
With Thomas
As O. Henry said: “No friendship is an accident”, your friendship is not an accident at all. So what, we met first in the production floor of an organization, we met when we were at our imperfect best, we met when we were struggling to make both ends meet for our respective families… But the best happened; you brought so much smiles to my face with your quirky sense of humour.
Eventful 16 years have gone by; the journey with you was full of ups and downs, and at times turbulent. But with every passing day, one thought constantly got reaffirmed repeatedly that you will be there for me always.
I feel blessed since I have lost count of all those defining moments which make us stay together as friends and which made me write this article today.
Let me mention a few special moments here:
When the world judged me, you did not.
When the world turned its back to me, you did not.
When the world laughed at me, you cried along with me…
When the world told me I can’t, you told me that I can… There are many more such statements, which I want to talk about you…
Yes, that is you, Thomas. We extended our friendships to be part of each others’ family, work, life. I could have never been able to be an entrepreneur without you being my business partner. Still, lot of dreams are to be pursued with you on my side.
I saw the advertisement of Zee TV’s upcoming show ‘Yaaron ki Baaraat’ (http://www.ozee.com/shows/yaaron-ki-baraat), which will put the celebrity friends to test their friendship through fun-filled situations. I am also taken down the memory lane, how our friendship has evolved over the years. I am really looking forward to this show from 8th October, 2016 in Zee TV every Saturday and Sunday. The very first episode is exciting with two great film personalities Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha as guests, hosted by Riteish Deshmukh and Sajid Khan. Am having a gut feeling that this is going to be an interesting show. When these great stars and other celebrities are going to share their friendship stories, let me share our stories to the world.

The Filmy Thomas
Both of us being great movie buffs and bloggers of film reviews, let me try defining our friendship through some of the famous Bollywood dialogues.
Bollywood Film: Table No. 21
खुशियाँ किसी की मोहताज़ नहीं होती,
दोस्ती यूँ ही इत्तिफाक से नहीं होती …
कुछ तो मायने होंगे इस पल के,
वरना यूँ ही आपसे मुलाक़ात नहीं होती I
(Happiness does not depend on anything, friendship doesn’t happen by chance; there might be some relevance of these moments, otherwise we would not have met just like that…)
Bollywood Film: Shootout at Wadala
दोस्त और मौके बार-बार नहीं आते I
(Friends and opportunities don’t come again and again)
Bollywood Film: Once Upon a Time Mumbai Dobara
सच्चे दोस्त आंसूओं की तरह होते हैं,
यहाँ दिल उदास हुआ, वहाँ वह आ गए I
(True friends are like tears … the moment heart aches, they come along…)
Bollywood Film: ABCD: Any Body Can Dance
दोस्ती वो होती है जो जीना सीखाती है, मरना नहीं I
(Friendship is something that teaches you how to live, and not how to die)
Bollywood Film: Ye Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke
सच्चा दोस्त वो होता है, जो दोस्त की गलती को अपनी गलती समझकर माफ़ कर दे I
(A true friend is the one, who empathises with a friend’s mistake, considers it to be one’s own and forgives him / her)
Bollywood Film: Baabul
दोस्त नहीं बदलते … वक़्त बदल जाता है I
(Friends don’t change…. Time changes)
Bollywood Film: Aatish
ज़िन्दगी में तूफ़ान आए, क़यामत आए …
मगर कभी दोस्ती में दरार न आने पाए I
(Whether a storm or a disaster comes in life… a gap in friendship should never come)

Having fun during Training Programme
Last but not the least, I really want to express this dialogue to you:
Bollywood Film: Bevafa
आप जैसा दोस्त अगर सभी को मिल जाए …
तो फिर तक्दीर कभी बेवफा न हो I
(Whether a storm or a disaster comes in life… a gap in friendship should never come)
Ah! I have filled this article with so many good points about you, today I chose to say only good. But yes, we fight also like hell and it is also fun. You are the biggest critic of mine. I know, when I would show you this article, you would read, smile and say: It could have been better. Let me ignore this statement of yours for this article. Since whatever I have written above has come out straight from my heart and so only this is special, the way you are special to me.
Indeed, Your friendship is not an accident. Destiny brought us together to conquer this world by fulfilling the purpose of God, for which we are born on this earth. Prayers to the Lord Almighty to protect our friendship and help us travel through this wonderful ocean of friendship. Let this be immune to any change ! Thanks for being there in my life my dear friend Thomas Mathews. God Bless!
#YaaronKiBaraat ZeeTV