The objects of my affection…

Are my friends. They are few, very good friends.

I got friends who are of all ages. Some are older to me, some my age and some much younger to me. But they are all aware of what a weirdo I am and still love me.

Starting from first best friend Jacqueline who was my school buddy, a fellow backbencher. We were quiet and reserved and boys didn’t come near us. I still don’t know if I was happy with the situation about boys, but I was happy that Jack was and it was ok by me. We got married, lost touch, got in touch again many years later, and now we are good friends.

My next best friend is Zaki whom I married. We are poles apart. If I like astrology, he likes astronomy. I like hindi masala movies and he likes Brian de Palma and Steven Speilberg. We fight and argue everyday, but at the end we like being with each other. We are still friends.

Then there is Sam. I call him Sambul. He is Zaki’s best friend and now he is my friend. He is this eccentric guy who talks less and smiles even lesser. He has seen me through many changes and suffered me for a bad tempered person to actually liking me for the person I finally turned into and I am sure he appreciates it that he is not at the receiving end of my tantrums these days. He is a great guy who we love and cherish.

Doris and Sunil, Rupanday and Hari, both couples not together anymore but still good friends of mine. And then there is Rupa and Sajid. Both a little far in Dubai, and not so much in touch, but we can pick up where we left off the last time we met. Rupa is this hyper active person and Sajid is equally laidback. Rupa takes charge and Sajid is more than happy to let her. This just proves that there is nothing better than a good marriage. Putty and Sandhya, I haven’t forgotten you yet. Putty made the third angle in Zaki, Sam’s group. Great guy this with an equally great wife.

Lastly come my very young friends. Kushbu, Bhakti and Shraddha are pretty new and getting quite close. But Chaitali, Pracheta are my lifeline in college. They are a strange mix of maturity and innocence. They love me any which way. Whether I am being preachy, bad-tempered or nasty. They smile and indulge me. They actually look after my needs so well. They spoil me rotten and I am thankful to them for that. They depend on me for the notes I can make out of the very difficult subjects that they never understand really and I depend upon them to tell me where I go wrong with my practicals. It’s a life that I am living once more when I was 18 when they come and tell me their heartaches and breaks, the boys they like and have crushes on. It’s an adventure with them and I don’t want to trade it ever for anything else. Never have I felt so great having such a great bunch of friends. Thank God.