We all love and adore the friends we’ve had for years. We even love spending time with those who might not qualify as our ‘best friends’ but we care about them anyway. We love hanging out with those who have just the same interests as us. 

But once in a while, we find friends where we least expect. The long tiring Uber rides, the monthly visit to the beauty salon, the waiter at the restaurant that you visit every two weeks or even the vegetable vendor who you visit everyday. 

Sometimes, spending long hours with someone might be the conventional definition of being friends because in life, the instant connection you find with a person is all that’s necessary.

We’ve all been on those long rickshaw rides where we just start talking to the driver. It might be about traffic, politics or just, about life. You and the autowallah might have drastically different lifestyles but the humane connection you form with him over his kid’s school or his political opinion leads to a healthy discussion. 

It is in these moments that we find out that the opinions we call ‘massy’ are probably the result of the little bubble we live in.

In the secure cabin of a beauty salon, the girl you meet every month is the only one you trust. She won’t make the cut on the list of your friends and yet, every month she sees you for who you truly are. She has witnessed your insecurities and helped you get over them. She’s missed only when she’s absent and that’s when you realise that the trustworthy bond you built with her wasn’t just a monetary transaction.

The vendor you pick up your cigarettes from each morning might have nothing in common with you but in those chats that last less than 5 minutes, you’ve come to know about his life more than you ever expected. 

Your panvadi’s gaon might mean nothing to you in the larger scheme of things but just knowing him a little more makes you feel that friendly connection with him. His absence for a few days makes you curious for his well-being and upon his return, you always make sure that all’s well with him.

The guard you nod to every morning is not the one to feature on your friend’s list. Most of us might not even know his name. But the comfort of seeing a familiar face every morning is more than enough on a stressful day. 

A slight smile from someone you don’t even know very well keeps one’s hopes alive for the rest of the day.

Friendship doesn’t need a definition. It’s hidden in the little joys we experience everyday. It’s the stolen smiles we exchange with a co-passenger, the feeling that brightens up our day. 

And to all those friends who you might never share a long conversation with, the joy of friendship is all about the passing moments.