FRIENDS!
What is it about this word that the very mention brings in all sorts of emotions in you.And I sure that the first thing that comes is a smile on your face. Yes, that is the power of this 7 letter word. It is also a word which gives you lot of hope, a sense of belief that there is somebody on whom you can count upon. A hope that when the whole world deserts you, he/she will be there, rock solid.
According to me there are 3 phases in a person's life:
Phase 1: life in school!
This is the most fun part of any person's life. This is where the foundations of the most strongest relationships are laid. Those days of carefree fun and frolic. The worry of homework, the competetion in sports. The various groups that are formed with fancy names and the desire to be in all such groups. The first appearance of the moustache for boys and for girls, errrr.... The fight amongst yourself but fighting for you when confronted by a different class/division. The geniuine happiness that you feel when you see your friend get an award or recognition and also the tinge of jealousy when you see your friend getting something which you also desired.
The first crush and the teasing of friends whom you know have a crush on your class mate. Sometimes you tease two people, who have nothing for each other, so much that they actually develop love or is it puppy love for each other. ( I can see lot of people smiling already). The excitement of getting to know more about the opposite gender and also worried about being caught doing so by your friend initially. Then sharing your desires and darkest fears to your friend who though cannot do anything, still listens to you giving you the feeling that you are the king who can conquer the world. Teasing and troubling the teachers, getting punished together, sometimes inviting punishment of being asked to leave the class as a welcome break from the class and to run to the canteen to grab a "Dabeli" or a sandwich.
The tension and worry about the exams, the last minute checks for any important questions that you might get from your friend who can afford to have tuitions from a teacher from the school. The wait for the results to be out. Everybody having a favourite who will secure the numero UNO position in the class. A bit of jealousy shown by the person in the 2nd position. Man, do I miss those days!!
Phase 2: Life post college,early years of professional struggle and marriage.
This is the time when friends disintegrate. Lose touch with each other not because they don't want to. The sheer pressure of the profession and in most cases the family, keeps them away. The same guys who would meet up everyday on a railway track throwing stones and discussing their future would suddenly not find time to meet up even once in a week or worse still once in a month. Lot of old things take a back seat and new things become the priority. The new job, the next promotion, the new house, the bigger car, ensuring your house is in order, ensuring your parents who are now retired are taken care off, ensuring you provide the best of everything that a father/mother can do for their children. In all these, the friends take a beating. The love is the same, the urge to know who is doing what is there, the desire to meet up is there. The only difference between then and now is: Earlier we used to have nothing other than time and now we have everything other than time.
Phase 3: The getting back
This is an awesome phase. This is the phase which sometimes brings tears to your eyes in a happy way.( khushi wale aansoo). I remember having cried like a baby after watching Rock ON, in the process giving a shock to my wife who thought that I have gone crazy. Called up my best friend and cried along with him on the phone and did manage to meet up again and relived some of the old memories. I also remember a time when we all played antakshari over Yahoo Voice Messenger with friends scattered across the globe
People who are now grown up and in the mid thirties, there is a sudden desire to connect again. The desire to show your spouse and kids your childhood and then relive them all over again. Get back to people with whom you had grown up with, fought, made up, wrestled, pinched,poked, ate,played,complained about. Friends who are now heavier on the abdomen and lighter on the head.Friends whose faces have changed quite a bit, some who have not changed a bit at all. Voices are heavier and more mature but still has that childlike innocence when the conversation happens amongst the friends. You can still hear that chidlike exhuberance and energy.
I know that I want to meet up all my friends, I am also sure that they all feel the same way and I am very sure that one day we will all again become what we always were: Friends For Life!!!
Love,
Social Recluse
What is it about this word that the very mention brings in all sorts of emotions in you.And I sure that the first thing that comes is a smile on your face. Yes, that is the power of this 7 letter word. It is also a word which gives you lot of hope, a sense of belief that there is somebody on whom you can count upon. A hope that when the whole world deserts you, he/she will be there, rock solid.
According to me there are 3 phases in a person's life:
Phase 1: life in school!
This is the most fun part of any person's life. This is where the foundations of the most strongest relationships are laid. Those days of carefree fun and frolic. The worry of homework, the competetion in sports. The various groups that are formed with fancy names and the desire to be in all such groups. The first appearance of the moustache for boys and for girls, errrr.... The fight amongst yourself but fighting for you when confronted by a different class/division. The geniuine happiness that you feel when you see your friend get an award or recognition and also the tinge of jealousy when you see your friend getting something which you also desired.
The first crush and the teasing of friends whom you know have a crush on your class mate. Sometimes you tease two people, who have nothing for each other, so much that they actually develop love or is it puppy love for each other. ( I can see lot of people smiling already). The excitement of getting to know more about the opposite gender and also worried about being caught doing so by your friend initially. Then sharing your desires and darkest fears to your friend who though cannot do anything, still listens to you giving you the feeling that you are the king who can conquer the world. Teasing and troubling the teachers, getting punished together, sometimes inviting punishment of being asked to leave the class as a welcome break from the class and to run to the canteen to grab a "Dabeli" or a sandwich.
The tension and worry about the exams, the last minute checks for any important questions that you might get from your friend who can afford to have tuitions from a teacher from the school. The wait for the results to be out. Everybody having a favourite who will secure the numero UNO position in the class. A bit of jealousy shown by the person in the 2nd position. Man, do I miss those days!!
Phase 2: Life post college,early years of professional struggle and marriage.
This is the time when friends disintegrate. Lose touch with each other not because they don't want to. The sheer pressure of the profession and in most cases the family, keeps them away. The same guys who would meet up everyday on a railway track throwing stones and discussing their future would suddenly not find time to meet up even once in a week or worse still once in a month. Lot of old things take a back seat and new things become the priority. The new job, the next promotion, the new house, the bigger car, ensuring your house is in order, ensuring your parents who are now retired are taken care off, ensuring you provide the best of everything that a father/mother can do for their children. In all these, the friends take a beating. The love is the same, the urge to know who is doing what is there, the desire to meet up is there. The only difference between then and now is: Earlier we used to have nothing other than time and now we have everything other than time.
Phase 3: The getting back
This is an awesome phase. This is the phase which sometimes brings tears to your eyes in a happy way.( khushi wale aansoo). I remember having cried like a baby after watching Rock ON, in the process giving a shock to my wife who thought that I have gone crazy. Called up my best friend and cried along with him on the phone and did manage to meet up again and relived some of the old memories. I also remember a time when we all played antakshari over Yahoo Voice Messenger with friends scattered across the globe
People who are now grown up and in the mid thirties, there is a sudden desire to connect again. The desire to show your spouse and kids your childhood and then relive them all over again. Get back to people with whom you had grown up with, fought, made up, wrestled, pinched,poked, ate,played,complained about. Friends who are now heavier on the abdomen and lighter on the head.Friends whose faces have changed quite a bit, some who have not changed a bit at all. Voices are heavier and more mature but still has that childlike innocence when the conversation happens amongst the friends. You can still hear that chidlike exhuberance and energy.
I know that I want to meet up all my friends, I am also sure that they all feel the same way and I am very sure that one day we will all again become what we always were: Friends For Life!!!
Love,
Social Recluse
hey vin.. amazing post.. loved it.. so true..
ReplyDeleteThanks Rags. i know, wish the 1st phase could be longer, and the 3rd phase faster!
ReplyDeleteLovely post Vinesh.. good idea of playing Anthakshari over internet.. njoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kranti
ReplyDelete