Daksh & Vatsa were good friends during their college days.

Daksh was a tall person measuring nearly 06 feets on his both legs. During his school days in a dusty village in a remote corner of Bihar , he was the tallest boy. He was proud of the fact that being tall is the sure sign of being handsome and this was a positive trait of his multi-faceted personality.

But, his happiness lasted less than 24 hours in the beginning of his college life. Though, it had persisted for a pretty long time during his adolescent school days. He saw a lanky and incredibly tall boy on the very first day in the University. Daksh was riding a borrowed bicycle and he offered to carry Vatsa as pillion rider because both of them were heading towards the University premises. But, their first talk wasn’t about bicycle or their destination in the University campus.

The first question, Daksh asked him was a little bit stupid but equally relevant.

Daksh – Are you really tall ? You look like taller than me ? Or , is it your shoes, which are making you taller ?

Vatsa – Yes, I am tall but why are you asking this question.

Daksha – Never mind. What’s your height ?

Vatsa – May be around 06 feet 04 inches , but I’m not sure.

So, this was the first interaction between 02 tall boys in the summer of the year 1999. It was a stupid and awkward conversation for both of them. But, it was also the beginning of a long -lasting friendship.

But, why is Daksh recalling this long-forgotten conversation in the year 2019. It’s just a coincidence that they forgot to celebrate their 20th friendship anniversary. But, who cares about anniversaries now when only robotic minds of Facebook remind you about friendversary. Actually, when people were writing important dates in lives of their friends/relatives in a diary, that was a golden period for relationships. But, this was way before the invention and intrusion of technology in our lives. Now, everyone tries to be a fake rock star in their display pictures on innumerable social media profiles.

Few days back, Daksh and Vatsa met at an apartment in Bengaluru after a pretty long time. Vatsa was now living in a 2500 Square feet home in a tony neighbourhood near Electronics City. It has been a great journey for him. He joined private sector and has been enjoying life in the fast lane. From living in nearly 1300 acre campus in University to a 2500 Square feet nest in the southern metropolis. But, life is good. He boasts of a beautiful wife , a smart kid, a Royal Enfield Classic -350 & and a red-coloured hatchback in the basement garage.

Daksh’s journey has also been more or less same but in a different direction. He joined elephantine-institution called Indian bureaucracy and has been living a life of secluded bliss in a remote corner of Bihar. His personal life also boasts of a beautiful wife , a smart kid and even smarter dog and a white-coloured Sedan in front garage.

So, when they met for the first time in 2019 after a gap of nearly 10 years, they hugged each other and asked about life. Both of them still looked tall and may have grown a little bit vertically as well as horizontally. It seemed odd that here was a friend whose relationship was even older among themselves when compared with their respective wives. Who knows , may be it was even stronger bonding between them as wives can be termed as friends with benefits. But, in the friendship of Daksh and Vatsa, no such quid pro quo was involved. It is funny that how the journey of lives takes you to unknown places. Daksh had no idea that stupid and awkward looking-Vatsa will climb the stairs of life flawlessly and build a castle for himself.

There was one apparent difference in their body language and speeches. They didn’t abuse each other and behaved in a civilized manner in front of their wives and kids. It’s true father-like responsibility not to use foul language in front of beautiful ladies and google-powered kids. They know every word you say so Daksh and Vatsa behaved in God-like and formal manner.

One interesting photograph on the walls of his home caught the eye of Daksh. Vatsa looked like a carbon-copy of Pablo Escobar and he complemented him for being a drug lord. So, this boy now can even become an actor. Though, he was always a handsome dude and Daksh believed that Vatsa was destined for foreign shores.

His apartment looked ultra-modern and chic. It had all the advanced amenities to keep you occupied for next few years and modular kitchen was a virtual library of all kinds of food available to the mankind. It had a small garden on balcony to filter toxic air and was designed to dispatch 100% pure oxygen towards his living space. Balcony also gave a wonderful vista of luxurious villas of neo-millionaires of Bengaluru who lived in Jungles across the road.

It is a funny thing that when you have earned millions in concrete jungles of cities, you wish for actual jungle full of trees, birds, bees and wild animals.

So, if you wish to live in jungles then why live in cities in first place to earn millions ?

But the answer lies in Netflix. When you start binge-watching Netflix on an android-powered Sony TV, it means you have arrived in life and have earned a decent bank balance to afford luxuries of life. So, you want pure jungle but with modern amenities of 5G- life. Smart home in wild jungles is a great concept and people are willing to sell their soul for living in such apartments situated amidst green spaces and lakes.

But, answer is simple .

Why spend millions to live in a matchbox-shaped apartment when you can afford acres of land and build a farmhouse in a small village at the fraction of cost of the tiny apartment in a state-of-the-art complex. Modern apartment complexes in Bengaluru are islands of prosperity in midst of abject poverty of indigenous neighbourhoods.

Most apartment complexes use an app called My Gate to keep away unwanted visitors. So, you can never be surprised by the entry of an acquaintance at the odd hours. Normally, lady of the house keeps the app in her phone and vets the entry of every visitor like a James Bond-esque precision. So, if husband wishes to take some liberties in inviting bosom buddies, she has the power to reject the entry at the tap of a smartphone. So many extra-marital relationships have been nipped in the bud through this simple yet effective wife-approval technology.

I doubt that this app must have been made by a suspicious wife to keep a tab upon her husband’s love interests.

But, wives are forgetting the appearance of maids in their lives. They work like magic to sort out your lives but if……….

Daksh and Vatsa both believed in group studies and have read many juicy stories about maids during their college days.

But coming back to life of Vatsa in an apartment.

Every modern builder boast of premium apartment complexes having Clubs, sports arena, parks, children’s playing area, theatres, swimming pools, libraries, stores and secured campus.

What an irony ? Isn’t these facilities part and parcel of a citizen’s life in normal urban or rural area in all countries of the world. If local municipalities or Panchayats can’t provide common public spaces then for what purpose they have been created for ?

It seems that cities have outsourced these mundane and basic tasks to rich builders who encash the basic human yearning for safe life and have created many islands for people with loads of money.

Poor people anyway don’t need parks or Basketball courts as it won’t feed them.

People think of sports only when they digest their food and have used commodes in a satisfactorily way.

So,Daksh and Vatsa talked for more than 06 hours and tried to relive old times. Their wives talked a lot and kids played Chess and a host of other games. Few joint families of hens were slaughtered to feed 07 people on the teak wood dining table. They laughed and made merry and new sort of bonding emerged between their spouses and kids.

Thereafter, they promised to meet again and be in touch. Finally, the sun started going down in west and they hugged each other and pleasantries were exchanged. Gifts and chocolates were offered and accepted.

So, this was a short and happy story about tall friends.