My best friend

Pragati Kumari
Nov 6 · 3 min read

Throughout your tenure of life, a handful of people enter your life, who change your life for better or worse. In 2011, Sonam Dolma Lama made a massive entry into my life. Henceforth, things were never the same. I’ll tell you why! Yes, this post is about her, my best friend, Sonam.

Class 11, Army Public School, Sukna: I and Sonam possess more latent heat than the normal human population. We feel hot most of the time. Hence, the presence of an air conditioner in the computer lab made the encounter more happening. 20 computers and 40 students. Numerically, all students were asked to form a team of 2. It was the beginning of a new academic year. I hardly knew anybody. I could see Sonam smiling at me. After five seconds, I realized she wasn’t smiling at all. That was her default expression. Technically, she smiles, even if she doesn’t. She holds a Ph.D in maintaining a joyful expression for a long time.

I asked her, “Did you get any partner to sit with?” She said, “No, I didn’t. Did you?”

The next 50 minutes were spent in replacing the “Hello world” program in C with “Hello Prags, Hello Sonam”. Since then, we’ve been in one team, through the thick and thin of life. From the next day, we sat together in the third row, second column of the class. She is the first person who actually understood my sarcasm and PJs. From sharing the same bench to sharing the same tiffin box, we’ve come a long way.

We used to hang out during the summer vacation and the much awaited Durga Puja holidays. One of the most difficult tasks in the world is to control your laughter during the class. We could never master this art of laughing with a neutral face.

It was very difficult to control our laughter in the physics class. We laughed turn-wise. It was an act of pretense. I accidentally dropped the pen so that I could finish one installment of laughter under the desk. Once I was done laughing, Sonam used to drop the pencil so that she could finish her slot of laughing. This uninterrupted laughter-cycle went on and on for 40 minutes. Her laughter is contagious. Once she laughs, I also start laughing by default.

It’s been more than 6 years since the school got over but it still feels like yesterday. We are still in touch. Every time, I go back home, she treats me with short trips around the town. I am forced to do the same when she comes to Bangalore. :D

Dear Sonam,

This is another medium of expressing my gratitude and love for you.

I know you’ve planned up something for my birthday but I want to gift you this bunch of 600 words as a pre-birthday gift on my birthday to you. I know you will love it and you’re already excited for this.

Dear readers,

Friends are like crayons who add color to our black and white life. At the age of 60, when you’ll turn the pages of your life, you will take immense pride in seeing those colorful pages.

Make your best friend feel special. You guys have not only shared time, you guys have shared some precious memories that will last for a lifetime.

If you’re missing your friends, give them a call. Don’t wait for them to call. Who knows, they might be waiting for your call.

A firm believer of the fact that food solves all problems because good food triggers good mood, which in turn emancipates happiness and serotonin!

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