I'd like to begin this blog with a happy note: I GOT A JOB!!! I wanted to shout it out the whole world and that is exactly what I am doing. Tomorrow marks a new beginning in my life. At the same time, I feel sad about leaving behind many friends. I learnt a lot from them.

Speaking about friends, Nature has never ceased to amaze me. It has always been a wonder to me how two(or more) people, who have no common gene pool at all, manage to forge a relation known to be the strongest in all. With Valentines' Day coming around, I know you are thinking about love. Right? Well, Yes and No. Yes, I am talking about love and No, I am not talking about romance. What I'm talking about could be the base of a successful romance. Yes, I'm talking about friendship. It is possible that the method by which I approached the topic here would sound narrow. But, in my defence, Friendship has such a broad spectrum where there is no bar on caste, religion, age and sex, that it is very dificult for me to put it in a paragraph and not wind it for a long time.

I once heard somewhere, "Family is our blood. Siblings we don't get to choose, friends we get to choose." I agree ...whole-heartedly. That's how our choice of friends reflects on us. Let's look back at some of the greatest, albeit fictitious, examples of friendship known to us: Jai-Veeru(Sholay), Golden Trio of Hogwarts*, The Marauders (I'd like to forget about Peter Pettigrew there), Timon-Pumba-Simba (The Lion King), and, how can I forget F.R.I.E.N.D.S. **(Can you think of any more? You are welcome to comment on it) I know I have missed many many many more famous Friendships here. I am truly sorry for that and I bow to their bond.

At this point actually, I'd like to point to a revered friendship in the bad guys side. It is the only friendship I have ever like in spite of knowing that the people involved are known as 'villains'. I am talking about the friendship between Karna-Duryodhana (Mahabharat). I have seen it specially highlighted in two places. Once is when Duryodhana is unable to bear the prejudice Karna faces in an arena, in spite of being an ace archer. Not being able to bear it, he crowns him the king of Angadesh, so that Karna gets an equal chance. The second incident takes place during the War, when Kunti reveals to Karna his true heritage and pleads to him to come to the 'right' side. This is where Karna replies, "If you knew I was your son, where were you all those years when I faced prejudice for my low upbringing? Why do you bring up this truth now, at this crucial point? I know my side is not very right, but I cannot abandon my friend at a time when he most needs me. Even if I have to die, I will do so knowing that I was faithful to my friend till my last breath."

Do you see the strength the bond brings in a self? Actually I'd like to talk more but I'll keep it as "To Be Continued..."

* In case you didn't guess, I'm talking about Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

** Ross Geller, Monica Geller, Chandler Bing, Rachel Greene, Phoebe Buffay and Joey Tribbiani ( I know you know, I just wanted to see the names in writing ;-))