Zindagi ke safar mein……
Life is a like a beautiful journey, the only difference being that the destination is unknown & that’s the most enticing thing about it. But the best part of this journey is the co-passengers. It’s a very fortunate thing to meet good people during a journey & when you really meet them, the journey becomes a memorable one. Once when I had a tough time with a person, I was depressed & felt betrayed & awfully hurt. That’s when my dad told me something that has deeply touched my thinking. He said, “When we are eating a great meal sometimes an annoying stone comes in our mouth which destroys the taste but at the same time we also enjoy the rest of the delicious food & forget the stone. In the same way we come across good & bad people in our lives. We should treasure the good ones & throw away the bad ones, just like the stone”
Well, fortunately for me the stones are much less & some of the best ones have become my friends. Two of the most treasured friends are Kritika fondly known as Kitten & Sonali.
I still remember the day when I first met Sonali & Kitten…. I am rarely one of those who will introduce myself first to a stranger. I like to keep to myself usually, rather than to initiate a conversation. When I shifted to room no. 25 of Amrapali hostel loneliness gripped me. I felt suffocated, depressed & home sick. Then I saw a curtain move & a loud music blaring from the room opposite… well, my favorite song. I hesitated but went near. A tall girl was sprawled on the cot (our bed at the hostel) reading “Archies” Wow… that’s a nice start, I thought. My favorite series too. I knocked. & she turned…. Well, that was my introduction to Miss Sonali Rao….. She was also working with Godrej those days. My first impression was – “dhaasu ladki hai”. I was impressed by her bold & no- frills- &- formalities- attitude. I often used to think if it’s the effect of the Mumbai’s cruel, practical side or just the side effect of her profession. Some days later was Sonali’s B’day. When went to wish her, I met Kitten… Well, I got a bit intimidated by this so-sure-of-herself- girl & to be very frank didn’t fancy her much. Later I came to know how wrong I was. She became my roomie ultimately, my best ever. Her poise, her sophistication & the ability to handle any situation is enviable to any girl. But deep inside she is a typical Indian girl with a heart of gold.
They both have been my anchor these two and half years, taking care of me like their little sis, hearing me out when I was upset & listening to my sermons when I talked as if I was years older to them.
Our Sunday mornings when Sonali would barge into our room & we would complain but snuggle eventually together to get up late, my nightmarish nights when I would reach out of fear to find Kitten slowly put her hands around me into a hug of comfort, our week ends when we would dress up in our best clothes & roam around in Colaba/ Bandra, my first visit to Himsagar (… well, must visit for all) with them on a rainy evening, my first ever discotheque fun, our birthday bashes, our endless & mindless dancing on our favorite tunes in hostel room, our fights, my famous arguments, our gossips, our shopping adventures, our days of torment during 26/7/06, our visits to each ones hometowns, our evenings watching the sun set at marine lines, our shifting into new house, our cooking stunts, our fights with the rikhshaw driver for petty change, our Saturday evenings at CCD, our complaints on not having enough clothes looking at the overflowing cupboards, our sighs in chorus for Hritik Roshan, our outdoor trips & treks,our dry days when there was no water in the house & sometimes when there was overflowing water tank turning our sweet home into a pool, our ego clashes,our tears & our laughter …..the list goes on & on…..
These are not just moments that we three spent together but small chapters of our life where the more we gave the more we got. These have been the best part of my years after I left my home but Kitten & Sonali made these special.
Mumbai to me was another city to fulfill my aspirations, an overcrowded city where u find yourself lost… but in their company I realized Mumbai is much more that that. We three are very different individuals like whiskey, water & ice but when we are together we rock J (right Kitten?).
As the time comes near for Kitten to leave us & start a new & beautiful chapter of her life, a lump forms in my throat …. However I try to console myself that this was bound to happen but as days fly I feel a vacuum grip me. Eventually Sonali will also go on the same path. I might sound selfish but how I wish they would never leave me. Though we will always be in touch & will meet once in a while, still it would never be the same. But I can bet for sure that our friendship is forever. Friends are God’s way to keep us on right track, and I feel blessed to have two such angelic ones who have left an inerasable impression in my heart & my life.
As I end my blog a beautiful song slips through my lips…. “Yeh lamhe yeh pal hum barso yaad karenge , Yeh mausam chale gaye to hum fariyaad karenge.”
God bless you both & may you find eternal happiness for years to come.
Yours forever,Chutanki J
