saw each others’ faces for the first time since studying together at school.

Meeta said: “The admin of our group chat asked all the girls to introduce themelves, our names and where we live so Smruti said she lives in Kent.

"I messaged her ‘where do you live in Kent?’ and she replied to me ‘I live near Dartford’.”

Meeta, from Woodlands Close, Maidstone, discovered that Smruti was living just 25 miles away in Alderney Road, in the outskirts of Bexley.

Realising they lived just a few towns apart, the pair began to send messages and ring each other.

Smruti said: “It’s nice to get connected like that. We started talking and found out we have so many similarities with what happened in our lives so we decided to meet.”

The two women got together on Friday, April 28 for a trip to London where they spent the day chatting, walking and having lunch.

Smruti said: “I was very, very excited to meet and was eager to know about her life in Porbandar and where she was living and how she came here.”

Though they went to school together at the same time, the girls were in different year groups, and so they didn’t remember each other much.

But now they have forged a growing friendship.

Commenting on their first meet-up, Meeta laughed: “It was like a blind date.”

Smruti said: “We connected like we already knew each other. It was like meeting a long, lost friend.”

Smruti and Meeta were also able to relate to one another after going through recent difficult life experiences.

Meeta said: “We’re in the same situation - recently her husband passed away and so did mine so it’s nice to have some company. It’s a little easier to find our own independence together.

“If we get the chance, we might try to meet often or go on a day trip somewhere or a holiday together.”

Along with the other girls in the UK chat, Meeta and Smruti are planning to have a second zoom call on May 14 and a face-to-face meeting in London for a group lunch.