#FriendshipDay2022: Yeh dosti hum nahi todenge

Some acquaintances stay and help you in this journey called life whereas some others fade with time. But true friendships are for a life time! And those who stay through the highs and lows of life, forge a bond that lasts forever. On Friendship Day, today, here’s celebrating some such friendships that set sail in the college corridors, and drifting through the many thunderous storms have still endured to stay afloat.

‘Dosti nahin chhodenge!’

Actors Adil Hussain and Annup Sonii met at the National School of Drama decades ago. But, not much has changed since. “Dosti nahin chhod sakte!” affirms Hussain, as he recalls, “I met Annup in NSD in April 1990. We were among the 20 students in that batch, and it was a very close set of people those days. We’d work from 6am to 2am, almost seven days a week, apart from the summer and winter vacations. We used to fight a lot, and over so many things!” For Sonii, Hussain was like an older brother. “At the age of 20, when you have a classmate who’s older and much more experienced in life, you end up calling him bhaiyya! I I used to look up to Adil. Speaking to him, mujhe lagta tha yeh aadmi bahut jaanta hai. It was great to learn from him. Ek hota hai na senior type, jisse aapko life ke experiences samajhne ko milte hain? That’s what Adil was for me, and still is. I was always enamoured by the way used to operate. It’s been over 28 years since we passed out of NSD, but aaj bhi agar main Delhi jaa raha hoon, unko inform karta hun, and if he’s in Mumbai, he lets me know he’s here. He is somebody I can go to for advice.”

Two friends, two decades!

Model-actor Ramneek Pantal, an alumna of Jesus and Mary College, shares why her friendship with actor Neha Dhupia is still going strong. A graduate in BA (Hons) History, 2000 batch, Pantal says, “They say your friends from school and college last a lifetime, and it’s true, because they know you the best! Neha Dhupia is one such friend of mine, who’s been with me through thick and thin. We’ve been friends for more than 20 years. We both came from the Armed forces background, have a lot in common, other than the fact that I’m very punctual and she’s the opposite! Her dad would drop us to college. We’d sit on the last bench, write our Hindi notes in English and get caught! She’s the most easy going person I know. I can talk to her about anything, without being judged. From chatting in the canteen to late nights talks and now seeing our kids grow up, all while still having a friendship that gets stronger with each passing moment, is such a great feeling.”

‘Friendships built on 100% trust’

Actor Dipannita Sharma, a graduate of Indraprastha College for Women, reminisces how she’d have been lost without her buddies back in the day. She says, “My friends Priya Mathur, Charisma Dutta, Amitav Borkakoty and Parash Sarma are still close to me. The thing about friendship is when you’re in college, you go through a new journey in which you depend on each other. Especially some like us, who come from outside of Delhi. I had joined IP College from Assam. If some of us who had come from outside, didn’t find each other and continue to be there for each other, we would have felt quite lost. The fact that these friendships were built on 100% trust is what makes them last a lifetime! It’s not about talking to them everyday or meeting, it’s about the feeling that no matter what, we are there for each other. There are no ulterior motives. These are the only kinds of friendship that last.”

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