Life

Friends in deed?
when Google employee, Orkut Buyukkokten created the famous Orkut as an independent project, he might not have known that it will become a reason for antagonism between individuals. Neither could have Google known it was commissioning conflicts as it launched Orkut. But Anumeha Verma has been a witness to one of the most popular networking sites causing an upheaval, in well what may be termed as an ordinary everyday life. Read on!
The most interesting one came up at Delhi as I was completing my internship at Asian Age. The office is located at Green Park Market in south Delhi with residential areas in the vicinity. Thanks to the demand due to hordes of people migrating to Delhi, the residential areas had those ubiquitous Paying Guest accommodations.
I had barely congratulated myself on being able to save up on traveling expenditure when I realized that the whole area of Green Park made you spend. With the Pizza Hut, Mc Donald’s and Café Coffee Day, it did not take much persuasion to reach for your purse if you were not on a diet.
I had a twin seater at the PG on which I compromised after seeing the single eaters that were the size of pigeon holes (no offences meant to the pigeons) with no ventilation at all. The chances of dying of suffocation lying alone on my bed in a new city did not appeal me.
My roommate, Tara was an MBA student who was clearing her back papers. She spent chatting hours on Orkut and a few girls of the PG used to visit her everyday, especially a tall, slim female, Rajita. She worked so strenuously on her figure as if the national security of the country depended on it.
I would see them going through Orkut everyday. My roommate started complaining that Rajita’s boyfriend was constantly visiting her profile. Not being a great lover of Orkut myself, I failed to understand how you could visit someone else’s profile. She explained the long and short of it which surpassed my understanding.
Then came a phone call, my roommate went out and the next thing I heard were raised voices. After a few minutes, I heard my name being called for help. I went to the room next to mine. It took a while to register the scene unfolding before me. My roommate was beating up the other girl, Rajita who was reciprocating with great gusto. The hapless roommate of Rajita was trying to disentangle them and beseeching me to help.
We finally managed to disentangle them. This was quite a feat considering that neither of them was feather light. The language that they were using against each other would have put the ruffians to shame.
The owners of PG had to intervene as the other girl was threatening to call the police. These petty quarrels became everyday issues. Later, my roommate maintained that Rajita’s boyfriend was visiting her profile and leaving very insulting messages and Rajita has put him to it because Rajita and Tara and Tara did not get along. Rajita however, kept vouching for the innocence of her boyfriend.
What struck me was that the whole matter could have been easily solved by proper communication as the three people involved had known each other for more than a year now. Furthermore, both the girls had told me before that they were close to each other. The two girls were still at the PG making snide comments and focusing on each other’s faults more than was required when I left.
I am not in touch with them now but I will hardly ever forget them. Not because their lives interests me but because they showed me my first and hopefully last live performance of female wrestling.
One of the girls from the PG remarked that thanks to Orkut we have no peace at this place anymore. But I would rather not blame Orkut Buyukkokten. We can always be trusted to find the negative use of anything. Thanks to our perverse natures, I sometimes get the impression that mankind is more interested in how to misuse than to use.
But, it also shows the insincerity of relationships even between people who seem to be very close. Who laugh and talk and walk with each other hand in hand but harbour a nasty desire to hurt each other. Who pretend to be friends but are actually rivals. Sometimes both parties are aware but they keep up their pretences nevertheless.
It is when you come across such people and their meaningless relationship that you become more thankful for the few genuine ones that you have. With whom you quarrel bitterly and feel bad because you have hurt someone you would rather not. And then send a message: ‘Sorry, for spoiling your day. I did not mean it’; and they answer back, ‘You are welcome.’ Whom you call up after an unpleasant argument and you still find they are happy to hear your voice because they still care.
And then you know even if you cannot explain that why you relate to some people even if your approach towards life is completely different. You know why you care and that you will care all your life.

Anumeha Verma is an MS in Communication Alumnus of GCCClass of 2008.