Jaisha Priyam reviews Let’s Be Best Friends Forever: Beautiful Stories of Friendship (published by Talking Cub, 2024).
Let’s Be Best Friends Forever: Beautiful Stories of Friendship encompasses the beauty of friendship in all forms of life. It is a collection of short stories celebrating the beauty of friendship among animals, people, and giants. It captures the fluidity of the friendship in that it isn’t confined to a specific time frame or age group. Rather, it can be occasional, seasonal, or for a lifetime.
Giants, Squirrels, and Humans: Friendship Knows No Limits
Stories such as Gillu the Squirrel, A Tale of Two Oxen, The Devoted Friend and Selfish Giant celebrate the friendship among animals and between animals and human beings. Mahadevi Varma’s Gillu the Squirrel is about Gillu, who lives in her room, slowly unravelling with the daily happenings and interactions. Such little moments are celebrated in all the stories in the book and that becomes the uniqueness of it.
The story Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, on the other hand, has a mongoose who is the mediator between the human world and the animal world. It is destined to kill snakes and save Teddy’s family from them. The Selfish Gaint has a giant who befriends children and loves to play with them. While reading, one understands that friendship and companionship do not have any borders or any strings attached. It makes us aware that factors such as geographical lines and labels have created segregation, but in reality, it is not true.
Recommended Reading: Friends, conversations and a bookstore in Banaras
Friendships Forged in the Fires of History
There are also stories about friendships in more uncertain times and among uncertain people. They also touch upon historical events like Partition, the Sepoy mutiny, and the 1936 Olympic games. The theme of partition runs down in The Tunnel of Friendship by Ruskin Bond and Friends Forever by Bulbul Sharma. These two stories show us the human feelings and belongingness during uncertain times.
The demarcation is in the lands but not among the people. It also shows us how people were torn apart because of a historical happening and rules written that were not under their control. In Bond’s story, Azhar and other Muslim students are moved to Pakistan when the Partition was declared. This is autobiographical, and it’s beautiful how the story was written many years after their friendship was forged. The Jesse Owens story has Hitler watching, desperately wanting to prove the point that the Aryan race is superior to all.
Recommended Reading: Swami and Friends by RK Narayan
The entire Olympic game is conducted to prove the point, but sportsmanship wins above all ideology and hostility. In Two Peas in a Pod, the story of Jhalkaribai, who brings out the plan to divert the British and save Jhansi, Lakshmibai and her family, goes beyond the regular tales of friendship. These instances and stories show us just how much friendship and companionship are important in our daily lives.
Favourite Quote from Let’s Be Best Friends Forever: Beautiful Stories of Friendship
Everyone knows that it’s not the amount of time you get to spend with a friend, sometimes it’s just how easily you can pick up from where you had left off the last time. That’s what happens with best friends.
– Sayantan Ghosh, Kanchenjunga Express (Let’s Be Best Friends Forever)
Conclusion
The anthology Let’s Be Best Friends Forever: Beautiful Stories of Friendship is suitable for children above the age of 8 as they are short and easy to read. If you are an adult exploring friendship or want a light-hearted read, this is also for you. Gentle yet perfectly captures the fluidity.
Have you read this book about the beauty of companionship in every form? We’d love to know your thoughts. Share below and let us know!
