YAARI YAARI BAILGADI

W hen Vincent Van Gogh (Dutchpost-Impressionist painter )cut off his ear, there were several interpretations offered for this morbid act of self destruction. Gauguin (French Post-Impressionist artist) was living with Van Gogh in his home at that time in the small town of Arles. Gauguin influenced Van Gogh to paint from thought instead of using live subjects placed right in his line of vision. Gauguin played a key role in moulding and shaping some of Van Gogh's style during his productive years at Arles.

History is rife with examples of such men and women of great talent who have been inspired by such friends. Sometimes such friendship has a catalytic influence to hasten progress in their chosen field of excellence.

The friendship of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison is a case in point. Thomas Edison had the chance of meeting Ford at a dinner banquet of Generic Electric where Ford was a young engineer. Thomas Edison was greatly impressed with Ford's car designs and his support and encouragement went a long way in the making of Ford's historic success in the auto industry.

Ford and Edison remained inseparable friends. After Ford became a wealthy industrialist, he convinced Edison to participate in a lot of technical and scientific projects. As friends, they also spent vacations and camping trips together. Ford even moved next door to Edison. Their estates were separated by a wooden fence but the gate always stood open and became known as the “friendship gate”. Edison, who was quite a bit older than Ford, became confined to a wheel chair later in life. Ford, who was active and in good health, purchased a wheel chair for himself and together they both would race around the grounds in their wheel chairs.

Ford celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the light bulb by establishing the Edison Institute. Later at the Banquet hall celebration, Edison played a tribute to Ford, saying, “I can only say that, in the fullest meaning of the term, he is my friend.”

Great business minds such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have come together, driven by mutual commitment to the common goal of philanthropy. Gates was persuaded by his mother to be present for a meeting in 1991 which Warren Buffet also attended. Gates, though initially reluctant, hit it off immediately with Buffet. At Buffett's behest, Gates read the World Development Report, published by the World Bank that analysed poverty levels around the world. This sparked his intense interest in philanthropy and together Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have spearheaded the effort of spreading the notion of Corporate Philanthropy across the world.

Some of the greatest mentors in eastern cultures have been teachers. The teacher-pupil relationship can be very special and significant enough to be life changing. Many a time great teachers are always on the lookout for a protégé as in the case of the famous Sufi poet Jalalludin Rumi. Rumi was born into wealth, power and high society. Shams was a powerful spiritual wanderer looking for a grand master student. Their association changed Rumi's life forever. Rumi went from a somewhat scholarly personality to an impassioned seeker of truth and divine love. Shams' sudden disappearance caused Rumi great grief and during the next couple of decades he became known as a great mystical poet. His message of universality resonates to this day.

Friendships between people takes on a different hue in Eastern cultures. The ease of familiarity with a best buddy translates to a different dynamic of speech and behaviour, one which may seem strange and unfamiliar to the Western world. Men can be seen on the streets of India walking about with their arms around each others' shoulders. There is more intimacy, both physical and verbal, between friends without sexuality being a factor. What is socially acceptable behaviour in the East is perplexing and maybe even suspicious to Western people. Even Bollywood flicks have time and again realized this fact and have come up with numerous blockbusters on the said theme.

Today Loneliness is a very common phenomenon and every other people are suffering from it. In this fast changing world nobody has the time for other people; and whatever friendship they are having is entirely virtual in the form of association over social networking sites. And what marvels me is the fact that though they do not have time for each other but they have time to fight over petty issues, over their egos which are nothing but vanity. I see around long time friends becoming foe just at the slightest of misunderstanding, creeping. All the world of goods is forgotten just because your friend chooses to behave in a different way. Without willing to know the reason we tend to speculate all wrong things. There is so much of distrust floating around. So gone are the days when friends use to inspire each other. It takes me to a painful situation when I try to visualize the future from here.

Friendship is a cart driven by the friends in the form of wheels. It cannot stand on a single wheel. Learn to give in it and you are bound to receive it soon. Learn to forgive because a guilty always a guilty conscience which is always more tormenting than your comments. You cannot forget the good times for one bad moment. Inspire each other, motivate each other, share each other interests and cherish the association. Tabhi toh hogi YAARI YAARI BAILGADI.