Shirsha

Love is big entertainment, as long as you are only a first-row spectator, or so they say. That is a fact, the romantic indulgences of one’s close friends does to tickle one into much laughter and amusement. It is hilarious to spot a friend practise his proposal speech, it is amusing to watch a friend hit hard as he realises the girl he has been getting all-heart-throb-by about is someone else’s long-time girlfriend. It is fun watching crushes getting crushed and entertaining and interesting to get friends to fall out of big-time infatuations. One can watch on with that half-smile as one’s best friend gets all sweaty and murmur-y and stammer-y trying to ask his object of interest out for coffee. Basically, romance is undiluted fun from the outskirts, isn’t it?

Well, it is, until one gets strangely involved. Oh no, no, am not going to talk about ‘developing feelings’ for the best friend’s love. This isn’t all that deep and messy, this is subtle and more uncomfortable. This is a situation many of us have been through, held our heads, clutched our hair and wondered how the hell did we get sucked into this, and why any of this should affect us. The situation am going to talk about is when one’s best friends start going around, and then, ouch(!), they break up. Disaster!

Disaster because you lose not one, but two of your best friends at the same time. Even if you don’t lose them as such, things start to get uncomfortable when the three of you have to get together for anything. All of a sudden you can only have one of the two at a time with you. Since this is such a filmy topic, lets use a filmy example, your two best friends, Rahul and Puja, who used to date, do not do so anymore. They had the regular break up thing. But, God knows how, you have managed to not only get into the equation, but also be affected strongly by this breakup.

No more coffee time ganging up with Rahul and Puja, no more trekking around with Rahul and Puja, no more dinners out with Rahul and Puja, no more movie outing, no more group-studies, no more assignment partners, no more hanging around, with Rahul and Puja breaking up. No more ganging up with Rahul to pull Puja’s legs, no more of those mock-girls-bashing-guys debates with Puja against Rahul, no more driveaways with the best friends, no more ice-cream outings with Rahul and Puja. Suddenly, its all over for you too. How sad!

What? Thats never happened to you? You mean you’ve never lost your social life all of a sudden, one fine day, when your best friends broke up? What do I say? You are lucky as hell! Because, what follows this is awfully painful for the close-range spectator. Suddenly you have to become aware of talking nice things or anything nice that has happened to Rahul, if you are with Puja. You have to nod your head, or atleast maintain stupid silence when Rahul goes on about what a bitch Puja has been. Puja might reveal ugly secrets about Rahul, which you never wanted to know ever. Rahul might sob on your shoulders, no matter how badly you hate being used as the shoulder to cry on, after a break up.

Sometimes its worse, Puja has not taken the break up so well, she goes into depression. She wants to be ‘left alone’. No she can’t even go out with you anymore, she can’t go even shopping with you anymore, somehow, you remind her of the days with Rahul. Gosh, you sigh, what a mess! Why must I lose Puja’s company, you wail. Rahul goes the ugly way too, he chooses to intentionally hang around with other babes before you, so that you can go convey the ‘moved on’ message to Puja. Ugly, ugly…

After having gone through trying situations like the one above, here’s a solution I have come up with, for my own self. So that I may avoid missing my best friends after they break up. And I thought I’d share it with you The moment two of my friends pair up these days, I quickly see to it that I work-out and develop a backup social life, or a back up group of buddies to hang around with. Simply because I donot want to be ‘left alone’ or ‘move on’ or get into messy situations with either of the two best friends breaking up!

PS: To my friends who are going around, do you see how much I need you guys to not be breaking up!?