Photographs: Uttam Ghosh
On the occasion of Friendship Day (the first Sunday of August) we invited readers to share how they met their best friend. Here are some of the responses we received...
I have known my best friend Navyatha since kindergarten. We went to school together and we grew up in the same town.
It was pretty much a hi/bye thing at first, who would have known later she would be my best buddy. She used to have a separate set of friends and I was in a separate batch.
One day in Class 2, I suppose she had a fight with her friend and we both ended up talking and from then on there is no stopping us. Later we combined both our group of friends and till today we all are a close group.
If we look back we have lots of memories to reminiscence about. Growing up with her was so much fun. Be it our obsession with books, sharing mediocrity at sports, competing for ranks at academics, discussing movies, going crazy over Shah Rukh, imagining ourselves to be sleuths, worrying about the fate of Harry [Potter] and even having our share of fights.
By our Intermediate, both names Srujana and Navyatha became synonyms and most people mistook us for twins. Till today if I have a problem that is worrying me or good news to share or in need of advice in making decisions, she is the first person I call.
Thanks Navyatha for being the most wonderful friend. Love you always!
-- Srujana Uppuluri
April 19, 2004. It was our first day at Infosys, Hyderabad. We were all fresh out of college and very excited to begin our careers in such a great manner. It was going to be a tough training period for the next 4 months and that meant we did not have much time to settle down in terms of finding accommodation and other logistics. It also meant we had to find roomies quick.
Most of the people in our batch had already found roomies. I was left alone. There were few more people like me who were still undecided. That's how we all got together.
Finally we got an apartment near Infosys and the roomies were Kaushik, Vaibhav, Vishal, Muthu, Ajith, Yogesh, Abhijeet and myself Vinod. At that time, we didn't know how long this association would last. The immediate goal then was to get through the next 4 months. We all became very close in no time. Study together. Dinner together. Travel together. Weekend masti together. We enjoyed each others' company and we were not roomies anymore. We had become buddies.
We were approaching our successful completion of training and it was time for our transfers to different cities. Some of us had got Hyderabad and few got Mangalore and some got Bangalore. We were confused. We were not sure we wanted to part from each other so soon. We didn't discuss it much with each other. Mangalore wasn't a preferred location for many of us in the batch, so it was easy to get a location swap. We all opted for Mangalore. A place of least interest to many but a preferred one for the 8 of us. And we were in Mangalore, once again as roomies. And this time we were not just buddies anymore. We had become real friends. Probably friends for a lifetime. But only time would tell.
Today, we all are in different places. A lot has changed. Muthu, Ajith, Kaushik and I are in US. Vishal and Abhijeet shuttle between UK and India. Vinod and Vaibhav have changed their companies. Vaibhav is the only bachelor left in the gang and Muthu is the only father.
But one thing that hasn't changed is our friendship. We are still very close to each other. It has been close to 6.5 years since we met and the bond still remains. And I can say for sure -- we are friends for a lifetime indeed! I hope the others will agree!
-- Vinod Manoharan, Oregon (USA)
Our school principal had just announced that for the assembly, which was a daily ritual in our school, students should stand according to height. My class teacher started pairing the students in twos and she grabbed my hand and made me stand beside a girl who I just knew by name. She wore thick specs and did not speak to many girls in class.
From that day onwards we started standing together in assembly but never shared a word in class. And then one fine day she invited me to share her tiffin during the recess. That was the day when our 14-year-old friendship's first brick was laid. That was the day and today is the day. We are still thanking the teacher who made us assembly partners and
destiny for making us friendship partners.
Thank you! Happy Friendship Day!
-- Priya Rathi
Love is Friendship. I believe in this statement SRK made famous in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
It was about six years ago, the day that changed my life totally. It was a not-so-normal morning (our maid servant had not come) when I heard my mother talking to someone on the phone. According to the conversation, someone we knew had just shifted to our city, Ahmedabad, and their daughter was feeling quite apprehensive about the 'newness' of the whole place. It was my job to calm her down by being her friend, Mom told me.
I was 15. She was 14. That was the first time I went to her house, with my mother. I introduced myself and she smiled nervously. We shook hands and I asked her name. Somehow in an instant I felt she was special. There was something between us that I had not experienced with anyone else. It was a spark...
We sat in her balcony and started talking. We exchanged phone numbers and our friendship grew. I was in class 10 at the time.
Today I have completed my studies and it still feels like no time has passed. Ever since our first meeting, we have been great friends. There has not been a single day that we do not talk
I depend on her for everything -- from reminders to eat, to waking up for work at odd hours, to helping me cook or anything else you can think of.
