As I write this in the middle of the night after putting my very naughty 10-month-old to sleep, I know she too is probably awake nursing her newborn baby girl. It’s been a long journey, a journey we have made together and we have made apart but always as each other’s best friend. Always as each other’s staunchest supporters.

Our story

Have I told you about my best friend? Well, I probably have. And today, let me tell you again for making a friend for life is something that needs to be talked about over and over again.

 
We met on the very first day of school, Rimli and I. The very first day of school was when we literally waltzed into each other’s life, never to leave. Really. We were so happy waltzing together on the stage that we didn’t even want to go home. In fact, we cried when we were separated at the end of the day. Who would have known?

 
There is so much history, a treasure trove of memories that I don’t know which I should speak about. The shared lunch boxes, those secret crushes, bunking classes to lying for each other, we have done it all and more. How do I pick one?

 
When you spend over two decades as best friends, you know more about each other than anyone else probably ever can. There are things you share with each other that you never share with anyone else. You finish each other’s sentences, know how the other will react, probably better than she herself does. You have memories, the mere whiff of which is enough to make you smile. And I have so many with her. Too many to choose from.

 
Memories

Those pyjama parties where we danced till we couldn’t breathe because we laughed so hard at our silly moves. How we predicted, complemented rather, each other’s dance moves to popular songs. Those secrets that we swore to take to our graves. Those afternoons spent dreaming about crushes together. Standing up for each other when the other was wronged. Experiencing crazy things together. Everything is as vivid as it happened yesterday.

Whether it was that scary night when an unknown person walked through our hotel room leaving us terrified or facing the mommy blues together, we have been there for each other for a long, long time now.

We realised long ago that one of the biggest signs of an unbreakable friendship is to dislike what or whom your friend dislikes, no questions asked. We have been doing that for each other for so long now that it has become a reflex action. Logic, right or wrong, nothing matters. When she says she abhors someone or something, we do it together. And you know it is actually much more important than liking the same things. If one of us hates something, then we hate that together. That is our rule. Perhaps, that’s also one of the reasons why we have lasted so long.

Our friendship has survived distance and time. It is special because we have shared a part of our lives that has made us who we are. So, whether it was watching those foreign tourists kiss at the entrance of Fatehpur Sikri or bunking classes to go chat with someone over the internet, we have seen and done it all together. And I only hope we keeping going, our friendship keeps growing.

A glimpse of us over the years.

Talking about friends and friendship is fun, isn’t it?

With that in mind, I think ZEE TV’s fun-filled chat show Vivo Smartphone presents Yaaron ki Baraat co-powered by Amazon.in and Brooke Bond Red Label on celebrity friendships can be something interesting on television. What do you think?

Before you go, tell me your best friend story, won’t you?