Let me state beforehand, I’m not talking about social networking that we work hard on for increased visibility and promotion of our blogs, products or services. While it isn’t one of my forte, I presume it is an inevitable chore that does have a bearing on the goals we set for ourselves or our blogs. If monetizing them is what we want, well then, social media…here we come!

This is something else. While risking sounding like a dinosaur, I belong to the time when meeting up with friends meant raiding some non-expensive place and having a cutting chai or samosas while mentally calculating my share. Chatting with them implied being part of a group, giving a hi-five when we agreed on something and (in my case) frequently placing punches when we disagreed.

Not many people had mobile phones (I got my first phone when I was in the first year of M.B.A!) and internet had just begun to make its presence felt. So, fortunately, friends and conversations were real. We carried a camera with us to capture our moments but there wasn’t that pressing need to photograph just about everything!

I had few close friends who I largely depended on. All of us have skeletons in our closets, right? The demons that I battled on a daily basis were very well known to them and they were just an arm length away if I ever needed them.

Sounds rosy, yes? I don’t think so. Networking, as I found out later, existed back then too. I was just too naive to recognise it. 🙁

Fast-forward to today. I find it equally amusing and saddening that professional and personal achievements, the freedom to let your mind and heart wander or the ability to cut-down ties can drive the same people to treat the same relations as an arrangement, an exchange. Where flaunting yourself works, well enough. Where it doesn’t, never mind.

While going through a personal crisis some time back, all this became crystal clear to me. I chose not to leave things to chance and seeked comfort from these people who had once made tall promises. Long story short, my friends list has gone through a never-seen-before refurbishment.

I have seen solid friendships that survived the test of time and don’t think that making a living can be a bailable excuse, especially when I can easily witness other interactions that are seemingly unaffected. Selective cold play is a cruel thing to do. Even more so, when it is completely uncalled for.

Does this mean that relations, even friendships, can be treated as mere bus-stops? Stand, wait, while away your time and when your bus arrives, bid goodbye and never look back? Do emotions have no meaning?