Friendship ! ~ நட்பு - பசு மாடும் கொக்கும் !!

Friendship !  ~ there are fables and there are true life stories – you know where you are, judging not by the number of friends more by the intent of your friendship !! 

Before you read further, are you still in touch with your schoolmates, college-mates, ex-colleagues … .. and your childhood street friends !! 

Friendship is a voluntary, mutual relationship characterized by affection, trust, and shared experience. Unlike family or professional ties, it is typically an egalitarian bond where individuals choose to support and value one another for their own sake. Modern psychological and philosophical perspectives identify several pillars of a healthy friendship – most important among them being - Trust and Reliability & mutual caring.   

In the misty hills of the Western Ghats, where ancient banyans whispered secrets to the wind, lived a humble spider named Silkara. She spun her webs not for glory, but survival—delicate traps glistening like dewdrop jewels, catching flies and dreams alike. High above, soared Stormbird, a fierce eagle with wings like thunderclouds, who ruled the skies and scorned the earthbound.

               One monsoon eve, a raging flood swept through the valley, uprooting trees and swallowing villages. Silkara's web-home dangled by a thread over the churning river. Stormbird, battered by gales, plummeted toward the same doom. "Foolish speck!" he squawked at the spider. "Your flimsy threads can't save us!" 

Silkara didn't flinch. "Wings fail in floods, bird. But threads endure." With nimble legs, she shot a silken lifeline from her web to Stormbird's talons. He grasped it, laughing bitterly—yet it held. Together, they swung across the torrent: her web a bridge, his strength a pulley. They washed ashore on a jagged rock, alive but entangled.  

Days turned to weeks. Stormbird, wing-mended, mocked Silkara's slow crawl. "You're earth-tied; I'm sky-free. Why linger?" But when hunters crept near, nets poised, Silkara wove an invisible snare across their path. The men tumbled, trapped. Stormbird swooped in, snatching their weapons. "Your trap was genius," he admitted. Silkara smiled. "Your dive was daring. Alone, we'd perish. Together, we thrive." 

Word spread. The Weaver and the Stormbird became legends—guardian of the hills. They never became the same; spider stayed grounded, eagle soared. But in crises, their bond wove victory from weakness. 

Moral: True friends bridge worlds, turning differences into unbreakable strength. [AI assisted story]

 

நட்பு - பசு மாடும் கொக்கும் !! 

Then in the lush paddy fields of Tamil Nadu, where the Kaveri River winds like a silver thread, lived a gentle cow named Kamala. Her days were spent grazing and plodding through the mud, unaware of the tiny passengers on her back.  One morning, a sleek cattle egret named Antasia perched on Kamala's shoulder. With her bright white feathers and sharp beak, she was no ordinary bird—she was a vigilant sentinel. "Friend cow," she trilled, "let me ride and dine. Ticks and insects plague your hide; I'll pluck them clean."  .. .. and another friendship between a Cow and an Egret flourished.

 

Interesting !
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
28.1.2026