Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave and impossible to forget. As far as the concept of friendship is concerned, I believe it to be a rocky path, for the core of a relationship between two individuals is always put to test through thick and thin and being friends with a person who comes across as a stranger at first is no easy task. More often than not, we end up befriending foes in the skin of friends, ultimately learning from bad or poor judgement of the multiple facets to an individual's personality.
As far my brain's blind spot takes me, the fondest and most cherished memories that I have of pleasant times with good friends dates back to two phases of my life - to my college days and to the early days of when I had joined the teaching profession - the latter being as early as stepping out of college and immediately stepping into the profession which has been with me since three decades. While I defy the popular notion of naivety by having befriended wolves concealed in sheepskin multiple times over, it is also true that I've kept it a low-key affair throughout, as far as friendship is concerned, by having a close-knit circle of the three of us.
When I navigate through the memory maze to recall, I am taken back to the times when we had to pen our dissertation for my M.Sc.(Anthropology), researching on the growth pattern and physical characteristics of Pahadi natives.
I have always been a well-read individual taking interest in and performing my best all through my academics. For me, it was never rote that worked, but my grasp on concepts in the subject of my liking.
While I may (and always have) come across a bookworm-like geeky nerd to all the fun-loving divas and hunks, devising pranks, gossiping and taking advantage of another person's humility have never been my cup of tea (or coffee) and it is the sole reason that I have taken pride in solitude, never loneliness.
My principle in life has been clear as a crystal - The lion(ess) walks alone while the sheep (wolves) flock together. I am of the opinion that it is not always necessary to be surrounded to be valued, and it is true that I had as many (or lesser) friends, enough to count on my fingers, for it was not easy for me to gel well with people whose point of view did not resonate with mine or whose ideals took an entirely different trajectory as opposed to mine.
My circle of friends was not a #YaaronKiBaraat in the true sense of the phrase. Neither do I believe that a #YaaronKiBaraat has to be pivotal to your survival in society. But, if you have been part of one, or pride in having maintained a #YaaronKiBaarat in your circle, I need to take tips from you on the art of pleasing everyone, for sure.
It was during my college years that I came across two ladies who I believe, mirrored my thought process, and it is then that we gelled well - getting to know each other, sharing similar experiences from the past, and reacting in a unanimous fashion to situations, being each others pillar of support, and as far as I can recall - never having faced a bone of contention. It is this commendable sync of ideologies that I miss, now that we have drifted apart - in distance and time - never in hearts, though.
The other anecdote of friendship from my life was with a colleague, who became a dear friend in the long run. From having joined the profession of teaching together at the age of 22, to mastering in the same discipline in academics, to sharing the same birthday month and even the same name, we had many things in common for this particular friendship to work.
Why I'm recalling these two episodes from my life is because I noticed that #YaaronKiBaraat - Celebrating Friendships, a new initiative by Zee TV, hosted by Sajid Khan and Riteish Deshmukh is going to air on weekends, beginning tomorrow with the iconic pair of Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha gracing the stage together for their maiden episode.
I hope that this series turns out to be a roller-coaster ride of sorts, with celebs recalling their pleasant blast from the past as I have, through this post on my blog.
As far my brain's blind spot takes me, the fondest and most cherished memories that I have of pleasant times with good friends dates back to two phases of my life - to my college days and to the early days of when I had joined the teaching profession - the latter being as early as stepping out of college and immediately stepping into the profession which has been with me since three decades. While I defy the popular notion of naivety by having befriended wolves concealed in sheepskin multiple times over, it is also true that I've kept it a low-key affair throughout, as far as friendship is concerned, by having a close-knit circle of the three of us.
When I navigate through the memory maze to recall, I am taken back to the times when we had to pen our dissertation for my M.Sc.(Anthropology), researching on the growth pattern and physical characteristics of Pahadi natives.
I have always been a well-read individual taking interest in and performing my best all through my academics. For me, it was never rote that worked, but my grasp on concepts in the subject of my liking.
While I may (and always have) come across a bookworm-like geeky nerd to all the fun-loving divas and hunks, devising pranks, gossiping and taking advantage of another person's humility have never been my cup of tea (or coffee) and it is the sole reason that I have taken pride in solitude, never loneliness.
My principle in life has been clear as a crystal - The lion(ess) walks alone while the sheep (wolves) flock together. I am of the opinion that it is not always necessary to be surrounded to be valued, and it is true that I had as many (or lesser) friends, enough to count on my fingers, for it was not easy for me to gel well with people whose point of view did not resonate with mine or whose ideals took an entirely different trajectory as opposed to mine.
My circle of friends was not a #YaaronKiBaraat in the true sense of the phrase. Neither do I believe that a #YaaronKiBaraat has to be pivotal to your survival in society. But, if you have been part of one, or pride in having maintained a #YaaronKiBaarat in your circle, I need to take tips from you on the art of pleasing everyone, for sure.
It was during my college years that I came across two ladies who I believe, mirrored my thought process, and it is then that we gelled well - getting to know each other, sharing similar experiences from the past, and reacting in a unanimous fashion to situations, being each others pillar of support, and as far as I can recall - never having faced a bone of contention. It is this commendable sync of ideologies that I miss, now that we have drifted apart - in distance and time - never in hearts, though.
The other anecdote of friendship from my life was with a colleague, who became a dear friend in the long run. From having joined the profession of teaching together at the age of 22, to mastering in the same discipline in academics, to sharing the same birthday month and even the same name, we had many things in common for this particular friendship to work.
Why I'm recalling these two episodes from my life is because I noticed that #YaaronKiBaraat - Celebrating Friendships, a new initiative by Zee TV, hosted by Sajid Khan and Riteish Deshmukh is going to air on weekends, beginning tomorrow with the iconic pair of Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha gracing the stage together for their maiden episode.
I hope that this series turns out to be a roller-coaster ride of sorts, with celebs recalling their pleasant blast from the past as I have, through this post on my blog.
