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

Back again after a really long break which provided lots of "food for thought". There was a whole range of things on which I could have written this comeback post, some being the 49.5% reservation issue, my travels around Canada, thoughts on coming into Netherlands or even the glorious life in Amsterdam!! However, I chose to refrain from all of these just to put into words some thoughts on those special people who have made such a huge difference in my life.

This post has been influenced a lot by the more popular series by the same name (I'm yet a novice 'coz am only in the 3rd season) but what many people watch just for the sake of a laugh did set me thinking what life would have been without those few people who make fun of you but at the same time lend you that shoulder letting you know that you always have the proverbial pillar to lean on.

Being the "typical Taurean", as many people on Orkut may be familiar with, friends for me always have been a select group of few people who realize quite long after meeting me for the first time, that I indeed can speak or even can be worth hanging out with!!

Looking back on school days, I distinctly remember having been obsessed with ensuring that I sat with the same 2 guys (it was a boys' school ... I cudn't help it!) starting from Class 6!! Even in the 10th standard, when we had a rather harsh class teacher who took it upon herself to change all of our places to mix us up, somehow I managed to get back my friends around me a couple of weeks later. Even in high school, the equation remained pretty much the same.
Those last few days in 2001 when it was time to bid farewell to all those wonderful guys, my mind was blank ... it seemed that the world had come to an end.

As life moved on in university, again slowly but surely we built up another close well knit group and before we realized four years had flown by and once again deja vu ... time to bid farewell and move on in life.

Finally looking back at 2005- the most recent group of friends, brought together in a strange land from different corners of the world by a company that believes in cultural diversity. Yet as if Fate pre-ordained, 6 gruelling months later, when we had grown so habituated to each other as if we hadknown each other for years, it turned out to be same cruel, old story ... separated and sent to countries as diverse as China, UK, Saudi, Algeria, Yemen, Thailand and Canada!!

The point of this post is not to post an account of friends I've had all these years; its just to ponder back how similar each situation has been ... the only difference has been the span of time we've known each other before having opened up and putting forward that hand to form that special bond of friendship. Each time at the back of my mind, I knew someday we'd be forced to move away and yet each time that got overruled by stronger urges to form that social network.

Yet why that urge ... is it that we make friends because we find similar mindsets or is it just a method we adopt to survive in a harsh, new environment? After all animals in packs always turn out stronger in the face of adversaries. Friendship has always been a 2 way deal where either side is willing to sacrifice and help the other; but isn't that something we take as a condition for the relationship? The question uppermost in my mind at this moment is - "Is friendship a veiled expression of selfishness that we glorify in no uncertain words or is it just that special bond that links people together irrespective of their past history?
[ All comments to help me sort that out are welcome :-) ]

But to end this rather long post, there are no words that I can pen (or type) to put down my gratitude and feelings to my friends. I'll not mention thanks for I believe friendship knows not that word. But to all those who've reached out to take my outstretched hands, never let go of that grip. Your marks will always remain special to me ...