Colour your day!

A friend of mine who is based at Mumbai (who also happens to be a smart, young Corporate Banker), sends me two good-morning wishes every single day. Each wish has a beautiful inspirational message and a very appealing graphic. The pictures make all the difference to the messages. I have never asked where he gets it from, but I open my Inbox each morning and it is there.

Sometimes they are perky messages that say someone cares. For example a message he sent today said “Mornings are just like paintings. You need an inspiration to get you going, a smile to brighten it up and a message from someone who cares to colour your day.” Sometimes they are inspirational messages. For example, he sent a message a few days back which was a quote by Swami Vivekananda (who used to be my inspiration in my college days, but my friend didn’t know that) which read “In a day when you don’t come across a problem you can be sure you are travelling in the wrong path.”

I like almost all the messages he sends. More than that, I appreciate the gesture because the messages are marked individually to me (and not a part of a group chain mail which is sent to all).I always reply to every message—a few lines about whether I agreed or disagreed or found nice. He always replies back too.

A few days back he sent a message which said “Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.” Almost as a reflex I dashed off a mail saying “ If both S and I get swine flu will you come here and take care of the kids? Don't worry --even if you say you won't I will still keep in touch :-)” I was half kidding of course but behind every ‘just kidding’ there is always a big patina of truth, perhaps thinly spread, but it is there. He replied back almost instantly saying he surely would. He was dead serious too and wasn't kidding at all.

Today, we spoke for nearly forty minutes on the phone. I had called him up in the morning and he called me back later in the evening. Till then I had been having a day where you feel like you have been through the wash-rinse-dry cycle in the washer, that too on highest temperature and I am not referring to the weather which incidentally was cold and windy today. :-) I later made the water colour painting which you see at the beginning of this post and I will be sending it to him.[ He coloured my day, I had to colour his :-)]

What has been my experience which I learnt rather naively, the hard way ,was that not every friend will offer to help you or even care. The true test of friendship comes only in hard times. It is only when your chips are down that you know who your true friends are.

Fortunately for me, I have been blessed with an ability to really connect to people and I do have some great friends in all corners of the world. Today I spoke for nearly an hour to a very good friend who is in Pondicherry. She happens to be one amazing person, a very astute business woman with one of the sharpest minds I have known and a single mother to two lovely children. I again spoke for about 40 minutes to another very close friend who is a total radiator who sparkles with life, who is in Fiji. (If you don’t know what a radiator is, read my book!) It was time well spent.

The message about staying in touch with those who matter, as cliched as it is, is true. So don’t forget to connect with yours. It is indeed worth the time, effort and the long distance phone bills (if they happen to be in a different corner of the world). Trust me, it will colour your day too even if you don’t paint. :-)

If you have any stories of your friendships to share, I am listening. (and yes --if you humour me and tell me my painting is really great I'll listen with extra attention.) :-) :-)

Comments

  1. Yeloooo....how's your back now?

    Painting is very nice. Now do I have your extra attetion :P

    Friends, for me are a very important part of my life. For me they were my family away form home for five years - we stuck through thick and thin, accidents, locked doors & lost keys, tetanus injections, irritating guys, drunken tales, exam woes, internship stories, tales of dancing on the bar & of atles at the end of the month when we had no money & had to survive on maggi & bread :)

    Friendship need to be chosen with care & then watered by both to keep it going strong

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  2. Agreed completely. Friends are integrel part of my life. I always had great friends wherever i went and keeping in touch should be attributed to my social skills (i think so :P)One thing I always noticed in my friends since childhood-they have every bad habit on earth and very good at heart and a good human being.

    Great writing maam :). Take care of your health :)

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  3. The Painting is awesome ...something similar happening around 4r me..from friday night I am keeping calling all my frnds...I was in conf. with 2 of my college frnds for more than a hr...we really spoke grinding all the old things...the best thing about frnds, we grind memories again and again..but we never get bored of listing or talking about..frnds will always be the fifth element in my life...:) ,,,THT was really a grt post preethi....well i missed to wish U happy onam, and Bleated wishes to Sathish.....:)

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  4. Friends really make the world go round! Just this morning I got a mail saying that no matter how busy you are and how cluttered your life is, there is always time for a cup of coffee with a friend. I really do believe that since I've always time for my friends :)

    Separating the chaff from the grain takes time but grain is worth every bit of effort. Glad you found yours :)

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  5. ...A small dedication to you preethi for this wonderful post, this is one my most fav song by K.K
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq0XG2SFy84

    Hope U like it...:)

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  6. the painting is sooper :)

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  7. Beautiful painting PS.

