Friendship Day

After passing out of college, I was in Delhi with some of my hostel buddies. Our initial Delhi days were fun; we came in contact with many guys, common friends and other friend’s friends. It was around 10 pm and we were enjoying our hangout near a movie theater, smoking and enjoying eye candies. We were about to return to our house and then, few other guys arrived. I didn’t know them; they were friends of some of our hostel guys and they studied in some college in Delhi. The guys looked fashionable with one of them having a ponytail and few others looked freaky. They were very friendly and started hugging us. Well, that moment only I realized it was Friendship day. The guys were under the effect of ganja (grass) and were behaving in a rather weird manner. 

'We should celebrate Friendship Day, guys,' said someone. 

Different ideas started to pop up, and then someone came up with this one, ‘Let’s to Agra, we would reach early morning. We will see the Taj Mahal; by afternoon we will be back in Delhi’

Some guys liked the idea and few others including me, were skeptical about it. It was already drizzling and I thought it wasn't a very good idea to go to Agra that time. The guys were comparing the headcount and the number of bikes available. Few of us tried to avoid the situation and disappeared from the scene. But our good friend Tuku couldn’t escape. He was not at all interested for the adventure but he had no other choice. Jiten had a minor accident recently and he had a bandage on one of his knees. He was in his shorts that moment. The plan was to see the Taj Mahal and return to Delhi after that. I and some of my friends went back home, and the other guys were prepared for their adventurous bike ride. 

The next evening Tuku came home and looked absolutely exhausted. He was repeatedly saying the same thing, 'Shit! Why I agreed to go?'

Tuku’s wallet was totally wet. He carefully picked his soaked rupee notes and tried to dry them over the gas flame. It seemed, the guys consumed a hell lot of ganja last night. On the highway there was a police check post. 

'Where are you guys going in the middle of the night?'

'Aree, uncle ji, aaj Friendship Day hai na, to thora celebrate kar rahe hai' (Actually, we are celebrating Friendship Day)

'Friendship Day, ye Behenchod kaun sa day hai?' one of the policemen was puzzled.

One major advantage of grass over alcohol is that it’s easier to escape the police. Very soon, the drizzle turned into heavy showers. The guys were in six to seven bikes, and they were riding slowly. It was windy and they were shivering, but they continued their adventure. Just before the dawn it stopped raining and they felt a sense of relief. They were crossing a village; a couple of old ladies were warming their hands in the fire outside their house. My friends joined them and started warming themselves. Jiten realized that his bandage came out and there was blood all over his leg. The blood had actually dried out. The guys looked miserable and pathetic. Tuku told that Jiten looked like a leprosy patient that moment. One of the ladies went inside and brought blankets for the guys. My friends got embarrassed and without spending more time, they left from there. 

There were many tourists around but more than the Taj Mahal, my friends were able to grab their attention. 

'Let’s move out of here before the tourists start offering us money,' one of the guys suggested.

They were tired and wanted to book a couple of rooms in a hotel. They thought to rest for a few hours before returning to Delhi. The guys were at the hotel reception, bargaining with the manager. Guess what? No one had money to pay for the rooms. Few of the guys had ATM cards and they went out to withdraw cash. But the overnight rain had corrupted all of their cards. In fact, few of the mobile phones which some of the guys were carrying, also got damaged. My friends decided to return to Delhi, instead. But they were running out of fuel as well. The guys called their friends in Delhi and asked for help. One of their friends immediately took a bus to Agra and reached there in the next few hours. 

Sometimes I wonder, whether I was lucky not to be part of it or I missed the fun.