Oh! The feeling is mutual

Manpriya Singh 

That is not to take away from Joey, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Ross and Phoebe but they were friends connected by New York City, same neighbourhood, almost same demoghraphics and very similar lifestyles. But sometimes, like love, when friendships break the unsaid rules so strongly set by society, transcend the barriers so deeply entrenched in our psyches, that’s when they set the bar a little higher. What better occasion to celebrate friends that have been put together on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to nationality, gender, class, culture and age. 

 Aman Patwalia, founder director, of Tiny Feet Giant Leap, of ocurse has her usual set of friends that she cherishes. “But then we all have those friends. There is an altogether another set of friends, that she feels, lends an enriching perspective to her life. “There is this little girl who whenever I go to the school pulls my dress and always has something to tell me, it could be something very little or even big. Once she was not being allowed to stand in front of the row, and that’s when I console her and also promise her a front position at the next school function,” she laughs recalling how school visits became something to look forward to. 

On a very similar note, notes, Anuradha Sharma, associate professor, Government College—11, Chandigarh, “There are many students that come and go but there are some you form close bonds with and continue to keep in touch with for they are very special,” she shares, recalling how it’s an enriching experience both ways. 

“We go to them if there is some issue to do with latest technology or gadgets or they come to us for any advice to do with professional and personal matters.” 

Dhananjay Chauhan, a transgender, who is preparing to pursue a doctorate in either Human Rights or Social Work, has friends across the gender and nation divide and age divide and sometimes all rolled into one. There is Shweta and Parul, girls in their twenties with whom she shares friendship in the real sense of the word.