The past few months; actually years there was a very common statement that my set
of friends used very frequently and unaplogetically " we are too old to make friends now"... Sadly enough it seemed like it was true; we clung on to each other for our dear lives, binding the chains of friendship tight around our ankles... But the chains always begin to wear out and they did in my case too.... This statement started to get disregarded when i moved out of home for MBA... The new environment and the new city brought in a huge wave of friends - very different from the ones i have back home... I loved this change - one begins to think of how one set of friends differ from the other but still are equally special....
My hometown friends... those that know me from years on end, have seen me thru school and college, who have seen me thru various transitions & transformations and seen the person i have become before i left home... we have set traditions which we always look forward to whenever we are all together ( to cite the simplest example undhiya )... The gang has split but the emotional bond stays strong - it stays unshaken across the various geographies where we exist... You see it when there is one chain mail sent across, the smile is beyond brilliant, the glimmer in the eyes unmatched to any other sight... as difficult as it maybe to find time to connect, that one act of connecting (phone,email, chat or FB) brings unexplained joy...
My hostel friends .... Those who made my life in a new city so much easier. They listened when i cried for home, they laughed at my new and funny experiences in this city.. we celebrated every happy moment of our lives together and made sure it was the best... Those secret terrace drinking parties to the very frequent and secret escape from the hostels to party; things i have never done before... Setting up camp in each others' room or rummaging through each others' wardrobe - each incident is crystal clear and fresh in my mind... Now our ways have parted but i don't see any difference in our attitude towards the other... I know each one is a call away as am i for any of them... They helped me learn to live on my own and have fun at it too... I will never forget that and needless to say them...
My work friends... The transition from 'campus to corporate' is scarier than one can imagine.. The move from a chilled out, relaxed, very scheduled college life to a 'full of challenges', extremely dynamic, constantly under pressure work environment can bring down the toughest of students.. An awesome bunch of people at work keep me going on and on and on; those 'expectation' meetings on the first day, getting things set up for yourself, 'who do i ask what' frights - can't imagine the nightmare of joining alone... The best part in the first week would be having someone, one familiar face when you walk into office on those first 2/3 days.. The never ending talks, unusual amount of chitter chatter, chocolate time after lunch and of course our weekly outside lunch - two months and counting; these rituals have formed and there are more to come... The excitement is bubbling under ...
How each other affects my life is difficult to detail; but this is my small way of saying thank you. Whether near or far, each impacts my life in every way possible... and when i thought these were probably the only classifications in the groups - i attend a mandatory training program and make some more friends over two fun filled days of team games, in-depth introductions and rappling :) .... Details on the trip later !!!!!
