RELATIONSHIPS/FRIENDSHIPS

A DIFFERENT FEELING
When one has had a friendship so pure and unadulterated that it makes you smile even when you
are not with that person that is something worth having, and the time that you spend with them
imprints such memories in your mind that reliving them is almost effortless.
I still remember the day when our 4th year circuit branch was going for a visit to our mother
campus JITM. All of us were very excited about the trip for it was a six hour journey to
Bhubaneswar and then a two day stay for the Campus Drive. It meant the world for all of us to
get a job and finally move on into our own lives no longer dependent on any one.
But for me it was a special trip for one more reason. My best-friend was in JITM. Though we
hadnt met till this time and this was to be our very first meeting but it felt like we had known
each other since forever. We had had long conversations on social networks and on the phone
and had become best-friends as time went by. But this was the first time I was to meet him and I
could feel the butterflies in my stomach even though I kept talking to him during the whole
journey.
Finally the train reached its destination and we boarded the college bus to the campus. It took us
45 minutes to reach the campus, yet the ride was as fun as the train. The excitement of trying out
for a job that could be seen on everyones face was momentarily washed away with the awe of
the exquisiteness of the campus.
As for me the instantaneous reaction was Wao! and the very next moment I called up my best
friend but got a slightly disappointing no response. I realized it was the time for his practical
classes and decided to get some shut eye. The journey no matter how fun it was had had a tiring
effect on my body and a short nap did do me some good. By 4:30 pm he called me back and
asked me to come down to see him and I was up and about all over again. Bubbling with the
excitement of finally meeting him for the first time I rushed to get ready and forced my 3
companions to do the same for every moment of delay was making me more anxious.
Meeting him for the first time was the strangest happy feeling I have ever had in my life. A friend
that I had and wanted to have for life, someone I could share everything with even when I hadnt

met him. I could literally feel everything going inside me, the feeling was so different, so
irrational yet felt like the only thing that could mean everything, the bond was complete and so
was I.
Conversation flowed freely while we had a simple lunch of noodles at a dhaba and the time went
flying by. I didnt even notice the bag he was carefully carrying with him as the focus was now
on only us.
We didnt even realize that the time had come for us to move back to our respective hostels, and
it was really difficult when we did. My friends were teasing me about him and I was just smiling
because I knew that no matter what they said they would never understand what it was between
the two of us. We were composing a different world a whole universe, just the two of us.
I enjoyed his company as much as I enjoyed my conversations with him probably more, but time
had come for us to go apart and it hurt even though it was just for the night.
When I turned towards the hostel he stopped me. I whirled around and saw him there smiling. He
passed over his bag to me and told me that there was something in there for me. I hastily took it
and started to open it when he halted me again. He requested that I open it when I was back in
my room. Smiled at me again and said goodbye.
I raced up to my room and dug into the bag. It was a surprise, two actually. A special quote for
me printed on a glass, and a teddy sitting in a basket for my birthday. It was the cutest thing ever
and I yelped in a mixture of shock and happiness.
I tried to regain my composure but was unable to do so, and I called him up and poured
thankyous on him. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I slept smiling.
He called me the next morning and apologized in advance for not being able to see me before I
went on for my written test to be conducted in the computer lab as he had to attend some classes
of his own. Though I was somewhat let down I understood his position and went on for my test,
the campus drive had started.
The tests had begun and to my surprise I cleared every test with a simplified ease and finally
made the cutoff. Then we lined up for the coding round and that came naturally to me and was

actually quite fun. I ended up clearing the coding round too and now was the real test, the
interview. This I had no experience about and it was the one I was actually quite nervous about. I
called him up. I asked him if could bring me a laptop and he enthusiastically agreed. Though I
needed the laptop to read up on the company I was interviewing for I also really need him to tell
me I will do fine.
And he did. He also helped me mock some interview questions quickly before I went in and took
on the real deal.
The interview passed on in bliss and when I came out I knew my chances were much better than
I had expected them to be.
The results were declared and I had passed, I had passed them all. The whole thing felt like
dream. A dream I wanted to share with someone, none other than my best friend. I knew he had
been praying for my success the whole time because I could sense how happy he was for me
when I called him and told him the result.
We went out for a celebratory dinner and took some photos together on my phone. Those were
some really special moments. We wrote what we felt about our experience on a tissue paper and
exchanged it.
The next day I had to leave the campus as the two day trip was now over. We said our goodbyes
and took the morning bus back to catch our train. Though I was sad about leaving there was a
smile on my face as I remembered every moment of this trip and that smile broadened every time
I realized he must be thinking about the same thing.
Those two days showed me that there were still people who would selflessly help you be your
friend and be glad at your growth. This world was a much better place than people make it to be.
Those were two wondrous amazing unforgettable and unimaginably delightful days of my life.
I have made a small attempt in writing an article to show the eternal purity of a relationship
named friendship. This is not a fiction which I am narrating its a real experience I have had, in
the memory of my recently over college life and the different feeling of the pure bond of
friendship. Rinku Ray