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  8. A wonderful and heartwarming post Preethi....I cd truly relate to this. I'm just back from a vacation where I met all my friends & realise tht I'm truly blessed to have them in my life:-)).

    And the painting is so beautiful Preethi....I have no 'eye' for the arts as ppl say but this one truly is breathtaking....so deceptively simple yet comes with a host of feelings...atleast thts wht I felt.
    I ask very tentatively... its not ur usual style though is it?????

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  9. Really nice post and painting. Can totally relate to the part about friendship, I really value friendships a lot, maybe its cos of my sunsign. Either I am really talkative or I don't know but keeping in connect is really something I totally enjoy. I spent my entire school years travelling across India and in College and University it so happened that my friends moved out of the city I live in now. So everyone got scattered but the good part is that we all still stay in touch and our talks never make us realize the distance. We can always pick up from wherever we had left off last, and the giggles and talks just never end :D
    Really feel blessed in the company of friends!

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  10. Wow! That is an excellent painting:) You are a woman of many many talents! Awesome... I love the post; the painting and waiting to get my hands on your book :) Great piece of art!!!

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  11. True... u come to know who your friends are, during bad times... i am blessed that i realised who my real friends were before it was too late...

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  12. Nice painting! :)

    Well your post has reminded me of a friend who called a few days back and told me to throw my cell phone in a river or something as I didn't call her for a long time.The initial 10 minutes were used for scolding me for "forgetting her" and all that.and the later time was spent mostly in giggling:D

    The whole night,I was beaming..I was so happy that she called! :P

    Nice post!:)

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  14. Nice painting really - and this is not to get your attention !!

    Absolutely true about true friends. And sometimes its amazing when adversity gives you new friends. A relationship that is very special. Nice heartwarming post Preeti.

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  15. Nice feel good post and an awesome painting, Preeti. About friendship- For instance, you are a good friend to all of us too. It make us all happy to read your posts. So a friend is one who makes us feel happy!

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  16. Well said Preeti :)
    I hope your back is recovering well, by the way

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  17. Hi Preeti..
    it was indeed grt reading ur blog ..WOULD BE FOLLOWING YOUR BLOG

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  18. Is your painting Great?????.......I reserve my reply at the end of comment.


    Its is such a nice post.Though less tints of humor, very good post. Good to know you and your friends are in touch. Proves that, distance doesn't matter btw friends.

    Coming to your paiting.......I was about to ask you........will you mail me the original??........until I read you are planning to send it to your friend........Need I have to say How much I Liked it??/ Have a nice weekend Preeti. Romba busy-auh......post idaivelai athigamaa irukke..

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  19. There's one yahoo group called pravsworld that creates such pictures with quotes. One of my friend used to send that to me everyday till I was in my previous organization. Guess he never updated his address book :). I don't get it any longer.

    You can check that group here
    http://www.pravsworld.com/new/xperience.htm

    Your Painting is lovely.

    I got a sms this morning which is really very good.

    "We make so many friends, some become dearest, some become special, fall in love with some, some go abroad, some change their cities, some left us, we left some, some are in touch, some are not in touch, some dont contact coz of their ego, we don't contact some coz of our ego. Whatever they are, however they are, we still remember,love,miss,cherish them coz of the part they played to make our 'PRECIOUS MEMORIES'"

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  20. Hey Radiator, :D

    F.R.I.E.N.D.S, one can write reams about them, hai na?
    Good or bad, they're indeed our chosen family. Honestly, no complains at all in this regard, Amen!

    I'm glad it's the same for you too, Preeti.

    P.S: The painting is so serene, it almost had a calming effect on me :D

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  21. There was this reason, season and lifetime friendship message that made the rounds earlier. I really connected with that and believed it.

    This is another one that stuck with me:
    I've learned -
    that your family won't always
    be there for you. It may seem funny,
    but people you aren't related to
    can take care of you and love you
    and teach you to trust people again.
    Families aren't biological.

