LIVE FOR FRIENDS

William Shakespeare has very well mentioned that, “life is an act”. Of course life is an act and we are the actors playing our roles on the stage called “EARTH”. The only difference is that we haven’t rehearsed for what we are doing. Whatever we do either good or bad, are in our hands. We are born on this mortal earth alone and will die alone.

Yet between birth and death many things happen. A number of incidents take place in that life span we get. Everyday a number of births take place and a number of deaths too. The new born doesn’t know what’s there in life and those who are dead have done their roles and taking a leave from the stage.

This complete journey of entering the mortal stage and leaving, gives us many things to learn. We learn to walk, run, speak, study, write etc. Not only this but also the evil things like cheat, fraud, theft, abuse. It does not seem good but that’s the fact and I think everybody is aware of it. But one thing we get is “RELATIONSHIP”.

Relationship is a gift of god to us. We get a number of relatives in our lives and they are important in the entire play of our life. The only thing we need is love care which we get from our relatives. But the most important relationship on this earth is “FRIENDSHIP”. This is the most beautiful and necessary relation in which we have our own choice. We don’t choose our father or mother but yes, we are free to choose our friends. Every single person in this world has friends. People with no friends are like handicaps.

People do have friends, but is that enough? How many of you seriously obey the friendship with loyalty? Is there anyone who can do anything for his/her friendship? I doubt if any... Even I do have friends and a good friend circle and same questions have knocked the door of my mind.

My story doesn’t start like this. Let’s take you a few years back, turning the pages of my history straightaway to my childhood. When I was a kid, just 8 years of age, we were shifted to Dehra Dun-the paradise. Well before shifting, that is, my starting 8 years, I don’t remember the first five years properly. But the next three years were good because I was happy with my family and the most important, I had a good friend. We used to play together, study together and many more things. We were together in most of our deeds even in our mischief . You all are free to think of all our deeds together and smile.

O! I’m sorry; I haven’t acquainted you to my first childhood friend. Hey, Aditya! Say hello to everyone. Aditya and myself were together for three years and done many things but now very sad for leaving him and going. For this I was quite annoyed with my father as he was leading us in shifting. Actually, that time I was unaware of the reason for our shifting.

Well, my annoyance was not for long as it was over on the way to Dehra Dun. Yet, I was unable to forget Aditya. The morning rush to school, the changing of pencils, the chasing, the race for reaching home first, the sharing of tiffins, those memories were not leaving me and making me more sad as I was getting away from him gradually.

Yet, we had to move further leaving all things behind and perhaps that’s what LIFE is. I also moved but leaving my only friend. I have a good family background. My father is a scientist in ISRO and he was transferred to Dehra Dun for some project. This was the reason for our shifting. I came to know when the project was over, nearly five years later, yet was unable to understand what the research was. Ah! Coming to my mother, I love her very much. LUV U MOM! She is a social worker in an NGO. Well she was a housewife before but after moving to Dehra Dun the change occurred.

Well, changes takes place in everyone’s life and it happened in mine too coz it’s natural. I went to a new school. Well, this was the second time for me to enter a new school. Another thing you all should know, that people used say that I am a shy guy but the fact was something else. Going to new place, meeting new people makes me nervous. I was nervous to go to new school thinking about the teachers, students, everything brand new.

For the first few months I used to be alone. No one in the school was ready to be my friend. I was confused for I didn’t know the reason. Wherever I go in my school, students used to move away from me as if I was a ghost. This was quite embarrassing for me. But certain things happen in our life which we do not expect of happening.

One day when I was standing under a tree and admiring my classmates playing and enjoying and just thinking of Aditya, a very slow voice, near to whisper, came to my ears saying Anirudhdh! I turned around responding to the voice. To my surprise a girl of my class was standing there and she did call me. She said she needs some help from me. I, without hesitating for a bit, was ready to help her. She was making a bouquet so she needed some flowers and leaves. So, what I had to do was to pick up flowers and leaves from the ground.

We were prohibited to pluck flowers from garden but my soul insisted me that few flowers from the garden would not affect much as there are many flowers and without thinking of the consequences, I jumped into the garden. Well, this was my first theft. I started plucking flowers while she was just whispering from outside to come out or we will be caught, and it happened. The gardener saw me and I got afraid. Well, the only thing i had to do was to run so; I jumped outside as quickly as possible, held her hand and ran away from the spot. But everything went into vain coz we were caught.

Well, I got the punishment and she escaped as I made her run away but she was sad coz she didn’t get flowers. I was smiling that moment for I had hidden some flowers. After my punishment, when that day of our school was over, I took those flowers and went to her and said that I have something for her but I need something in return from her. On her query, I told I need friendship for these flowers. This is how I got my first friend in Dehra Dun.

This was quite astonishing that for the next few years I had only one friend. Oh sorry again! This time again, I didn’t introduce my friend. Well, this is Prachi, my best friend. We are like a pair of shoes. If one gets spoilt the other is of no use. This is quite awkward comparison but it’s true. Well, as we grew, one more member was added to our duo to make it a trio and he was Aatish.

He joined our school when we were in class 11. Very soon he also got close to us and we were very happy. We never faced problems for long because any problem we got, three soldiers were always ready to fight back. So how dare a problem would live long? We were enjoying our days very happily. Aatish was very good in studies. He was a brilliant student and he belonged to a poor family but he never showed us and even we didn’t make him feel because there is no difference in friendship. We all were rich coz we all had one thing and that was, of course, “FRIENDSHIP”.

