Friends every single woman should make

Friends every single woman should make

At the outset let me be clear, if you are living with parents, in a girl’s hostel or as a paying guest, you don’t qualify for these words of wisdom because then you have a support system of sorts to fall back on. This is for that brave breed living completely on one’s own, fending for oneself, juggling work, boyfriends, girlfriends, mom’s nightly phone calls, shoestring budgets etc. You are the girls who could do with a ready retinue of service providers by using just a bit of your inherent tact and charm. Service providers who can make life as a single girl in the big bad city that much more comfortable. If that sounds like a deal, read on.

Start with service provider No 1, Raman,the security guard at your apartment complex. He may be a security guard for the rest of the residents in your building, but you can turn him into your knight in shining armour- the one who moves heaven and earth for you. In this case, he can move the furniture around before and after a party, or the bike parked in front of your car or your overloaded shopping bags when the lift is not working. You, in return, just have to gift an occasional biryani packet when you are ordering takeaways for friends, sympathies with his angst at the building society's indifference to his goodness, pass him a little tip for opening the gate after 2am for three consecutive days and smile at him dazzlingly on your way to work, on your way to the market, on your way to anywhere.

Mrs. Pandey living in the adjoining flat is the next service provider to focus on. Choose her because she is a stay-at-home Madam Perfect and can do anything from lending a bottle opener to taking in your ironing, keeping your spare keys and even coming forward with her extra gas cylinder when you discover you have no fuel for making your morning tea. She may even give you your occassional morning tea if you run out of teabags. In return, all you have to do is tell her how well her pink saree suits her, buy a weekly bar of chocolate for her whining two-year-old, share the mithai and pickles that your mom sends through whoever comes visiting and cluck sympathetically when she complains about her husband's tantrums, without telling her how amiable he is when he meets you at the lift or lobby!

Finally we have Sharmajee, the gentle soul who leaves for office in his freshly washed car, precisely when you are standing near the gate looking for an autorikshaw to take you to office in time for the Monday morning staff meeting. Just gaze at him, through a haze of unshed tears and watch the car slow down. 'Yes, if he could give you a lift, it would save your life,' you gush as he makes his offer. Don't forget to shower tidbits of gratitude all the way ,apologising abjectly for making him get late as he takes a detour to drop you at your office gate. And don't forget to nod at his wife, wave at his son, pat his dog, when they are taking their evening walk together. When he is taking his morning walk alone, beam at him from the balcony while commenting that he has lost some weight since you last saw him and is looking really fit. You will have made a loyal friend in need.

So now you know who your real friends are in this adult world, go ahead and cultivate them earnestly. With the Ramans, the Mrs Pandeys and the Sharmajees filling up middle-class apartment complexes across the Indian urbanscape, life for the single young woman working and living alone is more comfortable than ever before.