Days to Months,
Spills on to Years,
Oh an era has passed!
From Pigtails
To Braids,
You and I,
Beheld changes, tons!
In joys and pain,
We, oh my mate remain,
Perpetual Best Friends!
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| Rimli, my sister and I - Once Upon a Time in Shillong! |
Friendship if not
timeless isn’t friendship at all. It was my first day in school. I still
remember a tiny me in pigtails staring anxiously at the unknown faces around.
And that’s when I met her. She was in pigtails too; a sign from the Fairy God
Mother above I suppose! I don’t know what clicked between us, possibly the
ponytails. But what I do know is that we spent that entire day dancing together
in the school auditorium, waltzing to be precise. We were so happy that we
didn’t even want to go home. Can you believe it? Two small girls wanting to
stay back on their very first day of school!
That was then.
Over two decades have passed and here we are today, our camaraderie still going
strong. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that from there on we have waltzed
our way in friendship together. I don’t have many friends but I do have her.
And trust me with her on my side; I never really felt the need for another.
Rimli Roy, my best friend, my secret keeper!
From sharing notes
to books, from whispering secrets in each other’s ears to reveling in those
childlike joys of love, we have done it all. We were each other’s default ‘friend’ who we were ‘supposedly out with’ when actually on
dates and the ‘one’ we were ‘apparently in conversation with’ when
caught on late night calls. Covering for each other actually was a reflex
action and infact still is to this day. Faith, that’s what we have in each
other; an unflinching belief. And maybe that’s why we even loath each other’s adversaries;
no questions asked!
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| 'We' together! |
Years have passed
but even today we have so much to talk about, so much to share inspite of living
at two different ends of the country. Even today she’s the one who keeps
talking on the phone while I listen and trust me I never get bored.
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| Tralalalala - Our swing song! |
There was a time
when Rimli and I were infatuated with lads who incidentally studied in the same
school, one of the top boys school in Shillong. But we were in an all girls’ school
so it was only during inter school sports or science exhibitions that we would
get to see them, occasions which were few and far in between. But then there
was one particular time when we would be able to gaze upon them many days in a
row. During the 10th boards our school served as the examination center
for their school. Imagine our luck? So when we were in the 9th standard
and it was the turn of the guy Rimli had a soft corner for to appear in his 10th
boards, we were literally over the moon. We had full-fledged planning sessions
for those ten days when he would be in our school. It was fun, exhilarating as
if we were on a top secret mission. From waiting in the playground just to help
her catch a glimpse of him to rushing downstairs from class during lunch time
to be able to see him leave; everything was done like clockwork. As silly as it
sounds today I even pushed her towards him one day on the stairs, ofcourse
pretending that it was all by mistake then. Ridiculous you might say! But it
worked and they talked. Rimli was ecstatic that day! I was too, almost as if we
had together conquered Mt. Everest! And the very next year when it was her turn
to help me catch a glimpse of the boy who had caught my fancy, she had left no
stone unturned either. Ofcourse, I chickened out at the last moment! Nevertheless
it was so much fun! Those precious moments of first crush with my best friend,
priceless!
Memories like these
bring about warmth that often seems missing from life. And there are so many
tucked away safely in our memory lane.
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| We can't stop laughing when together! |
Another that I can
recall is when the ‘bunking’ bug had
hit us big time. I still vividly remember out escapes from the college gate.
Since jeans were not allowed we would wear wraparound skirts over jeans and go
for classes. But the minute we would be out, the wraparounds would vanish. It
was so much fun. We were in 12th and had a perfect mechanism in place
for bunking classes without getting caught. Together we would bunk except on
occasions when either of us was late. One day it so happened that I ended up at
the college gate with my dad. I was late so he decided to drop me while on his
way to office. But at that very moment Rimli too was making her great escape. Now
her being caught bunking class was as good as I being caught, for our parents
knew very well that we never did anything without the other in tow. Not that
dad would make a big issue out of it but we were just in 12th and hence
scared nonetheless. Our eyes met for a fraction of a second and we knew
instantly what had to be done. I kissed my dad on his cheeks, our very own
father daughter greeting, for a tad bit longer while Rimli slipped from the
college gate to the house next door. But she couldn’t just stand there with
those living in the house gazing upon her. So she pretended to be lost. As she
inquired about the address of an imaginary friend I sent my dad off to a great
day in office. Our secret was saved and till today we look back at that day
laughing at our inanity. Can you imagine this very ‘bunk loving’ Rimli as a faculty at a college today and a strict
one at that too? Unbelievable!
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| On my mehandi night |
If I go on writing
about Rimli and me, this post will never end. Chronicling the best times of a
friendship that has withered over two decades unharmed is no mean task. I just
hope we keep weaving countless memories together for eternity!
And to Rimli, my dear!
I promise here,
We shall remain,
Perpetual Best Friends!