Friends.............

Saturday...........met up with old college friends.............and had a groovy time!!! it was like being back to college........the days when we would chill out in the canteen (our gang used to be the noisiest lot!!! i'm sure they still recall the loud singing, keeping time on the table!!!), when dull wintry days saw us sunning on the terrace of the building chatting nineteen to dozen........looking forward to the jam sessions in college festivals..........pooling in to go and catch a movie............walking long stretches to the bus-stop, incessant chatter that made little of the long distance...........GOOD OLD DAYS!!!

One of my favourite episode is, of all things, my best friend and i trying to cheat during a class test.!!! It was with great excitement that we took the book and sat in the last bench.........till the teacher called me to sit right out there in the front table (coz as it dawned later, it was quite evident on my face that we were up to something!!!)...........being the martyr that i am, i left the book with my friend and gave the test (and ironical as it may sound i did score the highest in that test!!!)..................Well as it were, after the test i asked her as to how it went tho i was sure that it must have gone brilliantly, coz after all she had the book..............."बाक़ी सब तो ठीक है" she had said looking mighty confused........"मगर वोह question कौन से page पे था यह नहीं पता चला!!!"............bad as she was at cheating............she has done really well for herself and now actually teaches the new batches at our college!!!

Every time our gang gets together, we generally drive down to our college..........since we usually meet up on weekends, the grounds are always deserted..............after a lot of begging and cajoling the guard lets us in.........for a brief period of 20 minutes..........And for those few precious minutes we are transported back to the golden days when life was more carefree...........unlike now when most of us get sucked into the quagmire of chasing goals in our personal and professional lives .........

As one journeys thru life, one meets a lot of people who become an integral part of our life and the people that we become..........but these friends, which we make in school or college are irreplaceable...............friends who pick up the threads where you left them 5, 10 or even 20 years ago....................friends who know you inside out and with whom you can be your real self (the only people who would not look at you in contempt when you lick the chocolate off the wrapper!!) they will never judge you and will never think twice before pointing out your mistakes................friends who take you back in time, engulfing you in sweet nostalgia............friends who really make your life worth living..........

Like everyone's all time favourite song goes........पुरानी जीन्स और guitar........बस यादें यादें यादें रह जाती है, कुछ छोटी छोटी बातें रह जाती हैं............बस यादें...........

So attend all those alumni meets, catch up with friends when they are in town or when you visit theirs, keep in touch with those whom you really hold close............because they will keep you in touch with the real you, keep you grounded and not get swept away with the tides of time, and remind you that no matter what you have or haven't achieved.............you will always have a special place in their hearts that can never be filled by anyone else...........because relationships is what life is all about..............because friendship is like a violin; the music may stop now and then, but the strings will last forever............and i believe in my hearts of hearts that its true.........