Stranger to a Friend

Life and friends; both are incomplete without each other. I have written about friends earlier, here and here, and I'm sure that will be the topic of discussion in many more posts to come. I owe a lot to my friends and I really can't imagine a life without them. But at the same time, I'm intrigued by the realisation that each one of them was once just another stranger to me and now, life without them, is unimaginable

The beginning of a friendship is something that always amazes me. It could be something as inconspicuous as ending up as room-mates or as neighbours; ending up as lab-partners; studying in the same class. It could begin at a discussion about common interests, common problems, "GIRLS" (yes,both boys and girls talk about 'girls' in different perspective though ;-) ) or even 'parents' . The possibilities are limitless.

And before you know it, the person you had just met, is now an integral part of your life. The same people whom you were shy/scared to talk to are now the people who know most about you; the same people whom you'd call by name, are now referred to by a variety of nick-names ( and the real name is even forgotten ); the same people you won't cry in front of, have already helped you through your worst times; the same people you called 'silent' are the one's that talk to you the most; the same people you cribbed about to your 'parents' or old-friends, are the one's you choose over parents to discuss a problem at hand.

All these words come out of mere retrospection of how I met my great friends, but I am sure there are many things about this 'unique' relation that I have missed out here. Feel free to share them with me ( in other words .. leave a comment .. ;-) )

To my FRIENDS

As highlighted in most of my blogposts, I guess the biggest struggle in my life has been that to crack THE JEE-09. But here, I don't want to whine over the fact that I'vent achieved anything noteworthy since then, but try to explore the cause behind it (which I think I've found)

I attribute my success in that struggle primarily to my teachers. But not far behind in the percentage contribution are my friends. Through them I didn't just learn and understand the course and subjects but far more important things. Their qualities span beyond the things that can be gauged by numbers. To name a few of those qualities, optimism, dedication, inspiration, ability to prioritize and many more. And I'd say that among all my friend, there was at least one of them and there was none with all of them. But we together complemented each other. As they say, "Together we stood tall"

But then came the time when we were separated to tread along a path of choice, but without the company of choice. On the day of separation, promises were made to stick together and stay in touch and *being there*. But as usual, promises are meant to be broken.

Now I see, distantly, all of us separated. And its impact is bad.....

For me, apparently the various qualities of each one of them that helped me over the hill then, is now lost. There are times, when I know what it is I need, but dare not say to others around me fearing mockery. But this brings me back those memories of the days when I could say it to any of my friends without fear or hesitation. Now, the distance seems to have crept in. And now the social networking sites and phones seem inadequate. Nothing can match the face-to-face talk.

I don't know what to write to explain how I feel. But this is what keeps coming to the surface :

Unexplainably, we feed off each other's energy, success, happiness. How-much-ever separated we are, this is something that will remain true. We still compare with each other, and hence anyone's failure or unhappiness, will prevent each one of us to move forward. It gives me immense pain to see some of my friends giving up because that gives me reason to even consider that option. I used to love the determination in each one of your attitude. And I know I need to see it again to keep me going. So here's what I request each one of my friends (those I want to refer to here know it, in case someone is in doubt, just send me a personal message and I'll tell if you are on the list):-
Lets keep our spirits high, and though we are separated...lets still be the source of energy and motivation for each other. If not for your sake, then for others part of the group, I request you to never give up. The only thing I would like you to give up is the *thought that giving up is an option*


NOTE : This post may seem weird and out of context, but I write this in an unexplainable mental state. So please don't ask me why I wrote this.

Friends - A BLESSING

I've seen a lot of world and being son of an army personnel, I literally mean it. I've been to various places and I've learnt some invaluable things that I'll be sharing here.

I feel that lucky are those men/women who have people to take care of them. And I feel I'm very lucky. Here I don't want to speak about family, but friends. Friends.... a gift to most of us without which we are incomplete; a gift that should be most valued but the truth is the otherwise.

Friends...this term brings to mind a lot of names, faces and incidents. Some people that come in your life are no more than just acquaintances, but some turn into great friends. I'm lucky to have a huge circle of friends spread throughout the country. Friends who really care; friends who I can trust; friends who I can rely on. There are some incidents that are really touching that I would like to share with you:

1. One friend gives me refuge for months in his lair without any complaints in an age when children don't even like to have their parents living with them; in a world where privacy is the most important thing to most. The friend doesn't just allow me to stay over but also change his ways to suit me; is ready to leave the bed and sleep on floor and then claim that he prefers the floor to the bed.
His never-say-die attitude and the power to see that there's always a next time has got me over many disasters (referring to bad exams). He is someone I can fall back on (literally, considering that his body would cusion the fall)to find some comfort and motivation after screwing up something badly.

2. Have you ever had a friend who has danced, literally danced, with joy for your success; dancing as if it was his own success, completely forgetting about his own result? Well I'm grateful to say that I have such a friend. A friend, who understands me well; a friend who knows me inside-out; a friend with whom I can share the silliest to the most serious stuff. Both of us think very much alike (at least in some ways) and hence talking to him mostly gives me the comfort of not being a retard. I can discuss almost anything with him, be it studies, my failures/success, far-fetched and superfluous plans about future,etc...

3. Few days ago, I was chatting over the internet with a friend and cribbing about my inability to deliver my best in exams thanks to 'silly mistakes'. After a little,literally, discussion over the internet, he calls me up to console me and discuss the problem, forgetting about his own exam the next day; an exam with course that was driving him crazy. The call was 'not at all expected' and nor were his words, which in some way were comforting.
He also has the patience to hear my weird ideas/dreams, most of which are nearly unattainable now, and also agree to help me with it. He is one of the most considerate people I know, as the incident here shows, and I wish to be one like him.

4. Another 'special friend' of mine possesses the gift of looking deep inside me just through a status update (on facebook) or an article on the blog. And she won't just let me know that she knows, but she'd take the pains to draft long (really long) messages to make me see the brighter side or to make me believe that it wasn't my fault even when no one else can be held responsible for it. Amazingly those messages do the charm (to some extent) and most of my fear/regret/despair is converte to hope/happiness. She has made me feel special; made me feel confident at times I had lost hope; made things seem attainable; made me know myself better.

As I write, many more incidents flood my mind but I'm falling short of appropriate words to describe some incidents that have been engraved into my memory. I wouldn't want to forget them ever in my life as they make me feel lucky to have such great friends.

To conclude I'd like to say the following:

Friends, THANK YOU. Thank you for laughing at my silly jokes, thank you for attending my calls at late nights just to talk randomly, thank you for making me laugh at times I felt low, thank you for being there to share my happiness, thank you for being there for me , thank you for making me feel so special, thank you ...

I've gained a lot from my friends; to such an extent that it would be an understatement to say that they had a crucial role in making me what I'm today. I don't think that I've ever done anything like those mentioned above and this makes me wonder, "what have I done to deserve to know such great people?"
--- "ITS A BLESSING TO HAVE SUCH GREAT FRIENDS"---

NOTE: I'vent used names here because I'm not sure of how many of those referred to here don't mind their names appearing on this page (despite the fact that I have no other readers other than those few readers themselves).