The Way Of Friendship
(How my friend found me after seven years)

Friendship is one of the best gifts that we have been given. We meet people who are not related to us in any way yet, somehow, somewhere along the way we get to become friends for life.

As a child, I attended the Namagunga Primary School in Lugazi, Uganda. My dad worked in the Sugar Factory there.

Being an African school, there were very few Indians, but we were very united and always stayed together at break times and lunchtimes. I started there in Grade Four and was there till I finished my Primary Leaving Exam in Grade Seven.

When I was in Grade Five, there were two other Indians who joined the school: Devan and Renju. They were brothers. Devan was in Grade Six and Renju, Grade Four. Both were very quiet and we did our best to put them at ease. As time went by, Devan and I started getting a bit closer. Devan was very good at drawing, and I used to give him all my complicated diagrams and, he drew them for me without grumbling.

Time passed and, too soon, Devan completed the course and his family moved out of our town to Kampala. I missed him a lot after he left. But it was not until my Grade Eight year that we corresponded again through letters. But even this was short lived.

Next year, I was sent to my hometown of Chennai, in India, to attend a boarding school. This was in the year 2000. Naturally enough, I was very busy adjusting to the new environment and a culture that I was not used to. Sometimes, when I felt lonely and out of place, I longingly thought of the friends I had left behind and the wonderful times I’d had with them. I guarded these memories very carefully because they were my refuge and solace in times of need.

Time just flew, and I completed my Year Twelve public exam in 2003. I then went on to college to obtain an engineering degree.

We had to do in-plant training in a company of our field of interest for a week. I had to commute to the place by bus every day and that, too, was a new experience for me.

A miracle happenened on the afternoon of 31st December 2004. I was waiting at the bus stop for my bus to arrive. Perhaps destiny took a hand here, because my bus usually came immediately, but on that particular day it was delayed.

Suddenly there was this guy, who walked up to me and called me by my name.

I was taken aback for I definitely didn’t expect a stranger to know me.

He then inquired about my elementary school and things of my childhood.

I looked around to see if any of my friends was playing a prank on me. But then he smiled and asked, “Sobana, don’t you remember me? It’s me Devan!”

I found it so difficult to credit. I had to pinch myself to make myself believe that the person standing in front of me was none other than my childhood friend!

The bus forgotten, we both stood to one side, and delved into our childhood memories, recalling old friends and places that we had known.

I returned home feeling exuberant and more ecstatic than words could ever describe, for it was almost seven years since we had last met, yet we had kept our memories fresh in our minds. The most intriguing part was that Devan had also relocated to Chennai, exactly a year after me. He was doing a Bachelor’s degree in the National Institute of Fashion Technology.

We still had the same special place for each other in our hearts, and thought about each other often too. At that moment, I knew that we were just meant to be friends - best friends for life. This was the best New-Year gift I could possibly have received.

Devan and I are now in the final year of our respective courses and have plans to study further. We don’t talk often or even write to each other regularly, but deep in our hearts we know what we mean to each other. In times of trouble, there is always someone to turn to who understands me so well. And that assurance does great wonders in my life.

Miracles still do happen, you know. This friend was specially sent to me, I believe, and our friendship has stood the test of time and emerged unscathed.

Friendship truly has its own way of surviving - despite the odds.

- Sobana Senthil Velan 
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.