Travelling down the memory lane

“Take my hand, and hold on tight, don't let go, don't you dare even try, there are so many roads to travel, so much still to find, and with the help of our lord, I want you to help me try and reach for the sky."
These lyrical lines by Marty Keith sums up the meaning of friendship we often try to give expression to. There are indeed so many roads to travel once you decide to hold your friend’s hand and walk together.With friends by our side, challenges seem achievable and destinations, however remote, easily traceable. This friendship season, we try to relive those moments of sharing and caring, gossiping, sipping countless cups of tea and staying up till late in the night.
We often want to turn the pages of life and go back to that chapter that dealt with friends and the times spent with them. Speaking of hangout zones, how can we give the symbolic 'Central Perk' from the popular TV series 'Friends' a miss? The coffee house and its big ‘Orange Couch’ were the silent and inanimate witnesses to the innumerable episodes that shaped the lives of the six friends.
So, following their footsteps, we find out that one place you would like to be with your friend this Friendship Day.
‘A house party on my apartment terrace’
The truth is this that every time friends decide to catch up, celebration come calling on its own. Dinner at a five-star or a movie in a multiplex are not really needed to make the day special with friends. A get-together in a friend’s apartment can be as much fun. The motive is simple: the day gives an opportunity to connect, unwind and refresh amid an otherwise schedule-packed life full of preoccupations.
Antara Mitra, finalist of the music reality show Indian Idol 2, believes it is the spirit of union that matters. Says she “I would like to turn my apartment terrace into a potential hangout zone to celebrate Friendship Day. I meet my friends outside almost everyday. So it would be a good enough idea to stay at home, enjoy home-cooked food and listen to music while creating an atmosphere of relaxation and mirth.”
Sometimes a low-key affair predominates and proves to be a better option over glamour and glitz.
‘Visit the same bar where we had our first drink’
There are shared moments with friends that remain etched in our hearts for a lifetime. For Subhash, a media professional, a particular club in South-Ex holds immense value and significance. He says “That was a bar where my friend and I sipped liquor for the first time and proudly initiated ourselves into adulthood. We suddenly turned men from being just boys. It was more like a new chapter in our lives. I would love to recreate those moments and relive it in nostalgia.”
This is the magic that friendship spells.
‘A long drive on the expressway’
Picture this: It is a rainy day, shops are shut, roads are deserted and to top it all it’s Friendship Day. Rains mean romance that adds dimples to your smile and wings to your soul. For Soumya Sivakumar, an engineering student, a long drive with a friend on the Gurgaon Expressway on a rainy day makes a perfect recipe for a memorable Friendship Day.
Reiterating the same thought, Saloni Sharma says that “there should not be any static place to mark the special day. I would love to travel with my friend in the HOHO (Hop on Hop off) bus that starts from Connaught place and stops at 19 major spots all over Delhi.”
Celebrating Friendship Day ‘on the move’ seems quite an innovative idea to practice!
‘Campus calling’
Remember those carefree hostel days when endless chat sessions at the favourite tea stall in one of the corners of the road would rejuvenate us after lengthy and boring classroom lectures?
The audio-visual scene would be something like this: a conglomeration of friends, immersed in gossip, gulping cups of tea enlivened with bouts of laughter and giggles. Samreen Ahmad, a media professional loathes recalling the last day of her academic session. She says “it is not for nothing that college days are regarded to be the best days of life. Given a chance, I would, with my friends spend an entire day in college campus doing everything we once used to.”
Hangout zones can be many but the intention is same - making yourself and your friend happy. So, share with us your idea of spending Friendship Day in the most cherished way possible.
Special:Friendship Day 2011