Best friend - a term that has been long in use and will continue to be so for decades, perhaps even centuries to come, that is if this stupid race of humans manage to last that long.
Who or what is a best friend? Ask a kid that and he will tell you that it is the person you share all your secrets with. Ask an elder that and chances are that he will tell you the same thing. Of course, they recognize the other aspects of the relationship but at the end of the day it boils down to that one simple fact: the freedom to be yourself with that person, the comfort level that allows you to share everything from that stupid flirtation you had with the guy next door to the fact that you have flunked your exams and they know it before anyone else in the world does (not even parents....man! they are always the last ones to know everything)
My earliest memory of a best friend dates back to class 3. She was a sweet kid from whatever little I can remember now. Of course it goes without saying that I was a sweet kid too!! Ok so I bullied people perhaps a wee bit too much and should have paid more attention in the maths class instead of sucking on the end of my pencil like a moron, but chalta hai....I mean a woman is allowed some liberties in life, right!
When it was time for us to move (fauji kids! we stay in a place just long enough to unpack and then it is time to pack things and move again. Weird! but that's life), I wondered if I should cry for leaving Neha. I still remember screwing up my eyes and trying reaaallllllly hard to squeeze a tear out. My little bro offered to box me, said it would make the task easier. I declined and finally did not cry.
We promised to keep in touch and did so for a few years. I kept hearing about Neha from "uncles and aunties" who had been posted with Neha's dad. Many years later, I came to know that her mother passed away. I wished I could have been by her side to console her.
Then suddenly out of the blue, NB now Mrs. NS contacted me through www.batchmates.com. It was a huge surprise when she told she would be in Bangalore next month and looked forward to seeing me. I am so looking forward to meeting her too! After 18 long years!
Who or what is a best friend? Ask a kid that and he will tell you that it is the person you share all your secrets with. Ask an elder that and chances are that he will tell you the same thing. Of course, they recognize the other aspects of the relationship but at the end of the day it boils down to that one simple fact: the freedom to be yourself with that person, the comfort level that allows you to share everything from that stupid flirtation you had with the guy next door to the fact that you have flunked your exams and they know it before anyone else in the world does (not even parents....man! they are always the last ones to know everything)
My earliest memory of a best friend dates back to class 3. She was a sweet kid from whatever little I can remember now. Of course it goes without saying that I was a sweet kid too!! Ok so I bullied people perhaps a wee bit too much and should have paid more attention in the maths class instead of sucking on the end of my pencil like a moron, but chalta hai....I mean a woman is allowed some liberties in life, right!
When it was time for us to move (fauji kids! we stay in a place just long enough to unpack and then it is time to pack things and move again. Weird! but that's life), I wondered if I should cry for leaving Neha. I still remember screwing up my eyes and trying reaaallllllly hard to squeeze a tear out. My little bro offered to box me, said it would make the task easier. I declined and finally did not cry.
We promised to keep in touch and did so for a few years. I kept hearing about Neha from "uncles and aunties" who had been posted with Neha's dad. Many years later, I came to know that her mother passed away. I wished I could have been by her side to console her.
Then suddenly out of the blue, NB now Mrs. NS contacted me through www.batchmates.com. It was a huge surprise when she told she would be in Bangalore next month and looked forward to seeing me. I am so looking forward to meeting her too! After 18 long years!
