One million candy cables

Relationship.. When I was little, I used to feel that this word conveyed something very profound. Something that had to be rigorously maintained and kept to word like some sort of a pinky promise. Something related to blood-and-kin. It was only later that I realized that a relationship is nothing but a bond. A bond between two hearts. Dim-witted as the statement sounds, most of us are oblivious of the fact that bonds are not that easily formed.

How do you know you are actually connected to someone? When you close your eyes and realize that you actually "give a damn" as to what they do, when your heart glows in their jubilance and aches in their woes, when a prayer touches your lips whenever you think of the hard time they are going through and when you feel unhappy as they seek disappointment in their endeavors. That's when you know that you are connected. But still, we tend to cloak our genuine affection in a false garb of kinship. In that way, loving your chacha-chachi-foofa-foofi becomes a duty. Which reduces a relationship to a mere duty, which it certainly isn't.

There's a dialogue from the show "The Big Bang Theory" that I find really humorous. It is a conversation between Penny and Leonard. 

Penny: How did Raj and Howard become friends with Sheldon?

Leonard: I don't know! How do carbon atoms form a benzene ring? Proximity and valence electrons.

Listening to it makes me giggle and wish relationships were that simple. In my life, every relationship is unique and nourishing  in its own way. From my baby cousin who asks me earnestly, "Does a shark eat an octopus or does an octopus eat a shark?" to the biggies who ask with concern, "What do you plan to pursue in your life?", everyone means a lot to me and I can't even imagine my life without them.

                                                        Life is topsy-turvy. Some people enter your life like a tornado and surprisingly end up pacifying and stabilizing it instead. They teach you to deal with rejection and encourage you to brush the dust off and begin afresh. People who have "been there and done that", stand by your side, making sure you take up the right track. Some choose to be brutally honest and some prefer not to demoralize you. You always have a shoulder to cry on, a hand to tickle you to laughter, a finger to wipe your tears, a shadow that walks side by side and a voice that says "I will love you no matter what". 

So, what is a relationship actually? It is something that stands unbattered against the blows of time, distance and misunderstandings. A relationship is fabric knitted with love and embroidered with experiences, good and bad. Pulling out a single thread has the potential to dismantle the entire fabric but it can always be woven back as long as the love remains. 

Always give your relationships the highest priority, never prioritize them. Whether it's your disobedient puppy or an annoying aunt or some Parnani-ki-bhanji-ka-pota, cherish every relationship that has made you feel blessed. 

Click here to Reply or Forward