Till now none of us got into troubles of fate. We were busy enjoying our lives together. During the last days of our school the three of us promised to go into same college. After the exams, when the results were announced, as usual, Aatish was the topper with 98%, Prachi got 86% and I was the last in the group with 84% marks. Prachi and I were very happy because our friend was the topper. Well, we enjoyed a party and then went to Delhi together. While we were moving to Delhi someone was approaching towards us. This journey was a turning point in each of our lives. Well, till then we were unaware of what was going to happen in the coming future. The only thing we knew was that we will enjoy ourselves.

We went to the college, met new people, shared our gossips and started our lives in a new place. This continued for few days when the day came that I mentioned before. We three were in the college doing the same usual things, when my eyes were flattered seeing a pretty face, blue eyes, and smiling lips with hair falling on the forehead and approaching towards us. I felt that everything around me was moving in slow motion and the words of my friends were not audible to me. I was completely senseless and lost in her dreams.

She directly came to us and hugged Prachi while I was staring her with my eyes wide open. I came back to my senses when she waved her hand in front of my eyes greeting me a hello. I too wished her back and shook hands. Prachi told us, she was her cousin Pratyusha, and she lives in Delhi only. Well, she was in our group and very soon she got mixed among us. Every day I tried to impress her by doing certain foolish things. Yeah, I think I was in love with her. Days passed and my deeds of impressing her were going on.

But one day I decided to propose her and bring a change in my life. I was just thinking of the way to propose her when she rang me up. I had a smile on my face and answered the call. She said that she wanted to tell me something very important so she wanted to meet me in the college alone. She said that the matter was about her life and was much tensed. So she called me in the college before the time of the classes. I was very happy thinking that maybe she had to say the same that I wanted to say her. I was sleepless that night thinking of her. The next morning I was in the college as decided. She came to me and said very slowly that she loved someone. I was eager to hear my name from her.

But everything doesn’t happen to us as we expect. Sometimes our expectations go very high. She said she loved Aatish. I was shocked and at the same time was broken. My heart was thrashed into pieces. Eyes were unable to stop the flow but I had to do that. She requested me to help her in creating affection with Aatish. It was difficult because Aatish was a guy who was always dropped down into books. Books were his life and he was not interested in all these. According to him LOVE was wastage of time.

I was helpless coz I had to do something for her because she was my friend and anything for friendship was our motto. And moreover I loved her so I can’t make her eyes roll down due to me. But, what about my LOVE that was nearing towards its grave! I was totally into a dilemma. She told me not to tell this to Prachi as she wanted to give her a surprise. That day one thing got into my mind that Aatish had become a great hurdle in my way and I should do something to remove it. But how could I do this to him? He is my friend. Then how would I get my love?

God played a very brutal game with my life. That moment I felt lonely in life. Though I had three best friends to share everything but I was completely lonely. I went to my room and was crying in one corner. This cry was unable to roll down my eyes but tears were rolling down from my heart. I was completely upset and thinking what next, when a hand touched my shoulder.

This was not enough for God as He had planned to trouble me more. With a hand on my shoulders a voice came to my ears with the three serene words, “I LOVE YOU”. I was full of joy hoping that whatever had happened earlier that day, was a dream and this is real. I turned around. But nothing was dream. Everything was real, the morning incident and the incident that was going in now. She was Prachi who proposed me. This time a thousand amperes of current passed through my body. I was speechless to utter a word. I got fully paralysed. One shock wasn’t enough for God so He gave me another.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like Prachi but how could I accept her as my love? We were together from our childhood and I never thought of such. Well that time I managed her jokingly but she too went serious. I was unable to come out of the situations. Days passed and both the ladies insisted me to answer. One waiting for me to help in her love while the other waiting for my answer.

During these days I just ignored Prachi and gave interest in Pratyusha’s wish. Well, whatever interest I was showing was nothing coz I was unable to sacrifice her. I didn’t tell anything about these to Aatish coz he was busy in his studies as he had to do something for his family and would get disturbed by knowing all these. Due to this tension I started drinking and smoking and very soon got addicted to drugs.

People say that wine gives relief and yes it gave me too but of course I was getting spoilt. By the way none of my friends were known of my new habit. But one day this had to end. Prachi went out of her mind as she felt that I might not love her and she was right. She came to me and said that I have to answer her the next morning else she would commit suicide. I was totally broken as how could I lose my best friend like that. This made me to take few pegs. While taking pegs I got a call from Pratyusha that she wanted me to tell Aatish about her love else she would break our friendship. How could I lose her friendship and how could I lose my love? This caused few more pegs to get into my nerves. Where did I make mistake?

Thinking over all this I am now left with a dark room, a glass of whisky in one hand and a cigarette in another, few bottles on the table and another glass of 'ending the pain tonic’. It’s getting very hard to wait for tomorrow morning. Whom should I listen to guys? “To that girl who is waiting for my answer and ready to suicide or to that girl who is ready to lose our friendship or to that guy who would get disturbed knowing about this or to my heart who loves a girl?”

I could not lose so many people in my life. My life would not be able to bear such a humongous loss. So, it’s better to lose myself. So let’s see till when my fate keeps me alive. Till when the bottle would be poured in the empty glass or to that of poison. Till when my hand lifts up the glass of life and I’m away from my death. Let’s see friends, till when I’m away from my grave? Wishing all of you a happy life! May God give you good friends!

And one more thing, never break a FRIENDSHIP because, “FRIENDSHIP IS NOT YOUR CURIOSITY, IT’S YOUR NECESSITY”.