"Will you make friendship with me?"

I was asked by someone who messaged me today. I have my IM handle (heehee..handle!) on my blog profile so I get a lot of messages from folks who read and enjoy (or hate.....yes, there's a couple of you out there!) this blog.

This simple (ungrammatical) request got me thinking. About friends and friendships. Past, present and future. Friends I've had, cherished, lost, cried over, cried with, slept with, dumped, danced with, shopped with, come close to marrying...

I'm an Aquarian. We collect friends. Well, all y'all other Zodiac'ers call them aquaintances..we call them friends. Yet, ask an Aquarian if he has a "best friend", and chance are he'd have maybe one perhaps two. I realize the superlative "best" denotes one, but seriously, how many of us have more than half-a-dozen "best friends" really? I make friends very very easily. I lose them even more easily. There's people I can call every night of the week to come hang out with me. Yet, when I want to bawl out my frustrations and sadness, there's only one person I call (Meenu Mwaah!). She knows when to listen, when to talk, when to cajole, when to ajay (OK so that was stupid), when to praise, when to bring me down from my flights of fancy, when to flirt, when to sympathize.

That is what best friends do. I've had maybe a couple in my life. And weirdly, they've been best friends for exactly a limited amount of time before we've drifted apart. In my case, it's been the distance. I moved a lot (Bombay to Virginia, then to Boston, back to Bombay) so I tended to lose those wonderful wonderful people I met along the way. I'll never forget the help and company Jim, Dave and Aaron provided me when I was at UVA. Without them I'd have been a lost little Bombay boy slowly but inexcorably being drawn into the sambar-eating, bitchy-gossiping, IIT-graduating world that was Grad School life in the US. They taught me to run to the gym every morning (well, they ran..I sorta stumbled along), to do the Navy Seal Workout (I credit my flat abs to them!) and together took me through one of the worst times in my life (personal issue..crime related). I love you guys for all that..even though I haven't talked to y'all in 4 years.

Then onto Boston, where I had so many awesome people who became friends along the way...like you pick pebbles when you walk along the beach. Paul, Adam, Sean, Carl, Ajit, Giulio..the whole Diesel gang. And Ilya before that and eeka (all lowercase..Happy?). You guys made the past few years of my life some of the happiest times I have ever had. Sympathizing with me when another relationship failed, urging me to flirt with that guy giving me the eye, picking out my t-shirts to wear on a date...I loved every part of being with you.

My Orkut gang. I've laughed harder than I have ever done with you guys. It was awesome the way you guys accepted me for who I was (bitchy little drama queen that I am) and quickly became people I could trust. COming back to a strange Bombay was hard till I met you all. And the times we've had (thanks to ook and southpaw) will be on cam forever! Cheers!

And finally, my gang from VESIT. You're all in America now (Well, besides S.). I was a horrible friend in terms of keeping in touch....but now that I'm in Bombay, when I pass by all those places we used to hang out at; Noorani's (I can hear H. call out for greasy butter chicken and naan!), Pink Corner, splitting a Thums-up according to who paid how much, Andorra's....Man! I miss you all SO much. You're all settled...most of you married now. I'm so proud of having known you all...such a successful bunch you all are..I love you all.

I realize I never say that to anyone I care about anymore so here goes. To all my friends, past, present and future; I love you all. You've kept me sane and grounded. And for that thank you as well.

Current Music:
Mahishasurmardhini - Bhajan to Durga Ma

I'm learning it for Sashti pujo. Dang, some of these words are over 15 syllables long! 2 more days to go!!