Day 31: Coffee and friends

Friends are like the flavor of world’s favorite coffee and chocolate swirling on the tongue’s palate. Friendship tales have always been special for the soul’s sanity and the inner strength that keeps me going pretty much like popping vitamin. This Friendship Day on Sunday was a special affair and choosing to celebrate by sitting at the coffee shop with my favorite Cappuccino and chocolate muffin, reading stuff and calling friends via WhatsApp. I wanted to spend the day alone, reminiscing on the moments of glory, making the most wonderfully flawless moment with the soulful family. Yes! I call my friends that.

The only thing about the Cappuccino is don’t know why the coffee shop calls it flat white. Is it an American thing? I am quite curious and intrigued to unpeel the mystery and all connoisseurs do educate me on the whys. I am drifting. Coffee and friends double the shot of craziness and playing in the wild. I must have called and spoken to some six friends on Sunday. Meghna called me in the evening after she missed my calls. We spoke for a long time and this is what I like about friends. This unspoken rule where we can discuss anything under the sun, right from dating, our constant whining the time we were not working and life. The uncertainty that looms large over the choices made and how plans don’t always work.  I used to joke that we should become hookers. We laughed about it. Fuck ups, marriage, dating and career come with no warning signal and there is nothing that we can plan. Twists and turns that we take, halting and changing gear make for quite an interesting conversation and brings the inner peace within.

She was my internet girl friend. That’s how I was calling her and don’t read too much about it. Meeting on Gchat almost every day to discuss life and it has become so rare nowadays, something we haven’t done for more than 2 years with Whatsapp taking away this simplicity or the fact we get so busy sorting out shit and career. The drudgery of routine has taken a toll on our lives. But, there is something special and deep among good friends, the reflection and approach to things, agreeing on the past that shaped us and a future that hasn’t yet been scripted. I asked her about marriage plan and she was like, things are so unpredictable. We spoke endlessly and sharing on the fear of missing out, relationships that didn’t work for me. It dawned upon that the past should be buried and no point languishing over what didn’t click.

There is Ajitabh Bhaiya in Jamshedpur, the best friend Adi in Australia, beast and Amol who are all hitched but felt good speaking to them on this special day celebrating friendship and everything that matters. With Amol,  loads of laugh for no reason and our code Boom Shiva Boom. I love making new friends, blog dost who are on my Facebook list. There is P from Mumbai with whom mails were exchanged since she thought I took a dig on one of her posts but was pointing at the world going crazy over Sridevi’s death. We became friends and connected on a WhatsApp call this week. I have always believed that the vibes should matter when it comes to friendship and am not someone who open up easily to people, Our bonding was a surprise since we happened to speak endlessly for the first time as if we know each other for decades. Mumbai, India and writing keep us going on and on.

I find great joy in reading newspapers in this digital age. Nothing ever beat the happiness of gulping coffee and flipping through the newspaper pages. Being out of India, one of the missing links are newspapers and that was a favorite daily routine every single day in Pune or Mumbai. I would sit and wolf newspapers at one go. Someone traveled to India and brought few copies of DNA and TOI which I lapped. It felt like those days were back with happiness embedded in simplicity.

The goodness about life come in bundle and if that wasn’t enough, yesterday on the way to work, got a WhatsApp message of appreciation from one client whom I helped for an interview she was doing with a magazine. She was happy with my inputs and suggestions that finally got published. It always pays to be appreciated.

With love

V