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  22. First, it is really a nice painting and conveys a warm feeling.
    Good one :-)
    Talking about connecting with friends... Yesterday I got a call from one of my batch mates in the evening. He managed to get my new number from another friend(since I had recently moved to Bglre). I think we were speaking after a gap of around 5 years. He is now with ONGC in a good position. He was a person who rarely spoke with girls in our class except if it was 'official'(we had only 30 in our masters in business admin). He said that he is now married and he met his wife during his daily temple visits in his locality and he fell in love with her. I just could'nt believe it, coz we always thought he would never take that 'route' :-)
    It was nice to connect with him after a long gap and to hear his 'travails' during his initial courtship as the girls brother happened to be one amongst his reporting superiors at his office and how once his bro-in-law caught them red handed outside a movie theater as he feigned illness on a working day and his bro-in-law had to pass by that way on some official visit! Cest la vie :-)
    Cheers

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  23. I am guilty of not keeping in touch with old friends. Though orkut & facebook have mended that partially :)
    Painting is really great; How did you create it? The dog furthered the message of the painting :). It brought in a touch of companionship and reliance.

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  24. Hey PS,

    Great painting. Is that you, Atul and your dog walking off into the landscape?

    Friends are truly an integral part of our life and make all the difference. But, as you rightly said, one needs to also keep in touch with them and make that special effort. Thanks so much for reiterating the same.

    Cheers,

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  25. Palsworld : Heh heh. Thank you so much. No, we don't have a dog. That is Mayank (my friend whom i mention) and his future wife perhaps ;-) :-)

    Brown Phantom: thank you. :-) Completely original work born from my imagination.Water colour on paper.BTW Orkut and Facebook DON"T count as reallykeeping in touch :)

    Nandu: Thanks! Love and life do take the strangest twists :) How nice to reconnect with an old friend.

    Raaga: yes--I too have blogged that reason, season and lifetime message. And what you said is SO VERY TRUE--about families not being Biological. I agree 101 percent! :)

    Sparkling: Thanks :) Yes--touchwood and Amen.

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  26. Varun: Superb SMS. yes--i know of many sites which send. But what makes it special is when it is sent only to you :) Thanks for the link.

    Maddy: :-) Thank you. Aug 31st, Sept 1st and 5th--not much gap between posts!! :) Or was that comment meant to be sarcastic?! :)

    Shailesh: Thank you so much.

    Bhavya: Oh yes--had updated that post itself..Back in action now.Thank you for asking.

    Gayathri: I too feel very happy reading all your comments. Therefore you are my friends too :) Thank you!

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  27. Ramesh: I could not agree more with your observation of adversity giving one new friends. In my life one thing I have realised is that help comes from unexpected quarters most of the time. Thank you Ramesh--I was quite pleased with the picture too.

    Anu: :) Thanks! How fortunate you are to have such a friend! God Bless and long live the friendship.

    a25yearold: Well--one always learns new things even when one is 60 :) Thats what i feel. Glad you have yours.

    Just someone: Your comment really made my day. i am beaming now! :) thank you so much.

    The Thinker: Thank you so much. I too have moved a lot. Now with skype, g-talk, texts and email it is so easy to keep in touch, compared to before.

    Reflections: Oh yes--I am waiting for December so that I get to meet all my friends too! Very right in your observations as usual.You do have an eye for Art.Anyone who feels moved by a picture soes have an eye for art. It is indeed not my 'usual' style. But I do paint pretty landscapes too. See this. :) Thanks Nancy!

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  28. Prats: thank you!

    Meira: thaaaank you :)

    Prabodh: oh yes--it is a wonderful song. Captures beautifully the essence of the post. i have seen the movie too and liked it a lot.. thanks Prabodh!

    Tranquility: oh yes-telling the difference is hard--and I am happy you have time for friends. When will you make the time for the ones (2 adults and 2children) in UK? :-) Do come!

    Aditya:Thanks a lot. My health is completely ok now :) Yes--one always forgives the 'faults' in friends, isn't it?

    SMM: back in action! :) I did listen with extra attention :) :) Cheers to your friendship--and touchwood!

