Song 68:
Today is Happy Friendship Day! While I don't believe in such randomly anointed days for relationships or issues or causes, it is still worth while to at least sit calmly and recollect what that day means to you. What has friendship meant to you over the years. We find friends in the strangest of circumstances. The truest friendships, I feel were formed when we were kids. Straight forward and direct, without any agenda or worldly motives, we connected with friends naturally. The attachment totally depended on our affinity to that person. There were no boundaries of rich and poor, caste or creed, political correctness, or 'what will I get out of this?' syndrome. Giving was natural and sharing was unpretentious, pleasures were simple and lasting. Through school, college and neighbourhoods these buddies were our 'run to' pals at any odd hour. Be it to go sneak some mangoes or shehtoots (Mulberries) from the trees in the garden of that ill tempered old man around the block, or to cover up for 'homework not done' with a totally fictitious story for a friend as to how you actually saw your friend's Alsatian gobble up his entire homework!
My earliest friend was my bro, two years younger to me. We'd fight and box each other in the nose (both of us have slightly crooked noses coz of that!) But over the years we had such a beautiful bond that we can share almost any problem, any issue with each other and basically just sharing solves half of the problem. I had to change almost 10 schools thanks to my Dad's transferrable job. So every new station, one had to make new friends quickly. There was no facebook or twitter or mobile phones. Each one of those 'best friends' has left a little vignette of a special friendship in my heart. Over the last few years one has connected with many college friends through Facebook, but some from my school years are still untraced. But the memories will always remain, each more precious than the other.
Remembering the ones I didn't find. Kanu from Presentation Convent Jammu for that huge tree under which we'd lie and gaze at the beautiful red school building, Chunmun from St Joseph's Sagar, MP for those green tamarind beans we used to pluck and eat together and hold our hand going down that dark chapel staircase, Swati Sharma from St Joseph's Ferozepore for the best tomato cheese sandwiches in your tiffin that I later learnt how to make from you, And for reading our first book together in the school library that we totally fell in love with-'The Magic Faraway Tree' by Enid Blyton, Shailja Kamra from Seventh Day Adventists Convent in Ganganagar for those trips to your Dad's Campa Cola factory and the souvenirs we'd get and Shalini Sharma for just being so cool (Can't forget the first day you walked into class in a strappy, red polka dotted dress and hat, making me fall in love with polka dots forever!), Ritipal Pannu from KV, Ahmedabad for those evening walks and our wishing well where we'd drop coins and wish for Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand songs in Chitrahaar and experiencing our first deep loves at 16 together and sharing all about it 10 times a day over the phone, Anureet Soin for your brazen, boldness and how I heard you, a girl say a swear word with so much zest for the first time, and the fact that you were a Sardarni who smoked unabashedly coz you never believed in pretences and your rendezvous that I had to fix from movies planned in that open air theatre in A'bad Cantt (But sigh you went away too soon, maybe you were too bold for this world!), Priti Aggarwal for introducing me to Mukesh and your Mom's Pineapple pastries, Lakshmi Priya for those yum idlis I ate from your tiffin and you'd have my parathas gladly! Hope you are the same lovely people and have a great life wherever you are! :)
And what better song to capture the essence of those friendships than this Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt duet!
Today is Happy Friendship Day! While I don't believe in such randomly anointed days for relationships or issues or causes, it is still worth while to at least sit calmly and recollect what that day means to you. What has friendship meant to you over the years. We find friends in the strangest of circumstances. The truest friendships, I feel were formed when we were kids. Straight forward and direct, without any agenda or worldly motives, we connected with friends naturally. The attachment totally depended on our affinity to that person. There were no boundaries of rich and poor, caste or creed, political correctness, or 'what will I get out of this?' syndrome. Giving was natural and sharing was unpretentious, pleasures were simple and lasting. Through school, college and neighbourhoods these buddies were our 'run to' pals at any odd hour. Be it to go sneak some mangoes or shehtoots (Mulberries) from the trees in the garden of that ill tempered old man around the block, or to cover up for 'homework not done' with a totally fictitious story for a friend as to how you actually saw your friend's Alsatian gobble up his entire homework!
My earliest friend was my bro, two years younger to me. We'd fight and box each other in the nose (both of us have slightly crooked noses coz of that!) But over the years we had such a beautiful bond that we can share almost any problem, any issue with each other and basically just sharing solves half of the problem. I had to change almost 10 schools thanks to my Dad's transferrable job. So every new station, one had to make new friends quickly. There was no facebook or twitter or mobile phones. Each one of those 'best friends' has left a little vignette of a special friendship in my heart. Over the last few years one has connected with many college friends through Facebook, but some from my school years are still untraced. But the memories will always remain, each more precious than the other.
Remembering the ones I didn't find. Kanu from Presentation Convent Jammu for that huge tree under which we'd lie and gaze at the beautiful red school building, Chunmun from St Joseph's Sagar, MP for those green tamarind beans we used to pluck and eat together and hold our hand going down that dark chapel staircase, Swati Sharma from St Joseph's Ferozepore for the best tomato cheese sandwiches in your tiffin that I later learnt how to make from you, And for reading our first book together in the school library that we totally fell in love with-'The Magic Faraway Tree' by Enid Blyton, Shailja Kamra from Seventh Day Adventists Convent in Ganganagar for those trips to your Dad's Campa Cola factory and the souvenirs we'd get and Shalini Sharma for just being so cool (Can't forget the first day you walked into class in a strappy, red polka dotted dress and hat, making me fall in love with polka dots forever!), Ritipal Pannu from KV, Ahmedabad for those evening walks and our wishing well where we'd drop coins and wish for Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand songs in Chitrahaar and experiencing our first deep loves at 16 together and sharing all about it 10 times a day over the phone, Anureet Soin for your brazen, boldness and how I heard you, a girl say a swear word with so much zest for the first time, and the fact that you were a Sardarni who smoked unabashedly coz you never believed in pretences and your rendezvous that I had to fix from movies planned in that open air theatre in A'bad Cantt (But sigh you went away too soon, maybe you were too bold for this world!), Priti Aggarwal for introducing me to Mukesh and your Mom's Pineapple pastries, Lakshmi Priya for those yum idlis I ate from your tiffin and you'd have my parathas gladly! Hope you are the same lovely people and have a great life wherever you are! :)
And what better song to capture the essence of those friendships than this Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt duet!
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