What is so special about this friendship? We are both in different countries since the last four years. I am about 5 hours ahead of her time; still she is there for me, still we are the best of friends. Our friendship knows no boundaries, even though we are thousands of miles apart. Skype, Facebook and Gmail keep us rocking.
Last year on July 13, I finally proposed to her. Today, my best friend is someone whom I cannot imagine my life without. She is my friend, my support, my inspiration and everything I had always felt she would be!
We have cried together, we have laughed together and we have shared wonderful moments that we will both never forget. On this Friendship Say, I want to tell her what she means to me.
We are not best friends just because we sat together at lunch or talked on the phone or had matching flip flops, or could recite each other's wardrobes (yes she could!). We are best friends because when she smiles, a grin forces itself on my face. No matter how mad I am, when she cries I instantly feel her pain and I want to cry with her. When I look her in the eyes, I know there is no one I could ever trust more. Regardless of how many fights we have had through these years, we have always managed to remain together. And I'm sure we will be together till the end of the world!
-- T Parikh
I'm a CA and belong to a middle-class family of Ludhiana while Atul, an undergraduate, hails from a rich family in Padampur (Rajasthan).
It was July 22, 2005. My colleague Rohit had insisted I join him on a trip to Maa Vaishno Devi. I joined him half-heartedly but I was not aware that this was going to be a journey of a lifetime. On the way back after the darshan, we began our climb to Bhario Ghati.
This was where I first met him (July 23, 2005). The temple was half a mile away. I was too thirsty to walk. I had seen a water bottle with Tarun (Atul's friend) and I asked for water. After that we (Tarun and I) start chatting and he introduced me to his friend, Atul Jain. When we saw each other, we immediately felt a connection. The rest of the 10 km journey was so enjoyable. We reached the base by day-end and then we parted ways. We did exchange phone numbers though.
After the trip we began interacting on the phone on a regular basis. Distance lost its importance. Though we are almost 400 km away, we used to meet at least every 2 months. We tried to be together on our family functions, birthdays. It was a matter of jealousy for many of our existing friends, but we don't need anybody else. Even our family had taken time to accept our friendship. Luckily with the passage of time, everybody understands the depth of our friendship.
In 2008 I shifted to Tanzania for a better job opportunity. It was a hard time for both of us. But He (God) knows everything. After I left, we started thinking of finding our loves. He married Neena in June 2009 and after short while, I married Shivali in November. We were luckily to find soulmates who understand our friendship. If I don't speak with Atul for 2-3 days, Shivali would ask me, "Is there any problem with Atul?"
Life is all about ups and downs -- we celebrate the good times together and cry on each other's shoulder in bad times.
We were not similar in any sense, but we are enjoying every moment of our togetherness. Recently we celebrated 5 years of our togetherness. Inshaa Allah, we would celebrate 50 years also with our great-grandkids.
I just want to say 'Bane chahe dushman zamana hamara, salamat rahe dostana hamara' (Even if the world becomes our enemy, let our friendship live on)
I am always thankful to God (Maa Vaishno Devi) for giving us the opportunity to experience such a beautiful relation.
-- Vikas Sharma
stories of Friendship...
'We met only once, but we are best friends'
Sepia-tinted memories flood my mind when I think of the days when I was a student at Jyoti Nivas College, Bangalore, where I met my best friend, Poovamma. How did this friendship come about? Well, it was the first class of the academic year and each student was asked to come forward and introduce herself in front of the whole class and tell the class about her hobbies and interests.
When my turn came, I walked to the front of the class, but felt completely tongue-tied and nervous, and the words would just not come out. I could hear the cackle of laughter of girls at the back, and this made me feel even more nervous, self-conscious and filled with stagefright. I muttered something incoherently and went to my place, while most of my classmates smirked at me and giggled.
In the break, I retreated to a corner, my eyes filled with tears. It was at that time that my to-be-best-friend, Poovamma, came to me, put her arm around me and said, "Heera, I can see that you are like a ocean with a lot of hidden treasure. You have fine writing skills, which we have all heard about. Don't feel bad that you couldn't face the class today. Work on your confidence and maybe one day you will become a well-known speaker, besides being an eloquent writer."
I warmed to Poovamma for she was (and is) a very sensitive human being who thinks deeply and introspectively and is not a hypocrite. Thus started our friendship, which was to continue for 30 long years. Poovamma's words came true. She knew I had potential, but she, as a friend, wanted to instil confidence in me as well.
Today, at the of age 50, I am a published writer, but more than that a confident speaker who recites poems and speeches in colleges all over Bangalore. And to think it was my best friend who made me believe in myself. That is the essence of true friendship, when the friend stands by you on your darkest day, when everyone leaves you. How true is the saying, "A friend is someone who walks in when the world walks out." Happy Friendship Day!
-- Heera Nawaz
I have 2 best friends -- Pawan and Subodh -- in no particular order (it's so important to keep them happy :) ).
