Who says soulmates need to be your romantic partners when you have chuddy-buddy girlies who go beyond measure to make your life heaven, muses Anusha Shashidhar.
“Sometimes, in life, there really are bonds formed that can never be broken. Sometimes, you really can find that one person who will stand by you no matter what. Maybe you will find it in a spouse and celebrate it with your dream wedding. But there's also the chance that the one person you can count on for a lifetime, the one person who knows you sometimes better than you know yourself, is the same person who’s been standing beside you all along.”
- Marion St. Claire, the Wedding Planner in Bride Wars movie.
You bunk that class to revel in a recluse of your own, but she gives you the proxy that saves you from queueing up to pay fine. You forget to do that homework, but she waits for you (with pursed lips and raised eyebrows) in the classroom, with your homework ready. You hate driving, so she simply drops you till your gate and rolls her eyes at you and does it again and again all the same.
You fight with your parents and cry your heart out over the phone, and she is ringing the bell at your door in the next hour. You tell her your parents aren't very happy about your choice of career, but she gazes at you sternly and asks you to shut it and follow your passion. You tell her your parents aren't too keen on attending your graduation ceremony and she simply asks you what time she should attend.
You commit that terrible mistake of your life and she is right behind you waiting to kick your bottom, just to remind you you are better than that. You might talk about how lousy your boyfriend is, but she simply reminds you that you are no better and that if she can put up with you, you can certainly put up with him (and just like that she has chased you back to him!).
If you’re Meredith Grey, she’s your Christina Yang. If you're Emma Allen, she's your Liv Lerner (hopefully, minus the Bride Wars).
If you're the pen, she’s the ink. If you’re the eye, she's the vision. If you’re the passion, she's the dream. If you’re the crown, she’s the crowning glory. If you’re her mate, she's your soul!
In many ways, she’s your inner spirit from cradle to grave, lightening up every dark path you tread. A girl friend, more often than not, takes one of the highest ranks of order in your heart, meaning as much as or even more than a spouse.
Fairytales from lands far far away may crown Prince Charming as the damsel's soulmate, but the damsels of today have already merited it to their girl pals. For Prince Charming is rather a newbie stag entry, gate crashing on the girlies' cosy tea party.
Candace Bushnell, the author of the popular Sex And The City even asserted “Maybe our girl friends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with!"
[Note: Girl friend is not the same as girlfriend!]
Well, let's just say your Prince Charming is your co-driver. But your girl friend is the bumper taking on the rough ride with you even before your Prince Charming slided into that seat!
“No one gets you the way your girl friends do,” says Nishkala Chandrashekhar, a techie.
“Neither your parents nor boyfriends nor siblings! Girl friends are the ones who have been with you through and through, lending you a shoulder to cry on, or kicking your butt when you deserve it!" she quips. Of the friendship she enjoys, she says, “I have three friends and the four of us have stuck with one another since our school days. Nearly a decade now, and each of us has a different profession that has different demands and yet we find enough time for each other. My girl friends are certainly my soulmates!"
There is a saying that love simply grows with time. Nothing could be more befitting for this instance of friendship Rajmani has nurtured with her ex-colleague, Jaya KV. "It was in 1974 that I met Jaya. Our friendship had roots in personal tragedy, for that was what brought us together," reminisces Rajmani.
“I had only just lost my husband and Jaya was the one with a shoulder for me to lay my head on. We worked together as colleagues, right until 2001 before I retired. But right from then, we made it a point to meet each other at the drop of a hat, making the minutest of excuses. We just stayed put no matter what. So, yes. Indeed, Jaya has been my soulmate. It's not necessary that soulmates be romantic partners or men," asserts this 67 year old lady whose friendship has weathered the storm through the ages.
Several ladies will vote, at the blink of an eye, that girl friends are more of soulmates, than any Prince Charming can ever be. But there are few others who believe the definition of “soulmate" transcends genders, or that relationship with either gender has incomparable merits.
“The concept of soulmate is beyond gender," reckons Kavitha K, a multimedia professional. “Anyone can be a soulmate; certainly not necessary that it be your romantic male partner. For all you know, a pet can turn out to be your soulmate!"
Along similar lines, says Nikitha Satish, a fashion designer, “I wouldn't say that girl friends are more of soulmates than a spouse or boyfriend. I call a spouse a soulmate and a girl friend a soulsister."
“The comfort level I share with my set of girlies is beyond compare – since school days, we have danced together, stolen each other's food and fought for it like animals, raided each others kitchen without a care in the world, and pulled blankets off one another when we have sleepovers, just like real siblings. We've even named each other godmothers to our future kids! For someone who does not have siblings by blood, my childhood friends are more than just blood. They are my soulsisters, another set of family!" she asserts.
Perhaps your Prince Charming is “the one”, perhaps he is even your soulmate. But your girl friends are the ones who will remain your “soul sisters". Call them what you like: girl friends, best friends, chuddy buddies, besties, soulmates, soulsisters... They are a family to call your own... Who says blood runs thicker than water! Come or go what may, come or go who may, your girl friends stick with you as if you're their night and they your stars!