F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

As soon as you step into this world as a bundle of joy, by default you are gifted with a homepage (See…God thought of all these things much before humans did) and certain relations. Also known as “khoon ke rishte”, these involve your Mom and Dad, siblings (or would-be siblings….arre, chote bhai behen jo abhi tak paida nahi huye), Bua, Chacha, Mama etc.
But as soon as you start treading this journey of life with a lil sense of the things and people around you, there is one more category of relations that gets attached to you….they are none other than your friends. Woh log jinko aap kuch time pehle tak jaante bhi nahi the…..ppl who were complete strangers to you and just did not contribute anything to the “importance index” in your life, suddenly become an integral and undetachable part of you. They are now as important for you as your cup of morning tea and other routine morning activities (I know the comparison is a little sidey…..but am sure my frenz will bear with me….others, I just don’t bother!!!)

Aur ye jo dost log hote hai na…they are real sweethearts. You love spending time with them, you share your joys and sorrows with them…..they lift your spirits when you are feeling low….and when you are in a mood to celebrate, they would be all game for it. Not only that, boss ki bitching karni ho toh frenz, shopping karni ho toh frenz, movie dekhni ho toh frenz, pakaana ho toh frenz…..arre yahan tak ki email fwds bhejne ho toh bhi frenz ki hi jaroorat padhti hai. (Mujhe toh sardar jokes sunaane ke liye bhi inn doston ki jaroorat hoti hai). I sometimes really wonder how terrible my life would have been….without my support system called friends.

When I decided to leave Mumbai (after spending a decent 5 years time over there)…..little had I known that it would be so painful to move from a place which is neither my hometown….nor it is something that I can call home. I was just living a life of a nomad out there. Mumbai se nikli thi tab itni jyaada Ganga-Jamuna bahaai thi that my masi actually commented “aisa lag raha hai ki tu vida hokar jaa rahi hai yahan se”. And I was not the only one crying….my frenz who had come to see me off were all giving me tough competition (kya zamaana aa gaya hai….rone mein bhi competition hai yaar) Well, haven’t had the experience of an actual vidaai (the one that happens after marriage) as I am still single….and quite an eligible spinster (don’t raise your brows ok)….but yeah, probably leaving Mumbai would come closest to leaving my parents’ home.
I can go on and on about my experiences in Mumbai….but since this is a post about frenz, so Mumbai will wait (Don’t worry Mumbai….aamchi Mumbai ke liye ek alag se jhakaas post likhoongi baad mein)

Back to friends – yes Mumbai gave me a lot of these sweet creatures…..college frenz, office frenz, PG frenz….total masti thi. And not just Mumbai….I have really been blessed (thank God for that) to have some really good ppl kind enough to become my friends. Papa was in transferable job….so I never got the opportunity to grow up with the same set of people. Papa’s transfer would imply new city, new home, new school, new classmates and new friends. Jab bhi hum transfer hokar kahin aur jaate the, then apart from leaving behind my fav corner ice-cream shop…or the house which would have guava trees….or the walky-talky maid (thats what I call the maid who talks too much and is a chalta-phirta newspaper for all the colony gossip) and other such interesting and important things like that, I would miss leaving behind those friends the most with whom I was enjoying my life (gali-mohalle ke dost, school ke dost aur even Mummy ki kitty party waali aunties ke bachche bhi)

But these transfers made me adaptable to new places and also honed my skills in fooling people to actually accept me as their friend :) So the database of my frenz just kept on growing…..and I am still in touch with so many of my friends whom I have not met in ages and who reside in different corners of the world now (well, Orkut also deserves a due credit for this!!!)

But every rose comes with a thorn…and the sweet relationship called friendship has its own downsides. These very people who make your life worthwhile are the ones who make you hurt also. Since they rule your feelings and emotions, many a times they would unknowingly or may be un-wantingly make you sink into your knees and you start feeling hopeless and void of happiness. You actually start wondering how somebody who has always filled your heart with pleasure fills it now with pain equally intense.

If it is to be like that, so be it. People don’t stop adorning roses for the fear of thorns. Just that the thorn doesn’t prick as much as the hurt arising out of the matters of the heart.
But roses are still beautiful….and so are your friends. Cherish them….enjoy with them….love them and live for them (and you’ll realize that it is the best way to live for your own self)

For all those frenz who are away from me….the following lines are just to let you know that you are missed and you would always, always be an integral part of my life...

Kuch baat yaad reh jaati hai…
Kuch yaad khaas reh jaati hai
Door ho jaate hain hum jinse
Phir milne ki aas saath reh jaati hai…!!!

A very Happy Friendship Day to all of you :)