I was a student of class 12 Science (Jabalpur) in 1996 when I saw someone new in my batch who was sitting quietly on the last bench. I walked up and said hello. He introduced himself saying he was Subodh, he had just come from Pathankot as his father got transferred here. I first thought he was weird but actually we a lot and do hope we will be friends forever.
-- Mukesh Kumar
I had just finished my MSc and was appearing for interviews for PhD across India. I came to Mumbai for one of these.
It was in the summer of June 2008. I came to the interview and was seated with other candidates in a conference room. My number was close to last so I was more relaxed. Suddenly from nowhere a girl asked me whether I was from Delhi. When I raised my eyes I was surprised to see a young nervous girl. Her name was Mona (name changed). I was surprised at this question but I said yes and then we talked for a while and discussed our aspirations.
She was also from Delhi and we discussed various regional problems, especially in Mumbai at that time. She was feeling very low and wanted admission there badly because of her interest. I was impressed by her seriousness and her bold nature. After interviews we exchanged our contact details. I had a few more interviews so I left soon after.
Sadly, I was not chosen but Mona was selected in the lab of her interest. I had been confident of my chances after the interview, so I was quite disappointed with the results. After some time Mona contacted me and asked me about my future plans. At that time I was under a lot of stress to get PhD selection. Soon after that I left for Germany for 6 months on scholarship. It was my first time abroad and a very difficult period for me. I was simultaneously looking for PhD and doing my internship.
All through this time Mona and I shared our problems and struggles. And our friendship grew and we became best friends. Our friendship held us strong in our difficult period. I was later selected for a PhD programme in Germany. It has been 2 years since I met Mona. We have met only once and that too only for few minutes. We wonder how we became so close and best friends. I think this was due to our trust and understanding of each other. We still discuss our professional and personal problems and successes. Though we are very busy in our careers now, we talk whenever we get free time.
Our friendship has taught me many things. She keeps giving me cooking tips and encouraging me to have a German girlfriend. We tease each other a lot. We fight with each other and talk freely and in a frank way. We don't talk on the telephone as she considers it my expense and thinks that I should spend money only for my spouse. But that has not stopped us from staying in touch.
On this Friendship Day I still remember how fate brought us together. I feel lucky to have a friend like her. We now talk less but still consider each other our best friend. We miss each other a lot and don't know when we will be able to meet again. On this Friendship Day I hope to meet her when I go to Delhi, and eat in old Delhi and do lots of window shopping with my best friend Mona.
-- Rohit Jain
It was the first day of college. All the students were enthusiastic and started early to capture the front seats. I was the only one sitting at the last bench. After about 5 minutes in the class I turned right and saw see another guy sitting at the last bench in the opposite corner. We shared a smile and lunch thereafter. About 2-3 months down the line and we got pretty close to each other.
His name is Ashwani.
-- Mayank Gupta
It all started in college. I studied in MES College and was in 2nd year BCom. She was in the first year. I would take part in everything but she felt that I was involved in wrong things. One rainy day she happened to meet me and I offered her a lift. She liked me and started to hang around with me. Now, though she is my girlfriend, our relationship started with friendship. She's my best friend till today.
-- Reuben Kumar
'He diluted my worries, concentrated my positivity'
It was in the winter of 1988 in Bellary. Both of us got through the CET and got admission in Medical College Bellary. Murali joined the course in time and I joined almost 3 weeks late, so I had a lot of catching up to do. Alien conditions, hostile seniors in the hostel and horrible food, and being away from home for the first time was too much to swallow for a 17-year-old.
I was contemplating quitting medicine and returning home to join my family business. But I knew that my parents would have been gutted. So I decided to hold on. My classmates and roommates did help me to get over the homesickness.
Then I met him in the Anatomy Classroom one day. The smell of formaldehyde and those cadavers had by then ceased to put us off. It was the first time we were sitting together in the classroom, though we had seen each other before. Since the afternoon class was dreary, we began to get to know each other. I realised this was going to be my best friend over the years. I was not wrong.
We have shared so many wonderful moments. Dil Chahta Hai came much later and both of us agreed it had a lot of 'us' in it. Like Akash in the movie, Murali denounced love and was always a happy-go-lucky guy scared of commitment. But he fell hook, line and sinker to his girl when he had to!
Like DCH, we too had a few moments of misunderstanding. But our friendship has grown stronger over the years. I have many wonderful friends and all of them merit a separate entry. But Murali and I keep in touch practically everyday. Thanks to advancement in technology, we are very well connected in spite of living in two different states.
We have a sizable gang and we do meet regularly once a year or once in two years. Murali in fact managed to bring in more people together to arrange a reunion of our class and we now have a group of our own. Murali is a passionate man and lives life to the fullest.
