headphones, ideas and clever dicks

This piece took a long time coming. One because of the lazy bum that I am and two because it had to happen only today. Only after what happened today. Amazing.

16/02/10

Nope. 'Coz of what happened today too. If someone had told me that friends were an important part of life about 6 months ago, I'd have laughed it off. Now, I say its an understatement. Friends are what life is all about. I just named this post and its probably the weirdest of all my posts. After ages, today, I have an urge to write. I want to remember these two days like hell. They taught me a lot. That sometimes, rather, most of the time, its never about us. Its about those folks whose faces we see everyday, with whom we grumble over trivial issues, whose food we snatch and whose mistakes we are ready to take blame for. Oh! For the heck of it.

I once knew Ryan. I know all of you know Ryan Oberoi. Of all the things I admire about him, its one thing which always left me a with a lot of envy. That ability of his to do anything for his friends. For those folks who he knows are probably no match to him but nevertheless they are his friends and he owes them a lot for that. I've always detested friends. Atleast the Bollywood version of friends. But now I understand. Now I really understand DCH, Rock On, FPS. When all that matters is that smile on your friends lips and that look in his eyes when you tell him, "Light mama! Mem unnam gaa." I get it now goddamn it. And I'm grinning my ass off.

Boy, I'm exhilarated. Its been ages since I've felt this. Music in my ears, my mind streaming out lines and my fingers typing as fast as they can. Sometimes, I'd say always, its those little moments in life which matter the most. Which give you the most happiness. On the contrary, sad thing always come in terms of milestones. Big incidents(Breakups, Failures, Embarrassments) are always about feelings than incidents. And honestly, I owe a lot to all my friends for I'm not the person I was 2 and a half years ago. I'm not taking out names here. I don't have to. All of you know what you mean to me. The kind of things I've learnt from you have left such an impact on me that I'm sure I'm a better person than I was. I am. And I'm proud of it.

I always thought life was about self. I really did. I do now too. For me perfection of the self is the way to heaven. But then there was something I always missed. Be it Roark, Caulifield or for that matter Sid, trying to be a better person is not an isolated process. All my friends always told me, when I preached 'em for hours about Asceticism, Minimalism, being able to stay untouched and all that crap, that when living is inevitably a social activity, that you cannot reach out to God by cutting away from all that. I laughed them off. I worshiped Supertramp, Dylan and Jobs. I still do. But then I missed something. Something more subtle underneath all their lives. That but for their friends, they wouldn't have been where they are now. I don't know where this post is heading(like all my posts, yeah). This wasn't supposed to be an ode to all my friends. No, it wasn't supposed to be.

This isn't about me or about them. But all those moments that we spent together. Trying out shit together, getting our asses whacked in the process, laughing over crises, cracking really dumb jokes and here I get really filmy, weeping in each others' arms. When you folks told me what kind of an impact friends had over us, I never really believed it. But recently, I started learning something. That everything affects you. And friends the most. They made me a man out of a boy(Naughtyness only ;)). And I'm so elated. Its really simple. Just give yourself away to the people you trust. You trust them once, you trust them with your life. And trust me, true friends never let you down.

Seems like I'm done. I don't know if this is what I was planning to write but I eventually ended up with this. I don't know if I've been able to do justice to all that I was feeling. But before I sign off, here's something. No, I'm not thanking no one. Hell, we are friends and I'm not insulting you. But to all those good moments and memories which I'll cherish when I'm 70. A'right. No shit.

To those cinema theatres, empty roads, irani cafes, late night discussions, guitar classes, last benches, snooker tables, chinese fastfood centres and penniless pockets. I thank you all for my friends. And before I go, love all, trust friends and God bless.