Tweet

True friendship survives all odds and friends keep in touch, time and distance notwithstanding. In some cases, friends who have been out of touch for years together, meet and take up from where they left off. It seems as if time has stood still and nothing has changed since then.

Making lasting friendship after the educational years usually becomes difficult because as we grow older, we become set in our ways and trust people less easily. But there are the odd exceptions when two people meet when they are well past their prime and form a special bond that is deeply rooted in a genuine appreciation, respect and love for each other.

In twos, threes, and fours

Friendship of twosomes is considered the most stable. Most of us have had that one special friend    the one who was often mistaken for a sibling, the one wed lock arms with and saunter off for walks in the evenings, the one with whose family weve shared holidays. The flip side to such a relationship is that such friends are extremely possessive of each other and when a third one tries to enter, it upsets the balance. But threesomes are not uncommon. In fact, a triad helps friends keep in touch with each other even after life gets too busy and other concerns override us. When four people become close friends a network is established.

Radha meets Krishna

Till the recent past, childhood friendships between girls and boys were uncommon and frowned upon in India. Male-female interaction was less and parents did not encourage such friendships. Today however, the scenario is fast changing. With men and women rubbing shoulders with each other right from school through college and finally at their workplaces, friendship between the opposite sexes is a common occurrence. Such a relationship toes the thin line between companionship and marriage, especially if the two partners happen to be unattached, as in the case of Amar and Shilpa. Amar was not just a friend, he was Shilpas soul mate, her confidante.

She could trust him with anything that happened in her life and was sure he would support her. Marriage was the natural thing to happen. But it need not necessarily be so. Sometimes, a lasting bond of friendship (what is commonly called a platonic relationship) is struck between a man and a woman, who are otherwise bound to their own commitments and concerns.