Some people become your friends, while others remain as pillars throughout! – Myself
In 2007, almost 8 years ago I met these pillars of my life. Few who had come down from various parts of the country with bags and dreams packed, just like Me and some who were from Mumbai itself – the city that never sleeps. As a kid, one of my biggest dreams has always been to stay in Mumbai, live independently and live my life on my own terms. It all sounds extremely exciting until you step into a city alone and are left to swim in that dark blue ocean. (Please note I am a hydrophobic, so I was obviously sinking!)
A month late into college (due to delayed procedures in getting my admission), I was a silent cow sitting on one of the lonely benches in the classroom without any friends or company. Angels in the picture above came to my rescue when they approached me to join their group as a member for some project. I worked my way through and we all became friends over the next few weeks.
With weeks transforming into months and months transforming into years, we all have grown from strangers to friends and from friends to pillars. Only a person who has stayed alone in a new city without any known contacts and people to rely on would understand how important it is to start life afresh with the right set of people around you.
Mumbai as a city gives you its best in the form of a life, a new beginning, interesting experiences and most importantly new people who tend to stand beside you throughout. It also consumes a lot of your energy and patience through its way and standard of living. But I cannot be more than grateful to this city for giving me a life that I always dreamt of and some of the most loyal friends who have been through my years of growing up and have managed to stick around throughout.
As time passed, one of us got married, another entered the acting industry, one fell in love, another shifted to UK and I who also worked for couple of years and then shifted to UK for my masters. Reflecting on the past, it is interesting to note that all of us have grown up and so much changed, there have been times when we do not speak for weeks, let alone managing a get-together, crucial occasions which one of us might have missed on and would never be able to compensate for while some times when all of us are just there for the one that needs us – it may be through a call / chat or skype!
Having met my bunch of girlies last night, few of them after a very long time and one of them after almost two years, I tend to realize that no matter the distances, time differences and gaps that we all have been through – we will always remain those five girls who met in college.
P.S – I owe a Big Thank-you to all the other unnamed friends, some who are a part of me, some who have changed cities, some who are not in touch and some who have lost contact – all of them who have played their own roles in my life and have helped in the smallest way possible – my journey wouldn’t have been possible without you.
The Secretive Scorpion 