Reflections on Friendship Day

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." -- Bernard Meltzer.

We were slightly cracked, all five of us. Christening ourselves The Five Pop-ups we jauntily jammed into the first row, in the centre of the class, brimming with the bright-eyed enthusiasm & zest for life that only 2nd year undergrad students can truly be said to possess.

Part of the bright & bold brigade, we delved into Donne & doughnuts with equal gusto, right there, in the first row right under the presumably eagle eyes of the esteemed Professors of English Literature at Stella Maris College. We exchanged witticisms, giggled uncontrollably, straightened into seriousness, mimicked faux accents, declaimed Milton, enacted Shakespeare, sung ballads, ‘popped-up’ with the correct answers, delighted profs with our pithy insights and drove them to indulgent despair at our sometimes incessant laughter & irreverent repartees.

It was magic – the way we connected. As if a magician had waved his wand and five young girls from different backgrounds & upbringings clustered as though they were magnets drawn to each other. Acquaintances in the 1st year, we were thick as thieves the following year. This was the beginning of a lifetime (fingers crossed) of friendship.

Each one of us was different (but naturallyL) with unique sensibilities. In alphabetical order, A was a feisty intellect, an Ayn Rand aficionado, full of fun, yet supremely grounded as only Virgos can be. (Yes, those were the heady days of Linda Goodman & zodiac signs, which I understand still remains a college crush). M was a whimsical dreamer pragmatist (no this is not an oxymoron) & a fellow Pisces. P was beautiful, bright, benign & innately helpful. Another Pisces. T was a sensitive soul, consumed with the question of Being, cracking everyone up & being cranky as only Cancerians can be. And then there was moi, mad about books, plays, poetry & stimulating talk, a romantic, funny, with a fancy for the good word & turn of phrase.

Years passed. Everyone moved on. A & M eventually made the US their home, A as a
social activist, M as a professor. In Chennai, T became an acolyte, P an academician, while I joined the corporate workforce. M slipped out of touch for a while, till facebook became the great reconnector! Apart from M, all of us met at my wedding five years ago, moments which infused my special day with a glorious glow. In fact A & P hosted a bridal shower for me with such thoughtfulness & care that it endowed the term soul-sisters with a higher meaning.

The Five Pop-ups share an immutable bond that was forged in the anvil of innocence, of a quest for knowledge, of an unburdening of hearts, of an unlocking of intellect, of practicing for plays under the open skies, of sundry shopping, of poetic raptures, of mad movies in the front row, of a shared high humour & wit which others often found hard to understand, of oh-so-many-big-&-little-things, but most deeply of an empathy where “A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway.”

Thank you girls, for all your unconditional support, guidance & love, for lighting up my life beyond ordinary measure.

Happy Friendship Day!