“We'll be Friends forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked
Piglet.
“Even longer,' Pooh answered.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
We were a bunch of six girls barely out of our
teens, all thrown together into a ‘degree course’ where we were expected to
behave like ladies, rather than boisterous girls. Looking back, it might have
been that calm convent atmosphere filled with demure lady like class mates,
which drew us together. Each of us was as different as chalk and cheese with a
common mischievous thread binding us together. Soon we were inseparable, determined to enjoy
each day to the fullest and dipping into our collective mischief bank to ensure
that it happens. We would spend countless lovely afternoons in some shady spot of the
lusciously green campus, chatting about everything under the sun or gossiping in
the canteen biting into crispy golden banana fritters and sipping steaming hot
milky tea.
We were slowly getting meshed into each others
lives in a way that would ensure that we carry a part of each other wherever we
may be. A tilt of the head of a co passenger on a train , a hearty laugh of a
colleague, an old melody on the radio all transporting us back to those sundrenched days of pure joy.
After our course, despite promises to stay in
touch we drifted apart as quietly and as uneventfully as we got together; as
if it was the most natural thing in the world. Life took us along in its
whirlwind ride and soon we found ourselves in the peripheries’ of each others
lives, sending an occasional ‘how are you’ message or congratulatory notes for
birthdays.
Thirteen years is by any standards a long time
but it can seem like a life time to a group of people who were
as close to each other as is humanly possible; people who drifted apart and
finally lost touch with each other completely.
Finally one of us was wise enough to realize that
friendships like ours come once in a life time and it was important to cherish
it and hold on to it; and enterprising enough to do something about it.
So it was that a couple of months back, our
collective lives changed once again with a whatzapp group. We typed on our
handsets till our fingers were sore and our eyes bleary as if to make up for
those lost years. We blended into each
others lives as if we had never been apart, with an ease that surprised us. We
were once again becoming each others pillars of support, with the power to
salvage anything from a bad mood to a badly turned out curry. No subject
was out of bounds and life slowly began to take on an attractive sheen when
seen through each others eyes.
It feels now that things have come full circle; a
circle encircling us with its warmth and unconditional love.
As Jim Henson rightly quoted “There’s not a
word yet, for old friends who’ve just met”
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| One of the rare times we managed to actually look lady like. |
