Friendship in the
time of a Pandemic…
One of the greatest
philosophers of all time, Aristotle, worked extensively on a wide range of
subjects, including psychology and philosophy. Some of his significant works
are extensively studied, even today.
He classified
friendship into three types, namely:
- Friendship of utility: It consists of shallow relationships, which are trivial but play an integral part from a community perspective. Acquaintances, co-workers, neighbors come under this category.
- Friendship of pleasure: They constitute people with whom we bond over a common interest. Your sports teammates from college, clubbing friends come under this category. It’s considered shallow because your skills take precedence over what you are as a person.
- Friendship of virtue: The third and the
preferable kind is the one that’s based on virtues or what one truly is as
a person. It lasts longer and forms an integral part of our lives.
I never understood
or appreciated the intention behind such classification. I was even skeptical
if the complexity of human networking and functioning could be classified into
such simple broad categories.
Only recently, I could fully comprehend and see for myself the underlying truth in such a profound yet straightforward postulate.
Let me share my journey so far, which began with the last MC-3 challenge. Unlike most, I neither had a passion for dance nor the talent for singing. With nowhere else to go, I chose the art club. I thought I’d help when required in whichever small way I could because I was particularly not keen on ending up in the bottom three.
We divided our tasks based on our interests and skills, ended up pulling another all-nighter. We texted and called each other without any inhibitions. Looking back, I realize shared adversity does help strengthen our bond cause it’s not every day you’d call a person you just met hours ago at 2 AM.
We had a great share of fun working on MC-3, and strangely we continued to be active on the group day in and day out long after the challenge was done. We continued our late-night meet tradition, where people started getting comfortable and slowly started opening up about their lives. We called to relax, to chill and move into our own space. No compulsion, no deadline, but still, we had the majority of our group on a call late night every day. It became a tradition that everyone gladly took part in.
Classes did begin with great enthusiasm, soon followed by multiple events, deadlines, tests and daunting microeconomics. With time our calls become less frequent, my constantly ringing phone found solace eventually. However, our bond just got better. Shared adversity does act as an “invisible hand” in shaping and building bonds. We still meet every Friday night on G-meet, text every day, share memes, make stickers and in the due process, we have grown much closer than we ever expected.
Our friendship progressed through all three friendship levels stated by Aristotle. Our common utility/ (MC-3) brought us together; our shared interest in art (or inability in dance and singing) acted as a catalyst. Thirdly, by sheer luck and our late call routine, we did shed our façade and genuinely liked the other person for what he/she truly is as a person. Our shared goals, crunching deadlines, morning classes aided in accelerating the process.
The unique part of all this is that we haven’t met each other yet. I guess not many could boast of friends from across the country without meeting them even once (apart from Angel Riya’s and daddy’s princesses we come across on Facebook). Introspecting, I’m glad M.C.s took place, as it provided a platform for us to interact with most of my batchmates in even these unprecedented times. In the end, all those impossible deadlines did serve their purpose
Thanks to the
pandemic, I would have a family when I reach IIM Ranchi.
P.S.: Although we
didn’t win MC-3, I’m glad we made it this far long after the finish line.
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