I am in the habit of 'meeting' people in social media sites, talking to them, befriending them, and then meeting them in real. I find it interesting. I have got good friends like this.
The first was Supriya Tirkey from Jharkhand. We first spoke online while we both were school kids. Gradually we lost touch, but few years later we got in touch again. She was then pursuing a masters' degree from NID, Ahmedabad, and I had completed my engineering. We met for the first time 2 years back when I was in Gujarat. She, along with her friend, now makes and sells quirky, handcrafted journals under the label Little Green Trunk tucked in a quiet village in Goa, insulated from most tourists and the party noise. I am yet to visit their new home.
In a case of mistaken identity I became 'friends' with Sreelakshmi and Vaishnavi in Facebook. Months later, I met both of them, one in Pune and the other in Madras. One ended up lending me Rs 10,000 when I was setting up DesiTude and the other has started to paint our merchandise on a commission basis.
Then, I have 'met' Apoorva in Facebook. We started talking since both of us were Law students and were also into journalism. When I visited Pune to meet another friend, I met her.
My craze for collecting Swadeshi fountain pens led me to 'meet' on Facebook Sunip sir, a senior lawyer from Bombay. Later, when I was in the city he took me to his farm house and remains one of the most caring hosts I have ever come across!
Midhun chettan has been the most recent one I met after 'meeting' online. Not a week has passed since we met. We share quite a few common interests, and he was very sweet in our first meeting. I get an elder brother vibe from him.
There are many more who I have 'met' but yet to meet. Something reverse and interesting happened few days back. I was in Ernakulam, and when my work was over I was adviced to go and explore Fort Kochi and walk through its bylanes. An island - not literally - in the bustling 'metro' city of Kochi.
I walked for few hours under the sun. Tired as I was, I was thinking of going back to the city and from there to the railway station. But then I saw an open and vacant shed. The shed, roofed with a tarpaulin sheet, offered a good shade from the burning sun and had nicely laid rectangular stones to sit. And the shed had two red flags of the Communist Party tied around it. It was a meeting place of the CITU, the party's labour unit. I felt attracted to the place and decided to sit there and rest for a while. But the while stretched to little over an hour. I was gazing at the people of Fort Kochi as they passed by for and after work, as well as scores of tourists lazily strolling.
One tourist, a young man, stopped upon seeing me, and walked closer to the shed. Can I click a picture, he asked me. Oh yes, I said. He clicked, smiled and walked away.
I thought that my sitting in the party's place in the attire that I was in made him feel like clicking a photograph. I was in my usual full sleeve kurta and mundu/dhoti, both in white Khadi, the thick, old-fashioned spectacles, and the Indian flag pinned on to my kurta. I soon forgot about him clicking my picture and I resumed doing what I was doing - gazing at people.
Almost a week later, today, while I was travelling to Kochi yet again, I received a friend request from one Maanav Suresh on Facebook. I opened his profile and saw that we had two mutual friends. I accepted the friend request. I usually accept all friend requests that I receive. I also send friend requests to a lot of people when I find their work interesting.
No sooner did I accept the friend request, I received a text from that account. 'From a random horrible click to finding you here was quite a thing.' Immediately, a picture came. Of mine sitting under the shed along with the Communist flag. From Fort Kochi to Facebook, Maanav found me!
I was shocked and excited. He said that he had recognized me from a post of mine about planting trees saplings for DesiTude that our mutual friend had shared.
Such a small world. Social media has made it even smaller.
People who think deeper find this scary. I remember one such friend whom I had 'met' online and then met, refusing a selfie. He said it was risking privacy, because the smartphones are connected to the internet and everything gets tracked.
Maanav will, however, always be remembered for the interesting way in which we 'met.'
P.S.: I spoke to Maanav over phone and we will be meeting soon. For the second time. But as friends. Not strangers.
