My chaddi-buddy HEMANT

We’ve known each other since the days “Moral Science” was a subject in school, from the days we used pencils to write, from the time “Chitrahaar” was the reason we existed…

I remember how he loved watching the news on the television, and his sister (Vasu) and I hated doing that. I mean come on, how can a barely 10 year old find a boring news bulletin so engrossing? So Vasu and I would make sure he doesn’t get to watch it:D Irritating him was so much fun…we would dance in front of the TV, obstructing his view and bugging him endlessly. That exasperated look on his face was priceless! The ensuing fight was worth a billion bucks…Then this one day he was sitting in front of his house, with his hands in the mud. And there were ants crawling up his arms and back down without biting him! He invited me to do the same, but alas! The ants weren’t as kind to me, and I got bitten BAD! Grrrrrr…

We used to spend so much time together. My mom used to drop me off at his place when she had to go somewhere I couldn’t or wouldn’t go. And his mom used to do the same. We’ve eaten together, fought, screamed, beaten up one another…This one time he slapped me just because I ruined a picture that he drew. It was a cat that didn’t even look remotely like one. I crumpled up the paper and threw it. Slap! I was so stunned. I could have slapped him back, but I adopted a very cheap tactic, saying I’ll tell his mom! Emotional blackmailing is the best and deadliest weapon ever created. His begging and pleading was probably worth the slap…lol.

But before we could enter teenage together, he left Hyderabad and took off to Dehradun. We wrote letters (yes, that was the time when people wrote, and not e-mailed), sent cards on each other others’ birthdays…but over a period of time we just got very lazy and stopped writing. Days turned into months, and months into years. Each knew what the other was doing, but never actually had any contact.

Then suddenly, one year back he looked me up on Orkut (love Orkut for this) and scrapped me. That’s how it started. We began mailing, then exchanged numbers, and my god! We would talk and talk and talk…as if making up for all the lost time. All this happened while I was in Hyderabad, doing my Masters’. He was in Chennai, working at Infosys. After my course got done I found a job too. And of all places Infy! I was to join Bangalore, and by then Hemant had been transferred to Bangalore as well. I was ecstatic beyond words. I was gonna meet him after so many years, and even though as kids we used to fight a lot, over the past few months we had become really good friends.

Another glitch. He went home for a few days…so I came to a Hemant-devoid Bangalore. He got back a week after I moved to this place. We decided to meet on campus. I almost had butterflies in my stomach. I hadn’t met him in more than 10 years, and now we were going to. What if I don’t recognize him? What if it gets awkward? What if we don’t know what to say to each other? These and many such questions crossed my mind, and probably his too…

We met at Terminal, (food court on the campus. Looks wow, but the food…ahem!), which is just opposite my building. I got to the food court, looking all around for him. And he appeared out of nowhere! We smiled, grinned, laughed…sat for a while, talking about everything and nothing. It was a little odd yes, but felt nice too. Like a hot shower, like watching “Friends,” like eating chicken momos in the rain, like drinking scotch…

That was day 1. We met everyday for the next one week. Talking like there’s no tomorrow, over lunch, over bhelpuri, over the phone…One glorious week. For he was going off to the US. I met him after forever, only to see him go away once again. As I bid farewell it didn’t feel too bad. It didn’t hit me that the next time I see him will be after about a year. I was smiling as I waved to him…Only later did the truth sink in: Hemant’s gone. And that’s when I realized how much he actually means to me.

He’s in America now. We mail, chat. He calls sometimes, and even though the frequency isn’t too high, it’s awesome talking to him. We spoke last week, after quite some time. And ah! I was all happy, and jumping. We don’t talk about anything serious; our talks range from what we did last weekend, to our current dates, from movies to college and office, from parties to studying…Very breezy conversations.

But this time was different. After we spoke, we mailed each other. And what he said made me feel so good! I could sense how much he cares about me…could almost see his anxiety ooze out of the words he wrote…At such times you realize the power of friendship. He’s far far away, but his words, his voice cast a magic spell on me. I probably don’t say it much, but he’s really precious to me. One of my best friends. Really love you a lot my insomniac sweetheart.