Best Friends

It was a pleasant august morning of a day of 'rakshabandhan'. Everyone of us were sitting in a large multipurpose hall of our residential school. I was in 6th standard & just a few days old in school. I was quite happy because my family was supposed to come that day, to meet me. The function began. Boys sitting in a queue according to class & girls of that class going to them & tying 'rakhis'.

One tall, wheatish complexioned girl with bob cut hairs, from my class came to me & tied me a rakhi. She was Pranjali. I had nothing to give her as a gift. The programme got over soon & we all rushed to look for our parents. From that time i knew, i wanted that girl to be my sister forever. She became special for me from that day. The same story continued in the following years on rakshabandhan. When we were in class 10th, me & my one friend called Pravin, who was her favourite brother in the class had planned a gift for her. We finalised an alarm watch.

It was 7th august 1998, my birthday & the 'rakshabandhan'. Pravin was called by Pranjali & her friends in the class before actual programme started. He was as such a popular person to fetch such a special attention. He wanted me to accompany him but i am never an uninvited guest. He told her that me too consider her as a sister. From there a new relationship began.

There were many communication problems in our school. A girl & boy talking with each other was considered as a crime. By that time most of our batch mates knew about us. Many of them criticised me for giving her special treatment just because she is rich & good in studies. We have slapped all the critics today, its 11yrs now after she left the school & we are still in touch. Letters, then the e-mails made us friends & kept our friendship growing. But what really helped us was the cellphone. She became an engineer & me a doctor. She came to pune for job, i met her after 5 yrs. Soon i realised, she was more close to her college friends. Felt neglected many a times, most of them were in pune adding to my worries. But i have already given her a special slot. We even fought a few times on why she is not talking to me & all, but she has only silence as her answer. I have never showed off, how much i do care for her & unfortunately she couldn't see it most of the times. Whenever we used to talk, it was quite hurting to listen to the stories of her friends. It showed she was meeting them frequently & i was almost out of touch. The time she used to remember me most was to shed tears or seek help for something. As the time progressed, she realised that i was the one who stood by her in her good & bad. We started sharing small things & understanding each other better. As such i never believed in 'best friend' concept, but this girl has edge over my rest of friends & thus became 'the best'.

She made herself mature quite early. Though youngest in the family, she took the role of eldest to play. Born as a girl but she became her parent's son. She never thought of herself in front of her family. Now working in one of the biggest automobile company in india, she wants to buy every happiness for her family. But unfortunately her family is so biased about the 'son' factor that she feels neglected. I just pray that the God give her parents a 'vision' soon.

She has been a excellent friend of all her friends. For me she has been everything what i needed at that particular moment. Great maturity & understanding, a will to help others makes her so special. We have been through some tough time & that made our friendship better & better. She is the one who can see the pain behind my smiles. She is there even before i need her. Always ready to understand, help, advise & bring smile on my face. She sometimes pulls my legs & irritates me like a younger sibling & also gives me scolding lectures like an older sister do. In short i have found a many relationships in a single person! She has been a constant source of inspiration & encouragement. She is surely the one i can count on.

Thanks Tina for being so nice. I will cherish our friendship till life is through.