F.R.I.E.N.D.S FOREVER!

As I watch the code on my monitor with a sense of despair, my mind wanders to some of the conversation and some of the events that have taken place in my life of late. I'm not one of those who you would typically classify as a "sentimental" person. However, there are certain times when you happen to say whatever comes to your mind... I guess this is one of those times...

I WILL NOT put a disclaimer here asking people about their interests. This is dedicated to a special set of people and I request you to read on no matter how much you might curse me at the end of this! Enough of prelude, let me get straight to the point...

Last week when Hari, Kunta and myself were chatting away to glory at our regular Adda i.e McDonalds Cunningham road, we happened to just talk about the year 2017. (Dont remember the exact context). That was when Hari said "Dudes, we dont know where we are going to be 10 years from now". That statement did not hit me until I was just tossing around in one of those sleepless nights (Courtesy: KPTCL). It was then that I realized the fact that gone are the days of our hanging together, our "putting adda", chilling out on some "katte" and talking sense and nonsense(Nonsense including "How to better our Country").

I fondly remember those wonderful days when we used to meet up in someone's house and ravage all the junk food while pulling the leg of group's bakra. Or those days when we ended up spending more time planning for the movie than going and watching it. Or the eager anticipation for the start of the trip (read as countdown which one of us i.e. Sriram( name changed to protect privacy) used to spam us with).
There have been fights, mostly petty ones but I still smile thinking about all the "weird" things we've fought about. And lots of other things which I am not able to recollect currently... I guess Bryan Adams' Summer of '69 should sum it up: "Those were the best days of my life"...

If I were to just recollect those days, the specifics elude me but all I hear is the collective laughter and the feeling of being on top of the world. The rest is all an aberration. It might sound as if I'm an age old grandpa recollecting the events of the previous six decades. The truth is that we still do the same thing whatever I've mentioned in the previous para, but it is on the declining mode. We might not admit that we've all drifted apart, but deep down if you keep count of the number of times we've been "hanging out" in the recent past, the 10 fingers in our hands are sufficient.

In a short while from now, some of us will move on with our careers (switch jobs or go onsite), some of us will continue with studies(few have left and there are some who will be leaving), some of us will get married. I'm not an astrologer who can predict what the future holds in store for us, but all I know is that I might be meeting some of them for the last time. (Who knows, we might bump into each other sometime later).

I just want you to know that I will miss each of you very badly and it will be a void that cannot be refilled. I'm glad that I have such great friends... guys with whom i don't have to wear a mask on my personality... guys who don't judge me by my flaws... guys with whom I can share all my joys and sorrows... and guys who are the most level headed people...

Well, lots of people say that they've achieved a lot in their life and more often than not they are talking about fame or money or both. In such a short duration , I'm proud to have acquired a set of friends for whom I could pay all the money in the world just to relive those wonderful days, for whom I could die for!

All I want to say is that at any point in time, I will always be there for you!