Mr Quipster

This is the story of two people and their remarkable friendship.

Ramneek and I became friends way back in 1995. We started off as pen-friends (a word that has either already disappeared from the dictionary or is certainly on its way out). My most favorite and vivid memory of that period is this one time when I wrote to him complaining that life is really bad what with exams being right round the corner and other miscellaneous junk, and that the only way in which I can be cheered up is through a long letter. Promptly enough, I found a huge envelope in the letterbox. It contained a ten-page long letter, a typical Ramneek letter. By which I mean it was funny, at places it was serious, but overall it made for an excellent read.

That was 1995, and today we are into 2006. So our friendship has been intact all these eleven years and is still running very well. But why is it remarkable? Many people have friendships that last a lifetime, ours in that sense has only just begun!

It is remarkable because in spite of us having used every means of communication known to mankind in the 21^st century — letters, phone calls, emails, smses, and now blog — we have never met. Not even once. Interestingly enough, Delhi is hometown for both of us, we have common friends who have met each of us in different stages of life, and we ourselves have made several attempts to meet, but to no avail. Nothing, not even a single plan has ever materialized!

My favorite things about Ramneek? Quick points.

1. His fertile imagination
2. His want to keep learning new things
3. The fact that he is almost always accessible and willing to listen
4. His honesty, and contempt for hypocrites
5. The amazing mix of optimism and cynicism that’s inside him
6. His fine sense of photography

And the things I have learnt from Ramneek?

1. Never let ego come in the middle of a great friendship.
2. It’s okay for friends to disagree.
3. Communication is a two-way process. If you want to stay in touch with someone, you always will. Lack of time, energy, money, etc. can never be excuses.
4. Orkut is good (yes, he is the one who ultimately sold the concept to me).
5. Blogging is fun. You can find Ramneek’s at http://excuzeme.blogspot.com/
6. It’s important to always keep your sense of humor intact.
7. Giving up a big, fat, comfortable job and going back to studies is not easy. (Ramneek recently gave up his fancy job to pursue an MBA. He is currently at IIM, Indore.) But if you have a dream, chase it. That’s what they are for.
8. Having a corny email address is not a bad idea.

Love you lots dude, although I still cannot bear bright_blue_skies@yahoo.com