Day 75. Sitting on the steps of the planetarium (yes, our school had one) and sharing our tiffin, exchanging library books, giggling over nothing, getting annoyed at her craziness and then finding it impossible not to give in to laughter, watching her pore over Georgette Heyer hiding behind the desk, admiring and envying her print-like handwriting that never wavered even while taking down notes and the neat diagrams she drew for geography and life science, getting postcards from her during summer holidays…. She introduced me to Bangla literature from Bangladesh, she gave me my pen friend, she gave me my first Sunderbans trip and night on a boat and she gave me this beautiful cotton Bomkai in a rather unusual combination to celebrate my #100sareepact. Shabanaroze Chowdhury. Shabana. Shabby. My dearest friend from school. We were part of a close-knit foursome in school. Correction…they were a close-knit threesome and I joined them much later, to be welcomed with warmth. Just like the sunshine on our shoulders as we shared lunch on the steps.
My 75th sari. It had to be special and what could be more special than friendship? What could be more special than knowing I have a friend who’s always with me in rain or shine?