My Friend- Vincent

He called himself, “Rock, Vincent Rock”. I am yet to meet another person as proud of his name as Vincent. And sure enough, his name described his personality. He rocked as a friend, as a brother, as a son, as a guide, as a nurturer, as a dancer.

I met him on the very first day of undergrad and it didn’t take long for us to become best buds. I used to complete his assignments, and he used to make every possible effort to bring a smile on my face. I used to cover up for him in classes and he would sit hours patiently to hear me complain. I used to scold him for not being in the best books of professors and he would always come up with something funny to crack me up. He was more than a friend to me.

Most of you who know me, would say that I’m pampered and spoilt. Well, Vincent had a MAJOR role in spoiling me, along with Huzefa, Dujon, Vani and Abhishek. One little tantrum and my wish would be fulfilled, with a famous dialogue, “Main hoon na re” (I’m still here).  They were my guarding angels. Never let any evil inside and always kept me safe and pampered.

Even though I was the kid amongst us, he would tremble if I ever caught him smoking. He would find a different corner in the campus every time for a puff.

He was everybody’s friend. One shout to Vincent, and he would be there in a heartbeat. I still remember the day he left his house saying, “abhi aatu” (I’ll be back in a bit) and came all the way to Jammu to meet me J His terrified mom made a million calls in those 2 days trying to reach him J

He believed in giving, and sharing. Anyone who needed help knew he would go to them, and all it took was a call. I’ve lost the count for how many times he sold his mobile phone to lend money to his friends J

He liked playing with his looks. One fine day, Vincent would show up with RED hair and a zig zag beard and would leave every head turned. It was easy to spot Vincent in a huge crowd. The odd one out, had to be him.

You could expect anything from him. Here’s the story that I never get tired of narrating:

Vincent and Dujon were the notorious kids of our college. Always running low on attendance and always in professor’s bad books. Professor’s seemed to have some allergic reactions with them around. Both of them had gotten final warnings from the principal and were working really hard to make it work. They were attending classes, and for the first time I saw them walk into college on time with a notepad and a pen. That day deserved celebrations. In fact, they had even combed their hair neat and we finally got to get a good look at their faces after 3 whole years. We were walking to our class when Principal caught hold of Vincent and called him to his office. Naive Vincent went into his office when Principal started yelling at him for some reason that I can’t remember. This time Vincent was not going to take it. Profusely angry Vincent yelled back at the principal saying, “what will YOU kick me out of your college, I myself am leaving. And not just me, even Dujon is leaving with me”… J

Clueless Dujon, who was sincerely attending a class, got the news that he has been dismissed from college J

That day was both hilarious and disheartening. I made every possible effort to convince the principal, fought with him, pleaded him, but all in vain; while all these guys sat in the cafeteria and had a great laugh over Vincent’s outburst. I cried my eyes out that I won’t be seeing my friends every day. But like Vincent promised me, he waited for us in the cafeteria every single day.

All of us barely live every day, but he treasured every moment of his life. The lyrics of an old hindi film song, “main indagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya”, appropriately justify his way of life.

Vincent would randomly drop me a “hi” and then we would chat for hours together. He never missed checking out all my pictures on facebook and then we would discuss each one of them. We would discuss his life, my life, and our hopeless friends ;). Last time I spoke to him, he was doing so much better. He had almost recovered from his illness and was going to share his wedding plans with me. He had high dreams. He never dreamt small. His eyes sparkled even when he had lost all his health.

The day he made it for my wedding despite the fact, he could barely move, he left me speechless. No words can validate my gratitude towards him. With his shivering hands and aching body, he walked upto me to say his famous dialogue, “main hoon na re” (I’m still here for you). He used to tell me, “Tere liye kuchh bhi karunga” (I can do anything for you).

Today, Vincent is no more. He has left a vacuum in our hearts forever. He has abandoned all of us and deprived us of his love. I ping him, but don’t hear back from him. His phone never gets answered. No one to say, “main hoon na re”, no one to complain about my other hopeless friends to, no one to say, “tere liye toh kucch bhi baap”, no one to fall back upon.

Vincent, I know you can hear me, I can feel you beside me. I want you to know, that you are precious.  I love you!