A friend in need is a friend indeed, goes the adage. It is said the greatest gift of life is friendship. Starting from childhood, we build bonds of friendship. Some friends can become very close to us, almost like family. Ahead of Friendship Day, Orissa POST chatted to a few kids to know about their friends and friendships.
Ananya Priyadarshini is a Class V student of St. Joseph Girls’ School in Cuttack. Her classmate Divya is her best friend. They are both good students and love dancing. Asked whether she knows about Friendship Day, Ananya said, “I don’t know about Friendship Day, though I have many friends. Besides my cousins, who are like my friends, Divya is my best friend. We sit side by side in the school bus and in class and eat together during the break. Divya lives near our house with her parents and, most evenings, I go to her home to play.” Asked how she would feel if someday Divya moved away with her family, Ananya teared up.
Adyasha Choudhury, Class VI student of DAV Public School, Kalinganagar, said, “Friendship Day is a day dedicated to friends whether he or she is our bestie or not. It’s a time to cherish this wonderful relationship. For the first time, we have a plan to celebrate the day. Although it’s exam time, Friendship Day falls on a Sunday so we will have a get-together at our home. My mom has ordered a cake for the occasion and we plan to exchange cards and wrist bands. This time we have decided to take an oath that we will never fight with each other and we will try to avoid using phones of our parents.”
A friend is someone who stands by you always, especially when you are in trouble, said Trisha Panda from Cuttack. The Class V student of DAV Public School, Cuttack said that her classmate Ananya is her best friend. “We do everything together when we are in school. Besides sharing our lunch and study material, we also help each other in class tasks. I consider Ananya my soul mate because we feel very lonely when the other one is absent from class. We also spend time together outside school. Sometimes we visit each other’s house. From Class I till date, we have been together. Everyone knows about our friendship. We would never do anything to hurt each other. Besides Ananya, my younger sister Tutu is my best friend. I just love to tease her and feel happy to have her around. I am blessed because I have such a cute sister.”
“I don’t know about Friendship Day, but I love to be with Bapu,” said Raja, a Class VII student from Bargarh. “I love to read story books, but my parents don’t allow me either to buy or read story books. I am allowed to watch TV only for a short time. So, in the evening, I go to Bapu’s house where both of us enjoy reading stories together. Bapu’s uncle is a writer. He has a small library in his home that has many books. Initially, his uncle would not allow us to touch his books, but later he changed his mind after seeing our love for stories. Both of us like to play games on mobile phones, but our parents won’t allow us. However, we are happy that we are able to read story books together.”