<p>“True friends are like diamonds/ Precious and rare/ False friends are like autumn leaves/ Found everywhere.” <br /><br /></p>.<p>True to the above quotation, true tried and tested friends are indeed like diamonds for reciprocal friendship is rare and elusive. Friendship involves genuineness, sincerity and ‘give and take’. <br /><br />True friends will stand by one another without a second thought, in good times and in bad times, and in sickness as well as in health. They are not fair weathered friends “who run with the hares and hunt with the hounds”, and thus are never opportunists.Usually, it happens that true friends emanate favourable vibes for each other, which “clicks”, the ensuing friendship being not just a flash in the pan, but is destined to stand the test of time. <br /><br />Many a time, the friends become so because of shared interests, their mentalities usually being of the same wavelength. True friends help each other in times of crisis, making the friendship emerge stronger and substantial. How true is the saying, “A friend is someone who walks in when the world walks out.” To prove that true friendship cuts across barriers of religion, race, caste, wealth and ideology, one should consider the following famous friendship.<br /><br /> Former President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, spent his childhood in Rameshwaram where his best buddy was Ramanadha Sastry, whose father Sakshi Lakshmana Sastry was the chief priest of Rameshwaram Temple. The friendship between the two young boys was legendary even though Abdul was a Muslim and Ramanadha was a Hindu. The differences in their religion did not did not come in the way. Their commitment was to such an extent that despite different religious ideologies, they wanted to know more about each other’s religion. Thus, Abdul would inquire into Hindu religious practices and likewise, Ramanadha would be interested in knowing more about the Koran and the namaz prayer.<br /><br />One day, however, there arrived in their school a new teacher, who was narrow minded. He felt uncomfortable when he saw the friendship between the two boys. So, he asked Abdul to sit at the back of the classroom, this act verily breaking Abdul’s heart for that meant being separated temporarily from his friend. After the class, the two distraught boys decided to relate the incident at home for possible solutions to assuage this discrimination. <br /><br />Jainulabdeen, Abdul’s father, reiterated that it does not matter to which God one prays, but that one should pray with love and faith and therefore persons of different religions can be the best of friends. However, Ramanadha’s father, took a stricter view. Being the Chief Priest, he did not want a teacher to brainwash the minds of innocent children. He came to the school and admonished the teacher. The teacher realized his mistake and apologized. Thus, differences in religion should not be a deterrent to true friendship.<br /></p>
<p>“True friends are like diamonds/ Precious and rare/ False friends are like autumn leaves/ Found everywhere.” <br /><br /></p>.<p>True to the above quotation, true tried and tested friends are indeed like diamonds for reciprocal friendship is rare and elusive. Friendship involves genuineness, sincerity and ‘give and take’. <br /><br />True friends will stand by one another without a second thought, in good times and in bad times, and in sickness as well as in health. They are not fair weathered friends “who run with the hares and hunt with the hounds”, and thus are never opportunists.Usually, it happens that true friends emanate favourable vibes for each other, which “clicks”, the ensuing friendship being not just a flash in the pan, but is destined to stand the test of time. <br /><br />Many a time, the friends become so because of shared interests, their mentalities usually being of the same wavelength. True friends help each other in times of crisis, making the friendship emerge stronger and substantial. How true is the saying, “A friend is someone who walks in when the world walks out.” To prove that true friendship cuts across barriers of religion, race, caste, wealth and ideology, one should consider the following famous friendship.<br /><br /> Former President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, spent his childhood in Rameshwaram where his best buddy was Ramanadha Sastry, whose father Sakshi Lakshmana Sastry was the chief priest of Rameshwaram Temple. The friendship between the two young boys was legendary even though Abdul was a Muslim and Ramanadha was a Hindu. The differences in their religion did not did not come in the way. Their commitment was to such an extent that despite different religious ideologies, they wanted to know more about each other’s religion. Thus, Abdul would inquire into Hindu religious practices and likewise, Ramanadha would be interested in knowing more about the Koran and the namaz prayer.<br /><br />One day, however, there arrived in their school a new teacher, who was narrow minded. He felt uncomfortable when he saw the friendship between the two boys. So, he asked Abdul to sit at the back of the classroom, this act verily breaking Abdul’s heart for that meant being separated temporarily from his friend. After the class, the two distraught boys decided to relate the incident at home for possible solutions to assuage this discrimination. <br /><br />Jainulabdeen, Abdul’s father, reiterated that it does not matter to which God one prays, but that one should pray with love and faith and therefore persons of different religions can be the best of friends. However, Ramanadha’s father, took a stricter view. Being the Chief Priest, he did not want a teacher to brainwash the minds of innocent children. He came to the school and admonished the teacher. The teacher realized his mistake and apologized. Thus, differences in religion should not be a deterrent to true friendship.<br /></p>
