Friendship

[Guest guest]

In the morning, I got an SMS announcing some scheme to mark the Friendship Day.

Now there are so many days for celebrating something or the other. But I have

never really believed in such supercilious things. Anyway, I had written

something for a friend which I wanted to mail him today. The SMS that I got has

prompted me to let you know what I think about friendship.Despite my distaste

for frivolity, I want to wish you all a very happy Friendship Day.

And, read on..... 

FRIENDSHIP

A

man must have something really good in him to be somebody’s friend. I do not

believe any two persons can become friends just like that. I am fortunate to

have some wonderful guys as my friends. Each one of them is special in his way.

     I have one of my friends living

nearby. Yet it is not possible for us to meet as frequently as we would like

to. We talk on phone. Here I would like to mention that I call him more often.

I have told him this many times. He responds to my occasional annoyance with a

funny laugh. We enjoy our conversations. For me, a friend’s worth is decided

by

how frequently you want to and can talk to him. This is just one half of the

requirement, though. In return, he has to understand you and be patient when

you are being difficult. Friendship is about warmth and intimacy.  Going by

these standards, he is eminently

suitable to be my friend. Why, anybody would love to have him as a friend.

I have already written about my proclivity

for the phone. He knows he lags behind when it comes to keeping up his part of

the agreement about our communication. I needle him on this issue. He turns

defensive by citing his reserved nature. I agree with him partly as I have

known him for more than a decade. Whatever the reason for the disparity in our

frequencies of calling each other, I never miss any opportunity to encourage

him to call me more often. I haven’t had much success so far.

He irritates me in another way, too.

Sometimes I call him in the morning. He has his tea around seven. I find it

convenient to speak to him then because I also have my coffee at the same time.

His voice is gruff at times. I have to point it out to him. This is not all. He

is particular about his schedule. So he starts hinting at the length of our

talk. Once he even had the cheek to tell me that I should get ready to avoid

getting late for office.

I have my revenge. He sleeps by 10 pm. He

looks and sounds sleepy as his bedtime approaches. This is my chance. I call him

just as he is about to flop upon his bed. I try to make the call as long as

possible. He innocently suggests that we should talk later. I like it the most

when he tells me in a child-like manner that he wants to sleep.

What kind of a friend is he? Despite his (undesirable)

behavior in mornings when he is in a hurry and late in the evening when he is

obviously sleep-deprived, I like him very much. He is at his best any other

time of the day. A few days ago, I was particularly happy about something. I

would have liked to have company. But I couldn’t find anyone. I called him. I

asked him to order himself a drink to celebrate with me. He did that promptly.

It was much before 10 pm. So he was relaxed and willing to talk.

      He surprised me the following day

when he called up to thank me for the drink I had offered him. Now you know why

he is my friend.

Bharat