A Few Moist Eyes and a Bleeding Heart

One can never understand the importance of anything till there is a dearth of it. Similar is the case with human beings…one can never know how special the person is till the tide of time takes the person away from you. I experienced this feeling yet again ofcourse for a new set of people…but the feeling remains just the same.

I never knew that in this very short second innings of mine in Mumbai I had made such lovely friends, till the day we had our final lunch together (at Khushboo’s favorite food joint)…I don’t know whether you all noticed or not but that day we hardly spoke n were most formal with each other, also we didn’t click any pics…we used to click pics at DP’s, college cafeteria, classrooms…that was like our favorite pass-time whenever we were together but that day the whole atmosphere was so different…I never thought that a person as practical as Khushboo could ever drop a tear because one of us was going from Mumbai…Khushboo I might have never said it to you but I really admired you for one reason that you were really honest each time and miles away from the word ‘hypocrisy’…Did you know that it was because of you that I completed like one fourth of my syllabus...because whenever you asked me a question I was compelled to look at the notes, which I otherwise wouldn’t have bothered to read till the D-date…You were probably my first companion in college…when I came to know that we were in the same working group…I had kind of mixed feelings…but slowly as we went ahead with our assignments I really felt happy and more than that honored to be in the same working group as you, for the only reason that you put so much of hard work in every task…n inspire the others also…forget about the people who didn’t get inspired…they were hopeless cases (you know whom I’m talking about don’t you? )…but sweety, that day those tears….

Then for two the lovely people, one who can be the brand ambassador for laughter therapy n a perfect substitute for Baba Ramdev and the other who is the brand ambassador of Hide n Seek and Ruffles Lays…do I need to name the two of you??? These two girls brought the smile back on my face when I thought I had just given up smiling…they got the humor out of me…they made me feel special…I owe a lot to them…much more than what meets the eye n it can’t be expressed in just by petty words…The two of them are diametrically opposite…n I have experienced the best and the worst of both the personalities…but one thing both of them have in common, is that both of them are extremely stubborn (n not to forget allergic to cold stuff) n will never listen to me, be it having roadside stuff or the most unhygienic juices in the world…they will never listen to me whenever I ask them to refrain from such stuffs n almost always land up with a sour throat or an upset stomach…another trait that is common is that both of them derive immense pleasure in what ever sets my eyes to water…be it surprising me on the b’days in the most bizarre but gratifying way…or crafting the worlds most special gifts…or coming to see me off at the airport at 8 in the morning (its not easy, considering traveling time in Mumbai)….they did it all…but sweeties those tears…

Finally, my friends from School Shilpi, Smita and Sneha…you guys are kind of immune to my moving in and out of Mumbai...but still Shilpi you need to grow up in every which way…Shilpi you are one of the most innocent people I have come across and the best thing about you is that time didn’t rob you off that innocence…you made me feel mature…but that whimper on the phone that day….

Those tears didn’t set my eyes to water…but each drop of tear was like a spike…they pierced my heart…I never have moist eyes whenever I leave a place but always a bleeding heart…but guys there is one thing I tell all my friends and am sharing it with you all also…

There are many facets to friendship, the most important of them being a string that tethers the two individuals. To me the string should be very elastic in nature to survive the strain of spatial distances, every other facet just falls in place if this string is elastic enough…for me the friendship begins when a person’s physical presence in my routine diminishes or evaporates. So, I never I like to shed tears at a person’s departure as I know my friendship is to begin now…it’s the very important for the metamorphosis of a person from being an acquaintance to a friend…

So, I hope the string of our friendship is elastic enough to endure this strain of spatial distance…