Some of the most endearing stories that can win hearts and inspire faith in humanity are those that are to be found in lasting friendships. As the old adage, if recast in the today’s grim scenario, would go – ‘you can’t choose your relatives, you don’t pick your boss, you mightn’t trust your luck with the new house-maid or driver’ – but most certainly you can bank upon your old friend/s. As Henry Higgins (remember ‘My Fair Lady’) would say to his long standing companion, Col. Pickerin, ‘Why can’t they be more like you’ ?!
In a strife ridden world of antagonism, rancor and mistrust, there have also been many exemplary characters whose irrefutable friendships have stood the test of time. We also have our learnings from our mythology of the kind of unshakeable faith and ties that existed between Lord Krishna and Arjun, Karna and Duryodhan, Lord Ram and Sugreev and many such legends.
My favorite friendship stories come from the world of sport where though men and women strive to outdo each other in sporting competiveness many forge alliances which last lifelong. Tennis legends Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe fought many an epic battle on the court but ended up as best of friends, so much so, that Borg was best man at John’s famous wedding !
From our own sub-continent, is cricket’s wonderful camaraderie between arguably the best opening ODI pair India has ever produced – Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who together featured in over 8800 runs in partnership. Their mutual admiration and friendship has lasted 30 long years and is the stuff that legends are made of. On his 46th birthday two days back, ‘Dada’ got special wishes, written in chaste Bengali from the ‘God of Cricket’, Sachin !
The subject of friendship became the theme for one of America’s longest running popular sitcoms ‘Friends’. The players became household names and actress Jennifer Aniston a superstar. Interestingly it also started a great bonding between Jennifer and actress Courtney Cox for all times to come. This when it’s believed two actresses cannot be good friends !
Hollywood with its rich history has many lovable anecdotes on friendship. The lead actors of the magnum opus ‘Titanic’ – Leonardo De Caprio and Kate Winslet after enjoying all the acting accolades from the monumental movie, went on to forge a lasting friendship which has continued for over two decades !
How can one miss out on Hindi cinema’s great friendship stories which are many but to me the most poignant and eternal were the ones between the ace actors and those who provided their golden singing voices – Raj Kappor and Mukesh, Dev Anand and Kishore and Shammi Kapoor and Md. Rafi !
It would not be entirely right to say that the present generation with all its intensity and passion, possibly cannot keep up to the demand of enduring friendship but that’s how it appears to old-timers. I remember my father’s friends stick by him (and he to them ) right till their autumn years. That gentile tradition has continued – we too can proudly say that some of us in our ‘old friends’ group have had the same strong ties for the last over five decades !
What then is lasting friendship all about ? As usual , the Bard puts it best – ‘ A friend is one who knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still gently allows you to grow ’ !
Working on Living 