How I Met My F.R.I.E.N.D.S.!!

Seems like a sleazy two-title rip-off of the hugely popular TV series, doesn't it ? But rest assured, the intentions are noble. Nobler are thou friends for whom i write this. Although by God's grace I hav been gifted with a whole bunch of good friends from school , junior college and degree ; I would like to specifically talk about those whom I met in my Engg degree college and am still gung-ho about spending the remaining few months of my Final Year in their pristine company ;)

The first day of the first year in college was a lonely journey. None of my old friends from school, classes or jr. colg were with me. Nor anyone even remotely familiar through friends of friends of friends. Not that I used to sit in one corner of the classroom and interact with no one, that not possible for me. But I certainly was friendless. Striking friendships on the basis of mother tongue was the easy way out of perennial loneliness for many classmates but I didn't specifically wish to bracket myself in a lingual group. I just didn't want this thing to appear as 'thought or planned'. It just had to happen.

And so it did. Conversation is the art of the possible. It helps you know and understand people whom you perceived as strangers just moments ago. A free-flowing conversation with Rahul (the charming guy smack in the centre of the pic) on the most silliest and crappiest topics , bursts of laughter at the drop of a hat, and the slight nudge into knowing more about him personally set the stage for a gold-mine hunt that runs even today. Rahul had befriended a guy called Parashar (the one resting all his colossal weight on me) who was a silent witness to the mutual admiration club opened by myself and Rahul. The selective types, he was probably rubbing his hands in negative excitement at the prospect of being introduced to a challenger ;-)

The introduction was quick and easy. Though reserved, he made me feel more than welcome in the herd. Then Lalit (tall, skinny, red n black guy) was the next entrant. I hated to sit with him during lectures as the slightest accidental elbow nudge from him would cause enormous pain. And he used to sit on the bench like a cheese-spread without a care in the world for his partner. The only saving grace was he was 'straight'.

Soon it was boom time and thus the need for aggressive expansion. God, I'm kidding all along. I mean soon enough we were joined by Dattaram (black leather jacket) , Vinay (white something jacket) and Haris. The best part is that we all became close buddies sitting together for lunch in the college canteen. We used to discuss movies, songs, novels, careers and even politics (thanks to me). Personally I was glad to know that all my friends had very intelligent opinions on the state of affairs in the country. At the same time I also realized that I was a rank novice in matters of English songs, rock bands, movies and fiction novels. Parashar ensures that I keep listening to one new hit track every week and Rahul provides me with dvd-rips of latest as well as old must-watch movies. I switched over from non-fiction to reading fiction novels on their advice. Matter of factly , I am enjoying this exposure.

Vinay is the proverbial hen with the golden eggs. Ohh shitt!! Wat m I sayin...?? sorry vinay ;-) I mean what else do you call a person who introduces you to fantabulous games on PlayStation2 that too on 29" flat screen TV. Ohh shitt sorry again for droppin the secret. We all have enjoyed long, long non-stop hours of gaming at his place with yummy snacks and cold coffee for company. He's an all-nonsense , un-fussy, adorable grown-up KID. We call him the Maggi Kid.

Haris is the serious types. I dare you to call him Jalaal or Hari Sadu when he's around and I can vouch you will get an earful. Now Dattaram. Dattaram hates his name. He calls himself Aniket and wanted to establish himself by that name in college. Unfortunately, true to our wretched-ness, we didn't let him do that. Afterall how many times out of a million do you get a chance to tease a person with his own name?? Hahahahaha...!! Nahi yaar , achcha naam hain. Sab naam bhagwan ke naam hote hain. Lekin DATTARAAAAAAAM.... Muhuahahahahahahaaha....!!

Coming back to Parashar (still resting his colossal weight on me in the pic) , he is the transformational types. Ever reachable, great listener, sociable and rock-solid companionship are qualities that very few possess. He's there for me whenever I need him. He is special coz he makes us feel special. I still remember how one of our late night phone chats went right till 5 am and that realization dawned only when the milkman rang my door-bell. He's been there to share all my happy as well as sorrowful moments. The best part is, he can actually make me roll with laughter at my own past follies on which i cringed once upon a time. Rare species , hain naa ??

Everyone is. And this is How I Met My Friends in Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Andheri West. And its emotionally draining to even think of going our different ways once we graduate into engineers. Of course, we will always be there for each other but can anything really replace the college years ?? I hope so...