A birthday note to a remarkable friend!

It’s hard to believe that it all started almost seven years ago. Has it really been that long? Time does run quick especially when you are in the best of days. This was when I was a 16 year old college girl. And someone introduced me to this guy and it was one hell of an introduction! He was apparently called by the name of “Spidey”, an abbreviation of Spiderman which I still have no clue as to the origins of that nickname. I had a special fondness for his name “Abhishek” and I for one, used to be the single person who addressed him so for the most part of our college life, three years in that amazing place that still remains the reason why I am what I am today!

There was nothing extraordinary about those three years. It’s a story that every person who has graduated from a mediocre college in Delhi University has to share. A flamboyant city, new college life, bunking of classes, sitting around with friends all day long, no money in the pocket, a profound love for the college bike parking area, those millions of hangout places, negotiations with parents for outings and night-outs, a feeling of being a part of a real group of friends and above all, that outstanding set of friends who have come to define my personality. This was a time when life was all good. Well…not actually throughout the three years but that year of 2006-07 was just out of this world! The reason? Most of them are mentioned above… Who will not love that kind of life? But there was something beyond all this! That’s the confidence and perspective that this set of friends gave me. The ability to take on life, at least half a dozen shoulders to lean on in times of crisis and wait! Am I forgetting the most important gift… A millions of memories to last a lifetime!!!!

To write about all of them, I need at least a book of the size of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (if not more). But this column is dedicated to one of the crown jewel that I got and that’s where this passage started. I want to keep this short but there is no guarantee coz it’s going to be real hard. Not because he is some exemplary human being that needs such a wordy description (this blog is not being written to praise him for he knows exactly what I feel for him but to thank him for meeting me at the right time of life!!!) but because he is so much a part of my life that it’s hard to miss out on anything. So here goes the story which is very similar to many other friendships yet different... For the simple reason that it’s him and me and there are not many sets of such a beautiful bond that I have come across in life!

I have never believed in destiny all my life for I think that concept is flawed in itself and definitely we did not meet coz we were meant to meet. I choose who to be friends with coz I cannot leave anything to fate! So he was among the chosen few J Why? Because he was genuine. There are loads of people who are understanding, caring, smart, funny and all that you look for in a friend. But this guy was different for me because he was all that, he had the best of qualities and still behaved as if there was nothing special about it. People viewed him as a fun to be with guy, who makes people laugh but hardly has someone seen him the way I have. He says coolly, “Yeah so I make others laugh... What’s the big deal about it?” I don’t know how to answer him. May be, he doesn’t realize that he is giving the greatest gift to his friends.

Our friendship had the same initial hiccups that are seen in every movie. We were linked together as a couple and teased around so much for the simple reason that I used to adore him. That never bothered me though. If he is that way, I have to adore him. He didn’t leave me much option really. I spent so much of time with him (we used to travel together, hang around together, meet over weekends and so much more) that I got used to goodness. He was there to listen whenever I talked and better still, he was there to talk when I had only silence for company. He had the faith in me that no one other than my parents and sister showcased. He was one of the happiest human beings when I left for my MBA and then when I got a job which I wanted and moved to Mumbai.

As of today, after seven years, nothing has changed except that we live in separate states. He is one of the very few persons that come to mind immediately when I have to share a success story or a troubling thought. He still gives me a hard time with his stupid jokes, annoying behaviour and childish pestering. And he is still a reason for me to smile when Mumbai gives me a hard time with all the estranged feeling that it has burdened me with. He is what Rahul Dravid was to the Indian team. He is my WALL and will continue to remain so. And if I do not stop writing about him here, the nostalgic feeling of memories and the tears will be inevitable…

It’s been more than a year since I moved out of Delhi and I can still remember that farewell my friends gave me and the only thing running through my mind was whether I was going to find a bunch of jerks like this ever again in my life who care for me so much and make my life so easy and comfortable. The thought of leaving that comfort zone was terrifying but there were these four people who gave me the assurance to go ahead and the promise to stay there in the background whenever I need them. I don’t know whether they will be there my entire life but the belief that they will is enough to motivate me to keep moving on!

This was meant to be a birthday tribute to the one guy (though I am four months late on it) but it turned out to be a remembrance of that entire bunch of friends that I am so proud to have found and no hard feelings Spidey but you have to agree that our friendship is incomplete if these guys are not a part of it!! Cheers and a very Happy Birthday... Wishing you the best of everything in life coz you deserve every bit of it J

Dedicated to Abhishek, Anshul, Ankush, Supriya, Anant, Sakshi, Radhika, Meenakshi, Geetika, Isha, Indu and DCAC!!