Friends Forever, Friends for Life!

There were 5 of us in the car. Returning from Lonavala, heading back to Mumbai, we were joyous, grunting songs, cracking PJs and watching pics on our moisture-clad digicam. Everything was perfectly setup by Mother Nature - the pearly drizzles, the cool breeze and the cloudy skies that seemed to merge with the never-ending evergreen fauna. The trip which was naturally choreographed to have a beautiful ending; but a phone call changed it all.

The next second I heard my friend saying,"Naniji off ho gayi hain." There was silence, suddenly, all around. No one moved, no one spoke, no one looked at another. The laughs, the grunts, the smiles were all gone in a jiffy, as if they never existed. The rains had subsided too.

All of a sudden, my friend pulled up his car. And then, he broke down. Never ever during the last four years of our companionship have I seen him in tears, such a strong man he is. All of us got out of the car. Everyone consoled him; I wasn't able to. I was feeling bad, really bad. I was looking away from him, toward the skies. My heart was crying. This was confirmed by the drop of tear that had already left the corner of my eyes. I had lost my own granny a few months back, exactly a day before the biggest exam of my career. I could not afford to lose my tears then, but had no reason to stop them that day. I could easily identify myself with my friend's grief as if it were mine.

I wiped my tears, turned around, looked at my friend. He looked at me the same instant. We spoke nothing, He stopped weeping. I think he knew what I wanted to say. Sometimes feelings speak louder than words themselves.

That was the moment when I felt our friendship had found a whole new meaning. That moment, though very brief, tacitly bonded us stronger than ever, like never before; a bond that is as hard as a rock, a bond that glitters as bright as a diamond, a bond that is shared by a fish & the water and a bond that existed even before we were born. It was a Beautiful feeling of our friendship altogether, a jot of sadness blended with an iota of happiness, which confirmed the very fact that we are and certainly are friends, but 'Friends Forever, Friends for Life!'

Together we shall laugh,
Together we shall cry,
Almighty!, My Lord!,
Never does our Friendship die,
Never does our Friendship die.
-NIKET