Can you define Friendship?

I read on a guy's T-shirt today, something written about friendship. These were the first two sentences. "Friendship is like war. Its easy to start but difficult to end..............". Before I could read fully, the guy had walked across and had his back showing towards me.

The word "Friendship", I believe, is the most abused by most of us. I would define Friendship in just one word, i.e. COMMITMENT and that too in capital letters. Many words can be prefixed to this word and one example could be the word UNCONDITIONAL. Yet how many of us can feel proud to have real friends or be one.

One not so fine day, some years back, I found myself in deep trouble; and the condition prevailed for few days. Only one friend turned up and stood with me. I felt absolutely unbelievable that so many of my friends could just turn the other side. I still didn't lose hope on this magnanimous word "Freindship", the reason I shall give in the next paragraph, though I lost hope on many of my so called friends.

I knew a guy named Suresh, who always struggled alongwith his younger brother to make ends meet. In his family, he had his mother & younger sister who needed constant medical attention. One fateful day, his younger sister passed away. The body was waiting to be cremated. Help wasn't coming from any quarter. I got to know about this few hours later. I immediately went and met Suresh, who was crying unconsolably and had got drunk heavily, as he didnt know what to do with his sister's body. I quickly arranged for a Hearse van, and gave him little sum of money to finish the last rites and also stayed with the bereaved family till everything was taken care of.

Few years back I met Suresh. I knew he was well settled by then. He had a job and also ran a business. He had got married too. He had cleared all his debt except one. He told me, "Joshi, I have enough money now and a flourishing business, and have cleared all my debt except one. And that's yours. I will not clear it, because, with money it cant be cleared". The words that enamanated straight from his heart almost brought tears to my eyes.

As long as these kind of thoughts are possible in the minds of people, the meaning of friendship will never change.