To a dear friend

We were ten, when you joined our school
Right from day one, you were the heights of cool.
You marched in with your Noida airs and charm
And took class 5, section b, by storm.

You had a major DPS ( Noida) hangover,
You babbled a lot about how superior
DPS was to dingy old Oxford ( how right you were!)
But you settled down cosily, and soon you were a fixture.

You were a bundle of talent, skilled at many arts
A mellifluous singer, a graceful dancer, a painter of sorts.
And though you sent your music teacher flying out of the door,
Dance stayed in your life, for ten years and more.

The high-school years went rushing past us,
A series of frames, of ordinary days and big ones,
Life was about dance rehearsals, competitions and choir,
I don’t suppose you ever studied, unless on a dare.

At throwball, you’d carved for yourself quite a name,
You’d muster all your energy and save the game,
Then you’d sway like a blade of grass in a gale
Before fainting on the spot, trembling and pale.

We braved the board exams, and entered a new phase of life,
Where the books got fatter, and our uniforms uglier,
Now I’m going to switch from poetry to prose,
The words refuse to fall into place, and rhyming is no joke.

We started traveling together to school at this time. I was late to the bus-stop every single day, and after you had gotten over wanting to call me ugly names, we used to have such fun conversations. It was the best part of the day. That was when we went from being classmates to being friends. I think our conversations covered it all – from discussing your secret wish to gouge out some relative’s eyes, to wise thoughts on the nature of love 🙂

Then came college, with heady promises of freedom and fun. And though we went to different places to ‘study’, the talkathons on the phone ensured we stayed in each other’s lives. College was when I discovered that you were sensible, sweet, brave, and a great friend, on top of being good company. College was also when we met up and ‘shopped’ ( I will not say here that you were a fussy shopper or that you unintentionally screamed at shopkeepers or that you…in
short, I will NOT say anything about shopping) and laughed our heads off over everything and nothing. We never did get over the giggly school-girl phase, even after we were well into college (and out of it).

Now that you are poised on the threshold of another big change, I hope all goes wonderfully for you, my friend. You are one of the people in my life that I am most thankful for.