An Accidental Friend

Living in one of the most populous countries in the world, there is no dearth of individuals in my life.  I am blessed with about a thousand folks on my fb friend list, am a member of almost ten whatsapp groups, one of which bears my name in the title, am constantly in touch with about handful of close friends, personally meet a few on and off and confide in just one.

However, this person I met couple of months ago, really is one of a kind. There is nothing quite striking about him, nothing that will cause you to have a secret crush, is a complete contradiction to the classic angry-young-man look with a pinch of naive politeness. His voice is so low, I almost prepare myself for the untimely ageing and approaching deafness. His appetite so little, I swear I ate more than him in grade 5. His punch lines so bad, I would do better in standup comedy.

On my birthday!

Then why exactly don’t we laugh as much when he is not around? His simplicity is the reason that comforts us like a warm cocoon at work. Don’t go on his ‘Rab Ne Banadi Jodi’ look, you will be deceived. On a deeper thought, he does resemble Shah Rukh in that clumsy formal look with overgrown hair and a fat moustache. 

If you are a good reader of faces and characters, it is easy to understand the strong frame of thoughts rooted in his mind. He is a total computer geek by the face of it, but only a good friendship will uncover his killer techie skills with which if he wishes, he can run the world. You mention an area of interest and there he is with multiple PDFs for you to read and work on. He believes in creating something of one’s own, he encourages the birth of new ideas. On the days I am cross with the world, he gives me reasons to conquer my mind.

one of his creative sketches

When we are hogging on office delivered food, he quietly sticks to his lunch box, adamant on old habits. When we engage in ambitious discussions, he joins in to contribute interesting ideas. There is always some food for thought for me to work on as I get back home. He happens to be a person who just won’t discuss and leave. He will bother you the very next day and poke you with words in case of no execution. Feels like parental inspection. At the same time, it is a silent revolution against the lethargic and the monotonous grind I unknowingly get into.

I still remember how on my birthday I walked into the office and switched on my computer to start work. The desktop screen portraying pictures of me accompanied with a small cluster of beautiful words had me beaming all day.

The mighty but little things he does for all of us keep winning our hearts over and over again. 

After all, there should be some competition for the poor old guy who wanted to win over Anushka Sharma!