For Friendship’ Sake!
If you’re still friends with those you literally grew up with, what you’re reading isn’t meant for you. This is for the rest of us who lost touch (and track) of the kids we once knew and who knew us. Although Facebook was invented with the seed to aid us in locating our past connections, it didn’t work out very well. It’s not like we are ‘back together’ as nobly intended. For the better part of our existence, they, our childhood friends, remain a figment of our reality. Nothing more. Nothing less. We’ve made other friends and have moved on too.
However, every once in a while, we end up leafing through the old photographs and noticing how much we’ve strayed away from something that was so close to our hearts years ago. All those days spent doing stupid things like hiding and seeking and playing cricket — both with a bat as well as a textbook—and learning to bicycle and getting caught doing something mischievous and some more. Only to drift apart during college days and then eventually for good for various reasons. Now, it can be annoying to think of circumstances that led us to this. At best, you can say “That’s life!” while at worst, you can say “Shit happens.”
Either way, it doesn’t really matter.
After all, going by the format, chances are that the ones you call your friends today won’t be so for long. And if, because of any plausible situation, you happen to quit the job you are at or the city or something else, you might be growing a new crop of friends soon. That’s how it is for people on the road. They are always shifting, hopping from one place to another, one company to another, and by default, always leaving trails of friendship behind.
The significance given to career and the long hours invested in this farcical word spares little to no time for friends. So, what follows is pretty natural: Your colleagues become your friends. Of course, the bigger doubt looms: Are they truly your friends or the corporate culture compelled you to stick to those you spend the majority of your time with? With 24 hours at your disposal and one-third spent in bed, you’re left with 16 hours. A major chunk is dedicated to office, commute included. Goes without saying that you don’t work 10–12 hours. Nobody does. Productivity is limited to 5–7 hours. The rest of the time is spent on posturing and of course, stalking old not-yet-forgotten friends on Facebook.
PS. I am 31 and i’ve got about half a dozen of friends. Two are situated in Navi-Mumbai, one of them happens to be from my school but we weren’t pally back then. The rest are from the north, one of them from a town called Nokha in Rajasthan. The thing common to all of them is they don’t care whether we are in touch constantly or not but somehow we are.
