So it was the first Sunday of August and the world celebrated
Friendship Day. All around the world different people celebrated it in
different style. Some went out with friends, some stayed indoors, for some
their husbands are their best friends and while a few waved off this day as
mere stupidity. I remember as a child I never truly understood what is the
significance of these specials days but I still knew they are being celebrated
even before any of my friend did. Well its nothing special. It is something
that happens with many younger siblings who get exposed to various things
thanks to their older sibling. I had an Orkut account while my friends started
with Facebook.
As a child I always saw every year on a specific day my sister
and her huge gang would come together after school and celebrate it like
festival. Laughing, giggling, and giving each others what it looked like a
band. Later I found out its something call a friendship band and that’s its
friendship day; a day celebrated for friends and friendship. Sister’s friends
bought bands for me as well, for to them I was their little sister as well and
I was little indeed at that time. But who do I give a friendship band to I
could not figure out.
I have always been a very private person. Even now I have
like four people who I call friends, rest are all over familiar acquaintances.
This was there even back then as a child, therefore I couldn’t bring myself to
think about even a single person I would like to give a friendship band to and
put a seal on our friendship that I assume would last a lifetime. Looking at my
sister celebrating this special day with her friends somewhere broke my heart
and one day I rushed to my mom, and asked her, “Ma, who is my friend?” Ma went on
to count the names of all the kids who were my play partners and classmates.
But I wasn’t satisfied by the answer, so I asked her again, “No Ma! A friend
who I can give a friendship band to!” It is then that my mom understood my
dilemma, and she immediately knew the answer. She pulled me close and reminded
me of that person with whom I love spending time the most, Jethi (Badi Ma).
Jethi lived in my colony and was initially a friend of my
grandmother and Jethu (bade papa) was in the same office as my dad and grand
dad. When I first met Jethi I was three and we were living in a temporary
accommodation at the Ordnance Factory Hostel after all our quarters collapsed after
the earthquake of 97. I first entered Jethi’s place out of the mouth watering
attraction of Imli ki Chutney, and from there my relation with Jethi began that
cannot described by a word or two. Every morning I would wake up and singing
the tunes of ‘Yeh Dil Deewana’ I would reach Jethi’s place. Jethu would bring
me food and Mou didi would collect my clothes from my house, Chandan Dada would
be my playmate and my entire day would go by then at their place only. Time
went by, we all moved on to different accommodations, but my ritualistic visits
to Jethi’s place never stopped. A very significant portion of my happy childhood
memories belong from Jethi’s place. From having a pet monkey and feeding him
the rotis Jethi made for her family to becoming Gangu Bai and pretending to be
a house help, I have done everything there. And in the middle of all the fun
and games I never realised when she helped me memorise my lessons and taught a
huge number of rhymes. Jethi was not just another elderly person I was meant to
simply respect, or some ‘moholle ki aunty’ I needed to avoid. She eventually
grew up to be a very integral part of my childhood, and my entire life in turn.
I grew up, made new friends and friendship day became a
festive day for me as well. Buying tons of friendship bands and spending the
entire day with friends also became a part of my life just as I once saw it to
be my sister’s. But for me this was always the Saturday as the actual day for
friendship was still reserved for Jethi.
Years passed, friends faded away, many people came and many
vanished, some left me and I left some, but Jethi remained constant. And yesterday
when I was coming back from Jethi’s place after tying friendship band on her
wrist and saying my last goodbye to her, on my way I saw all these kids from
school laughing, giggling and just hanging out and celebrating the day with
their friends, and making promises to each other, completely oblivious the
vastness and ambiguity of the future. And it made me feel proud that I at least
managed to make one friend who indeed will last a lifetime. No matter where I go,
how far I go and what I become, this friend of mine will continue to be so, she
will continue to be my Jethi.
Happy Friendship Day…