I make it a point to visit his family every time I go to my native place. Murali is my best critic and advisor on my blog. In fact he believes if someone can write a book on our own life, it has to be me. He inspires me and I admire him! Hope our friendship and that of our extended group keeps flourishing.
Mobile telephony and Internet have helped us to keep in touch with ourselves and we are all happy for this. Thanks Rediff for this opportunity to express myself on a beautiful topic like this!
-- GovindRaj Shenoy
How can I forget the day -- it's the story about a friend, advisor and moreso this character who has been like a brother to me since the day we met. Sometimes in life you meet people who change the way you think, your live and help you build an identity which you carry on for a lifetime.
It happened in the first year of my college when I enrolled for my business studies. I came from a convent school background with fluent English and tonnes of attitude. I firmly believed that only intellectuals had the right to survive in the ruthless world of academics and the rest should quit the race.
It was a month in my new class and one day, suddenly, a fair guy looking like Tom Cruise entered the class. His name was Sanjay (we fondly call him Jimmy). Sanjay walked into class, sat at the last bench, and I wonder who this guy is, but the first time we met I had a notion that this guy was different. Something struck me -- his calmness, his patience and the was he carried himself. Quite contrary to myself.
I walked out of the class that day after having an argument with the professor. Sanjay noted this and in the break he came to me and spoke to me. He said that though my anger was genuine, the way I portrayed things was wrong and that I should apologise to the professor. Although I never liked to listen to anyone, for the first time I was hearing this guy out patiently. He struck a chord and we became friends. Sanjay has on many occasions convinced me to swallow my anger and impatient attitude and follow the path of selflessness and calmness as advocated by Gandhi.
Sanjay came from a small village called Kalavad and his humility just touched me. We have had several conversations on how selflessness, shedding ego and being happy with oneself can change one's life. I still remember how he would say: "Gopal, the Earth has enough to sustain man's needs but not his greeds" (he quotes from Gandhi's book).
Sanjay was really a change agent. He still lives in the same village and works with a stock broking firm but his knowledge is immense. Our friendship is the real cause that brought the change in me. I learnt the importance of humility. I learnt anger and violence is not a solution to any problem.
Thanks Sanjay thanks for being my best friend...wishing you a very Happy Friendship Day!
-- Gopal Krishnan Iyer
A few good friends are worth crores of rupees in the bank.
My best friend Kavita Shukla and I grew up in the same chawl building in Girgaum (Mumbai), went to the same school and had food at each other's homes. Our growing up years at Seth Jagannath Shankerseth Municipal Secondary School at was great fun. We would laugh the whole day and pull everyone's leg. We would even bully each other sometimes. We shared notes and played all types of pranks and even the teachers would not be spared.
I remember meeting her in the gallery of her house in Girgaum while going to visit my grandmom one day. She was standing there looking out of her gallery on a small stool. When she looked down at me, I smiled at this round semi-dark oily faced short girl. From that instant I knew we were tailormade for a life-long friendship. Through thick and thin, moments of sheer joy and sorrow, humour and serious moments we shared it all.
Before I left Girgaum along with my grandmother, she got married and that was the saddest part of my life.
After a few years she returned from Kota (Rajasthan) from her in-laws house to stay here along with her parents. Our old building in Girgaum has made way for a beautiful tower, Kavita has become a famous teacher (she runs tuition classes) and is the mother of two cute children. I have shifted to Kashimira and hold the post of an office assistant. Whenever I go to girgaum I make it a point to visit her and her family. When we meet both of us cry incessantly remembering our good old childhood days and of course on the change that both our lives have witnessed till now.
Till today we have remained friends for life, I keep in touch with her and visit whenever I can.
-- Nalini J Kudalkar
It was 13 years ago, the day after Friendship Day on on August 4,1997, when I came across this soul. We were both waiting at the railway station, to begin our journey towards enlightenment at engineering school.
Our friendly relationship gathered momentum.
True to his name, he handled all my actions and reactions with such calmness and levelheadedness and corrected me wherever I had to be. He pardoned me saying 'Sorry' for all my egocentric actions and made sure he always stayed with me. He took interest in all my achievements and always spurred me to attain more accolades.
The best side of him, even after our farewell at engineering school, was he continued reaching out to me, to know my progresses and kept encouraging me to dream and plan for the most eminent pursuits, despite his state of affairs and my lack of interest for him.
He always imagined resolutions for all the obstacles I faced to advance me further least concerned and never complaining about his own situation, whether good or bad.
My Best Friend, Saravana Gandhi, diluted my worries and concentrated my positivities during the formative years of my life. To this date and forever, he will remain in my soul, as my best pal.
-- Ramesh Anand
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