A City steeped in the rains, green roads crawling around Caf頃offee Day outlets, colonial churches competing for space with the trendiest malls, a crowd buoyed by optimism ? and money, a town of astounding ambition and an infrastructure trying hard to match pace with the aspirations of its inhabitants? Bangalore was all this and much much more.

I recently spent nearly a month at Bangalore, it was the best season to visit the city they said.. not that I had a choice, my company has a habit of sending you to places at a days notice which you might have otherwise never ventured to on your own.

Work was hectic, but the weekends were mine? They say that the best way to know a city is to see it through the eyes of a person who belongs there? and I was lucky enough to have two friends with me who were just that? a beautiful couple who belonged to Bangalore as much as they belonged to each other.

It was a strange feeling, to be escorted around the city as if you were still a kid, to be a silent partner to discussions on which would be the best place to eat out at night, to be allowed not to make a single decision over the entire weekend and yet be comforted that you were in good hands?

Whether it was basting your own barbecue on a rain kissed Saturday evening at a roof top restaurant at Indira Nagar, or spending a lazy Sunday morning gorging on omelets at a century old caf頯n MG road? or a fantastic dinner at the 13th floor of a building, the twinkling lights of Bangalore spread out on to the horizon, or just ambling idly through the alleys of Bangalore with no specific purpose in mind, it really turned out to be one of my most enjoyable weekends ever.

We spent the night talking about the times that had gone by, about the friends we made and lost, about the times we shared and our plans for the future. Strangely, I felt extremely at home in a flat with two persons with whom I had never really spent much time with before.

Come to think of it, we always knew that we enjoy spending time together, yet it took a forced trip from my company which helped me go see my friends in person. Just about how many friends have I lost over the years, because I never found the time to meet them. Is it really true that we did not have the time to attend that particular friends wedding, or just do away with a phone call when someone lost a loved one. Or rather, was it really necessary to use up my vacation to attend the engagement of a cousin I had not cared to remain in touch, and would not care to remain in touch in future. Just made me wonder, how many times have I given priority to half hearted family connections over friends I have shared my life with.

Guess this is what friends are for, they let you in their lives with no questions asked, and make you feel at home in any corner of the world. You know they will share your joy and will leave you alone when you want to be quiet and not take offence. And finally, when its time to say Good Bye, they make you feel that you really mean something to them, something that is not forced like a hand-me-down relationship, but something that is needed and hard to find at times, a friend.

Comments from the past:

coretta
20 Jul 2007, 3:05pm

🙂 🙂 🙂 and a big hug!

Vipul
10 Aug 2007, 10:02pm

I think its time for you to write a book…you have the potential dude!!!

chandan
16 Oct 2007, 10:31pm

Damn neat man…you spoketh thy heart’s words.

Ravi
9 Nov 2007, 9:43pm

Hi ashish…..jus read a few of ur blogs….u write stuff that really reaches the heart! i liked it a lot…looks like u’ve been blogging for ages…never knew that! do keep posting!