Gyaan : From Friends

I have been lucky when it comes to friends,

Enjoy talking with them. Amidst talking about school days, worrying about the state of the world today, distilled nonsense, books we have read and such they come up with lines that stand-out,

Friends who matter and lines that have since been a part of our lives since,

Share a few of these below -

Receiving is a fine-art in today's time, warrants grace, and a few seem to have it in our rush to give, to appear bigger,

(A friend who gifts me each time I meet)

Multi-tasking is a myth; one bloody task we cannot do properly,

(A friend whom I used to enjoy long conversations with)

Academics is highly overrated, chances are high that many are in academia today as they had no other options,

(A friend who used to encourage me when I needed it badly)

झुकता सब से ज़्यादा ब्राह्मण है, तब ही तो वह ऊपर बना रहता है, देखो अपने आस पास ध्यान से।

(A senior friend, a brahman, in Banaras, wish I had put more time with him)

My belief that books influence people, or that readers are good people, is gone, the professor who got books for his department asked for a 10% cut,

(A friend, a book-store owner in Banaras)

इश्क़ पे ध्यान दे, बाकी सब तो ज़िन्दगी में होता रहेगा, he advised when we met, and when I thanked him over email for taking the time out, for being there for me when it mattered, his response, मछली की आँख - इश्क़ । 

(A friend, I enjoy investing time with)

Life is fine till we have 9 when we need 10, we share - discuss - care - reuse and such; now many of us have 11 when we need 10, life has changed but not for the better,

(A friend I met late)

Ab to sala kahin ka nahin raha, 

(A friend, when someone asked him where I was from, and a line I have often quoted to define myself since) 

I will never build a house for my son, for then he will complain to me about how it is neither good nor up to his taste, he can build one himself,

(A friend I have long conversations with)

One issue with my daughter's life is that her father has more money than my father had!

(A school time friend)

All is fine, but please remember, that unlike you and my brother I am a sane, normal human-being. 

(A friend's brother when I had gone to meet him at the secretariat at Shillong)