Me and My Friends!

" To meet and part is a way of life,
To part and meet is the hope of life."

It was on my farewell from BITS that I first came across these lines. They have remained with me ever since. I have been thinking. Nothing new about that. I always think something or the other. This time I was thinking about the people I have met and separated from, and those that I am currently in touch with, but would soon be parting from.

My school days.
My best friend had always been my sister. We were born together. From nursery to graduation- we have been together. We changed schools together, we got admitted to BITS - again together. It was only when she left me in BITS, when I realized how much I missed her.
Fortunately or unfortunately we found our own friends - people who sometimes never knew of the other's existence. This lead to a lot of confusion but that's another story.

In school one of my best buddies was Anuradha. Plaited dark hair, quiet , demure- she was my antithesis. While I jabbered on, she listened wide-eyed. What I liked best about her was the fact that she tolerated me so well. We wrote poems to each other, called each other for endless hours and managed to giggle at the most inappropriate things! I am glad I am still in touch with her.

BITS, Pilani
In BITS, I had several friends. There were a gang of bongs whom we chatted and laughed with occassionally. Indro, SUL, Manocha,Kaushik - each of them had their unique brand of humour.

Mandeep in third year, Harini and Jitesh in fourth year were my constant companions. I learnt a lot from them. Laughing, joking and chatting away. Mandeep made my physics classes enjoyable, Harini and Jitesh helped me enjoy my EEE. I am thankful to each of them. They are miles away from me now and only time can tell whether we will meet again.

My BITSian life would be incomplete without a mention of Rahul. MISra was my id-sidey. He was MIS and I was RIS. Our friendship began in the cyberworld of "pine" - one email led to another. From pins to politics to planes to philosophy - we left no subject undiscussed. It was an enriching experience for me. An amazing poet, a tennis-pro and above all a wonderful friend. I just wish we met more often in person than in the cyberworld!

Sushant ,Aditya, Deepak were two people I had met for only a little while. My training days would not have been as enjoyable without them there.

In UCLA...
I came here knowning no one. Having no friends. Its a scary thought to reach a place where you know none. Hence the people who made me face this strange world will forever be dear to me.
Xi - became one of my best friends here. And the first international friend I have. Shantha told me stories from the mythologies(she has an amazing memory) and made me feel like a child again, when I felt sad and lonely.

Nitin is another great person to know. He is very patient with my endless nonsense and was one of the first people I came to know here. I learnt from him that one needs to "fight" to get to the "right" place.

Nitesh- he is a genius. If its not his intelligence then its his humility that bowls people over. Extremely helpful, I had bugged him with unending circuitous questions for almost 2 quarters - all of which he explained to me tirelessly. A li'll stubborn but a great person!

I learnt a lot about myself and the world from all these people. Each of them have made an indelible impression in my heart. I learnt to accept differences. A great friendship doesn't mean that you never fight- it means you grow together. Sometimes, its the fights that make one understand each other better. I also learnt to forgive and forget.

I just hope that as days go by, I get to make more such amazing friends!

:)