51/100. My first on the pact was with her. And so is my fifty first. Because some things have repeat value. And they only grow in shine and sheen, in beauty and brilliance with every repeat… Which is why I wore a repeat for my date with a special friend.

Ipshita. My friend of fourteen years. A woman whose life is like a weirdly complementary mirror of my own. At times, our experiences have converged. At times, they have diverged. And where we stand today is strange – it’s like the small holes in each one’s heart and life is beautifully filled in the other’s. Not in one thing or two but in almost all. And given this, stranger still is the fact that never, for a moment, on either side, has there been a ‘I wish that was me and not her’ moment. There has only been a bone-deep sense of peace that the other has what one does not…

I will not talk more of these holes – they are only hers and mine to know. But one story I will share – a light one which yet exemplifies what I am talking about.

On my way back from meeting her at her office one day maybe four years ago, I spotted this new store. It looked interesting so I walked in – to be greeted by lovely sarees from all parts of India displayed artfully in an elegant old mansion. I looked around, touched this saree and admired that and then picked up the one I am wearing in the photograph. At an unbelievable price of 340 rupees. This dark mulberry coloured handloom cotton with a red, gold and green chevron design woven border was sourced from somewhere in Madhya Pradesh, the saleslady said. And there were more – gleaming quietly from their designated places. My budget would not allow me to take any of them home with me, so I paid the bill, walked out with my saree and immediately called Ipshi. I told her about the store and then about some of the sarees in minute detail, just like that. Knowing that she would make her way there soonest and also knowing that at least one of the sarees that had struck my eye would make its way into her closet.

So it was. I got a call from her about an hour later, telling me she had popped in at the store and popped out with quite a few packages. And two of the sarees she described were ones that had struck my eye. ?

So, here we are. Together, because of work, in the middle of a weekday. With the holes in our hearts temporarily plugged. Stealing a minute on the beautiful veranda of her beautiful office. And a peeling wall setting off the picture of a friendship growing stronger with the years…