Relatives vs Friends

After the grand reunion…..I suppose an encounter with relatives was certainly like a cruel joke of destiny. But on an after thought, I believe it was destiny’s way of reiterating that friends are way above relatives.

To begin with relatives come as a package deal, thrust upon you by destiny of birth or matrimony. They are breed who remember only when they are in need either material or otherwise. As they have a certain right to close proximity, they stake a claim on you whether you like their company or not. And because they are so linked to you by a power out of your control, they play merry havoc with your life. They walk into your peaceful existence when they want to and with a few insensitive words ruin your peace of mind. This breed, known as relatives, somehow, never ever learn to move on. They thrive on unpleasant memories of the past and almost derive a vicarious glee out of scratching and reopening healed wounds. Since I belong to a traditional feudal family, I have a bunch of “pile on” variety of relatives who are eternally in the wings waiting for a hapless weak subject like my mother. At the age of 70 plus, she panders to their chauvinistic arrogance indulgently dismissing it as a reminder of her equally obnoxious sibling. I am sure all of us are familiar with this breed and there are very few lucky ones who have managed to have even a handful of relatives for friends.

Contrast this with our friends… Here is a relationship that you have made out of your choice and yes with no strings attached. You walk into the relationship when you want to , you walk out when you want to and still you can start from where you left without any bitterness. Well, even if you are bitter about something, you sort it out and move on. That is what makes friendship stand head and shoulders above every other binding…The openness, the acceptance and the freedom to walk in and walk out makes all friendships endure placing it far above the bindings of blood which often appear to be a cruel joke of destiny.

Cheers to our friendship!