Skip to main content

ODE TO FRIENDSHIP




friends and party
I ferried children to school, to sports fields, and to their extra classes. I was involved with their activities for more than ten years. After restrictions on having one television in our home, the end was drawing near. My husband could now install as many idiot boxes as he wanted in the house. The two boys were embarking on their adult lives. They just flew by initially for higher education, later for their jobs, and finally with their soulmates.

Silence has been my best friend. In fact, it has suited me always and preserved my existence as an introvert. I have, for this reason, navigated many years by not becoming a member of any group.

With so much time to spare now, it was time for the ‘Titans to clash’, not over hierarchical status, money, interests, but over how to effectively spend time. The tilt of the balance proposed a threat, and so finally all ‘kit kit’ stopped, and we became members of not one but two kitties.

It took me some time to acclimatize. I realized that even though many of them had been friends previously, they now shared a common thread: empty nesters and fun-lovers.

Saturday outings were now more commonplace than our mundane routines. Card housie was a popular leveler amongst the members. We had musical sessions with wonderful singers and their enchanting voices. No one had any style preferences; jazz, hip hop, and disco could all be effortlessly amalgamated in the same song when all of us over fifty decided to shake a leg. There was an array of talent, be it dress design, culinary skills, mythological narration, or even sermons or religious discourses. Everything could be jovially distorted, old anecdotes could be remembered with pain and pleasure.

We celebrated birthdays and anniversaries and created photographic memoirs. They would be our nostalgic reminders of the times we spent. After all this time, I can only say “Thank you,” Bhai sahib and Bhabhi ji, for your assistance and guidance and for introducing us to these groups.

This is an ode to all the friends, for good times and fun times, we are blessed to have you all.
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2022 at 11:59 PM

    Wonderful

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2022 at 1:43 PM

      This is so apt and completely true as they say …Friends are like mirrors!
      Really refreshing!

      Delete
  2. Dr. Rajeev SharmaSeptember 26, 2022 at 12:16 PM

    No doubt FRIENDS keep you alive 🤠🤠

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Night of the Rain

  It was one of those nights when the rain seemed determined to wash the whole town away. Sheets of water hammered against the windows, the roads were nearly deserted, and most people were asleep behind locked doors. My husband was resting lightly, as doctors often do when they know the doorbell might ring at any moment. Sometime past midnight, the bell rang. The emergency night staff called him downstairs. “Doctor, there’s a patient.” When he reached the entrance, he saw two young boys standing at the gate of the clinic porch. The smell of alcohol hung thick in the air. One of them was struggling to keep the other upright. The injured boy was slumped against him, barely conscious, his weight hanging heavily on his friend’s shoulder. “What happened?” my husband asked. The friend spoke with urgency. They had slipped from the motorbike. Even in that brief moment, my husband could tell the injury was serious. Head injury. Possible internal bleeding. It was the kind of case that needed...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yoga se hoga… pr yoga kaise hoga? (It will happen by yoga- but how will yoga happen?)

If you have ever tried starting yoga, you know the struggle: motivation fades, and mats gather dust. For me, yoga was always on my bucket list, but what I needed was the intent to start. Then something unexpected happened. My yoga group formed an unusual trio: my 80-year-old mother, my niece visiting from the USA, and me. Every morning at 6:30 am, we gathered not in the garden but in front of our TV to tune into live yoga sessions by Saurabh Bothra. And guess what? Yoga did happen. It wasn’t perfect, but it was consistent. We stretched, laughed, and even dozed off in shavaasan, but slowly, breath by breath, a habit was born. Because sometimes all it takes is showing up together.
Post a Comment
Read more

Happy Teacher's Day

Happy  Teacher's Day Life is full of teachers we don’t even recognize. The ants marching on teach us discipline without supervision, faith without recognition. The squirrel, carrying its tiny grains, shows us that contribution is not measured by applause but by necessity. Our human teachers are no different. Some speak in words, others in presence. Some correct us with chalk, while others do so with silence. What they all share is the flame of seeing us leave a mark. On this Teachers’ Day, I honor not just those in classrooms, but every teacher, visible or invisible, that life has given me. For each one taught a lesson that survives longer than memory. Happy Teachers’ Day.
Post a Comment
Read more