A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed.

A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed.

A friend is a person who is very close to your heart; your close friend is even referred to as your bosom friend. Initially, he or she, having hailed from a family other than yours, is a third party and a total stranger to you. Your familiarity with him or her gradually develops into a friendship. The familiarity might have developed from your childhood days, just because he or she was your school mate; from your adulthood, when he or she was your college mate, he or she might have been a co-worker or a colleague, when you joined a company or an office for your employment. Thus familiarity is the key that plays a vital role in the origin and development of friendship. Sometimes, a friendship may develop out of a casual introduction when you go to a temple or church or when you attend a social gathering or function; sometimes, you may come across unknown people who offer to help you and admit you in a hospital when you meet with an accident; such people linger in your memory;you continue your relationship with them that develops into a friendship. You may be having a number of friends, who may accompany you to witness a movie, to drink with you in a popular bar or even dance with you in a night club. They all simply enjoy the life with you. Hence, it is not a parameter or yardstick to find out the true friendship. Here comes this proverb in handy. A friend in need is a friend indeed. The Tamil classic Thirukkural written by Thiruvalluvar aptly describes the true friendship in a chapter titled ‘friendship’ as follows: If you get undressed suddenly, your hands will come to your rescue instantaneously to prevent you from getting humiliated or embarrassed; likewise, a friend should come to your rescue when you are in extreme hardship or adverse circumstances. That is the essence of friendship. That is true friendship. Similarly you may be suffering from any one of the adverse circumstances as follows:- You may be in need of funds to admit your ward in a college or you may have to undergo an emergent heart surgery or you may have to redeem your house that was attached in the court proceedings for your debts, failing which you and your family will be literally in the street. After making your own efforts to mobilize the required funds, if you feel that you are still short of funds, you have no other go but to necessarily approach your friends for mobilizing funds; now it is the acid test for your friends and their friendship. If they are true friends and cherish and value your friendship, they will come to your rescue or else they will simply forsake you on the one pretext or other. Thus, if your friend comes forward to help you in case of your need and exigency, he is a true friend; Therefore, a friend in need is a friend indeed.