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  29. Anonymous5:54 AM

    The painting is fabulous! I believe you drew it.

    Very warm post! and you are absolutely right. In this busy world one thing that is atmost important is to connect with people. Every person can teach us something new. There might be times when our egos clash and our vibes might not gel but even those situations teach us something.

    Having time for friends is important. I had written about my set of friends on my blog some time back.

    --Solilo (solitalks on twitter)

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  30. Preeti - I love the shades of green in your painting! :)

    I totally agree with u - friendship is such a beautiful and a wonderful relationship! We care for, share with, and love our friends without expecting anything in return!

    One of my friends with whom I have not kept in touch after Class 9, came for my wedding all the way from NewZealand upon receiving just an email invite (that too which I sent as a bcc!!).

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  31. im saying this with 100% honesty.. i love ur painting.. its really nice..

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  32. Beautiful painting :)

    And yes i know exactly what you mean by keeping in touch.
    I miss those long phone conversations soo much :(

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  33. Hi,
    Firstly, nice painting! :)
    Secondly, I have mailed the link on which you've commented ( my email id is satya_nt@yahoo.com)..Can't thank you enough !
    Cheers !
    Satya

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  34. Hey Preeti nice painting..
    So true about the message on friends...

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  35. thats brilliant use of colors :) i am inspired to paint more, just so coincidental i painted in the weekend and writtern about it LOL

    Yes friends do colour our world , its friends I talk to when i am happy or sad. It so worth it! :)

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  36. Completely True..Friends always and always add colors to our day..I am in bangalore this week , visiting all my old friends..Its actually like flying free in air when you are around with your friends ..

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  37. Preeti! sorry for not reading your blog for the past two months - I was having a lovely time in India...am back now and realise I have much to catch up on!

    Wonderful post as always and you sure are right - you only know who your true friends are when you are down and also I really do connect with having friends from all over the world bit - it's fun to be able to share and leave a bit of yourself all over the world :).

    Cheers.

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  38. That's a gr8 and simple painting which is indeed beautiful..
    Ya so true about friends.. Some of my friends make my day and just by chatting with them makes me and my day so better... And those kind of friends are rare too...

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  39. I am honored to be invited there :D Seriously am! If I could ,I'd hop on a flight tonight and be there tomorrow :) Thank you Ma'm. Really touched me. If I get an opportunity, I most definitely shall come to visit :) Hope Atul doesn't hide behind sofas when he sees me ;)

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  40. Lovely painting :)

    It must feel special to have a friend like Mayank :)

    I do that often to my friends...I write a morning email to them....and send a song or quote or some memory between us, and both me and them feel special when its only between us.....

    Cheers to friends :)

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  41. Nice pice about friendship and friends. Some of my most valuable relationships are with friends. Felt good to read your blog.

    I also like the way your 'comments' read - 'Nice people wrote back'

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  42. yes love the painting:)first look on it and I was already thinking to give it a try and get it framed!!

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  44. Lovely painting 

    N not to show off..but I am fairly good at keeping in touch.Once I realize that sum1 is more than an acquaintance n we are on our way to b’com friends..i put in some effort to build my relationship with them.i make time for them.

    N that I think…makes life more fun for me!

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  45. pavi: Oh yes--and that is not showing of at all! :) Thanks :)

    Kunjal: :) Thank you. And welcome to my blog.

    Vinod:Thank you. Friends are indeed treasures--and yes--welcome to my blog!

    Shachi: I do feel special about my other friends too even if they dont send good morning messages :) But yes--i completely get what you are saying about it being between only two. And thanks!

    Tranquility: Make opportunity! convince your parents now!

    Only one: Thats ok! Welcome back! :) I agre what u say about friends all over!

    Sundari: lots of my good
    friends are in bangalore too!

    Srivats; I LOVED your buddha. Will comment on your post too.

    uj:Thank you! :)

    Mistress of Art: Thank you!

    Life begins: Thank you! Why cant you have long conversations anymore?

    AJCL: Thanks so much. I know you are being honest.

    Smilie:Thanks so much! Wow--that must have been a real surprise, right?!

    Solilo: Yes- I made the painting. Thanks. Yes--what you say is very true.

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  46. Lovely painting!A picture is worth a thousand words!

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  47. awesome painting...

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