Thanks to the mobile communication media and their 'cartalised' tariff plans, now-a-days I dont forget any important marketable events and days. Friendship day is about to be
celebrated this week and no wonder the social media is and would be replete
with too many wishes and shares regarding this event for a week atleast. There
are even pictures and statuses celebrating the completion of a year of
friendship and so on. Friendship is something special. Friends are the first
choice I have made myself-on my own- I believe. While I was thinking about my
friends and the time-span of such friendships, these guys however struck my mind.
I have heard that the President
of US calls our nation a ‘natural ally’ although he appears to be behaving the
opposite particularly when it comes to matters of regional importance. However in
my private discourse, when it comes to matters of friendship I can comfortably use
the same ‘natural ally’ when I think about my two close-distant friends. They
are the one with whom I have been sharing my life for over 27 years. Though I did
not have a role in selecting them we became natural allies from the period since
we started sharing our mother’s womb non-concurrently. From then started our
journey of being together and thus evolved our friendship. The senior-junior
respect was never a limiting factor in our friendship and in fact the lack of
it was the unifying one.
We shared our dresses, the
foot-wears, our books, our mistakes, our mischief etc. Can I ever forget about
the adulthood immoralities we had perpetuated in those period? From sharing CDs
to beedis, from correcting post man to ensure that the college internal marks-sheet
doesn’t reach our parents to our collaborative efforts in correcting our
classmates or colleagues. I believe both my brothers introduced their
lover-turned-spouses to each other before introducing them to me or my parents.
We sat together in college ‘kutty-suvars’, attended college symposiums together
and yes you are right, you know the reason.
Of late I have
seen some short films where-in some acquaintance would act as father of
students when they are summoned by the college management. But my eldest brother
had performed the role of an emotional-elder brother in our college when my
other brother was summoned to bring our parents for want of attendance. The
ease with which had performed that role was simply magnificent and he would
pretend to be assaulting the other in front of the department HOD, hearing that there
was a lack of sufficient attendance. The HOD ostensibly was so emotionally
upset and had even advised my eldest brother to control his anger as he is a
younger fellow. However that was not the first time my eldest bro had capped
such a role for he had been doing this for our friends too back home and was a well-sought
brother hence.
The comfort with which we have been living together is so
extra-ordinary. I don’t believe that anyone would be able to differentiate even
our friends for any one’s friend is totally a friend of all. Though our friends
would call my brother as ‘anna’ that would not be a distancing friendship at
any means. We are bonded together. With growing years the love and care we
have for each other is growing miles as so is our understanding of one another.
I can think about a scene in Tamil film ‘Anandam’-sorry, I am least
exposed to the highly marketable Hollywood movies- wherein the main protagonist
would look at the face of his younger brother and both would understand and hence
try to console each other through their facial expressions, and I can proudly
admit that we have such understandings some times. However the post marriage
untoward events are not that much evident in our life so far, thanks to our
sister-in-laws. In fact there are attempts made by our sister-in-law to present
ourselves in a uniform in some events and she had even succeeded twice.
That doesn’t mean that we
brothers haven’t have fought for any reason, for we had fought for even the simplest
things, for snacks, for control over TV remote, for bowling so faster while
playing cricket etc. It’s a different story that the snacks had become a
unifying factor when it turned as a side-dish now. There were comparisons of
each other’s academic performance by our parents and hence ensuing fights. Such comparisons
prevail even now. While it was academic profile then it is spouse’s accommodation
now. But our understanding have matured to another level that nothing could
simplistically ostracize us. I simply admire my eldest one for his never-ever
reaction when his daughter appears to be too attached to me than to him
although she is too close to him by heart. My nieces are now playing the role of
a 'unifier' and three family-joined-families is the result.
I havent have addressed them as annas and neither do they call me as thambi. But I understand their strength, actually it is their common strength. “Itsshhh me..”. Haven’t you heard about “thambi udaiyaan padaikku anjaan”?
‘Love you bro’ would be a
restrictive Westernised expression of the friendship and love that we have for
each other and Tamil comes handy here
“நண்பர்கள் நான் தேட வாய்ப்பு தராத நண்பர்கள் "
Dei annangala,
Happy friendship day ….Cheers…
