It was 2nd of January, 2006, and I was standing at the lobby of the NE Technologies building. It was the first day of my first job, and I was full of apprehensions and my mind was driven by different kind of thoughts. There were around ten of us joining the company that day. The voice of the chitchatting group of girls echoed the lobby. There were two other guys besides me. One of them was a very prominent personality. He wore a chequered yellow woollen sweater, was hefty and stood with a holding a helmet in his hand and a smile on his face. I smiled at him and asking his name. He replied… “Rajendra Barve…” We then spoke to the third guy (Vibhav). We shook our hands together… but little did I know that I had just shook hands with a man who will have a great impact and leave an everlasting mark in my life ahead… As we began our career with NE Technologies together, even though there were four of us in the team, I and (Rajendra) Barve gelled together very well and began working together with great team spirit with no wicked feelings of competition. As I got to know him more, I discovered Barve was a real extrovert to the core. He couldn’t stop help himself from talking to people. He showed an approachable nature, and hence made friends easily with new people. He loved talking and mocking with everyone, irrespective of guys and girls. We both had a lot of commonality in our framework of thoughts. And yet there were many things which were diverse and which we often argued about… Barve has been a staunch RSS follower (Unlike me) and an ardent admirer of Manohar Parrikar (Like me). He is passionate about religion and patriotism and dares to dream and think differently. He knows his goals in the long run, and is focussed to work towards them. Emotional by nature, he thinks more by heart then brain.
For me, it would be injustice to say that he has been a wonderful friend. A friend he has always been, but like an elder brother he has been like a guide and was always there with his advices without even asking. Like a critic, he has also been straightforward in expressing and pointing out my mistakes or when it came to giving a frank opinion about me. And like a friend, he has always highlighted and reminded me of my strengths when I looked to waver and moving towards negativity.
We have seen it all… We have even been through a worst stage of differences, misunderstandings and spats that we ever could have imagined. And yet the friendship prevailed above all these unpleasant things. Yet, he was rock-solid standing besides me with all the support which I needed, when I was in the worst situation of my life.
He says that he loves me, but I don’t love him as much. He thinks that my dedication towards friendship is always “professional”. His naughty and provoking taunts still irk me. His taglines about me- “Hindu Priest”, “Dev Manoos” and “The man who should be destroyed from this world”, do sometimes irritate me. Those bitter comments during coffee in cafeteria do make me angry. And all those smiles with different meaning, conveys a lot of things with no words. But that’s all the speciality of the kind of friendship we share.
And now it is 15th of October 2010 (soon approaching as I write), the day to part away with this wonderful friend. But are we really parting away? Does a mere changing of jobs mean parting away of friendship? If it so means, then it was never friendship!
Yes, it is parting away. Parting away of two professionals, in their career paths.
