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Friends are good for you, for your heart, for your spirit in general, we all knew that. Now studies are being conducted at some of the finest universities around the world on the same. In fact, scientists at the Harvard University proved that

memory loss was much slower among elderly Americans who had better social network.
The stress on friendship isn’t new, an old Sanskrit saying even asks parents to treat their adolescent children as friends.

Metrolife spoke to some Bangaloreans about their views on the matter.
K Chandrashekar, a chartered accountant and his gang have been friends for more than 35 years. “We are a group of five including my wife. We became friends when we lived in Mumbai. Friendship is a kind of bonding that you can fall back on. You know that tomorrow if there is any problem they will be there for you. Even on a happy occasion, they'll be there. Though this isn't a need based relationship, a kind of dependency builds over the years, but unlike other relationships here the expectations are welcome,” he said.

 A boundless relationship, friendship is a complex concept to understand but nobody doubts its importance. Aruna Badrinarayan, a mother of two and her friend Padmini met in 1975.

“We used to take the same bus route. I used to board the bus on 100-ft Road and she’d climb on board at CMH Road. I’d save a seat for her,” pauses Aruna, becomes nostalgic for a moment, and continues: “From then on we stayed in touch. We used to write letters to each other when we were in different cities. We didn’t have facebook. You must make an effort.”

Jaysheel Anand prescribes to this view. “Friendship is like any other relationship. It needs to be nurtured. I don’t do it cause I need to but I work on them because I want to. My friends are the most important part of my life. In fact, my wedding was a driven completely by my friends. They did everything from planning to sweeping to cleaning the house and then messing it up.”

Says Susan Fernandez, a fashion designer, who co-owns a fashion label with her best friend Anu Nagappa, “There is nothing that compels us to be together but we feel so good with each other. It’s fun. She’s taught me never to hold anything against people.”
Learning from each other seems to be what most people talk about. It adds value to life.  “My friends are like mirrors. When I am around them, I am not anybody else. I take my friends as they are, they take me as I am,” was Anand’s view on the subject.
“Unlike with relatives, there is no jealousy, no backbiting. There is no insecurity. Friendships like these might increase longevity because they reduce stress,’’ said Chandrashekar.

For Badrinarayan and Fernandez, friendship is about ease. ‘‘It’s effortless. We have so much fun together,” said the latter.
“We just laugh like kids when we get together thinking of old times,” said Badrinarayan. While if it doesn’t make you better at least it makes you light-hearted it seems.