80-yr strong: Maitri, a house built on friendship
2
In a world where screens have replaced face-to-face meetings and quick messages substitute for warm embraces, two families in Surat prove that true friendship can survive anything, even death.
Walk into 'Maitri', a bungalow in Bhatar, and you will see something special: a friendship so deep that it has passed from fathers to sons, and now to grandchildren and great-grandchildren, like a precious family treasure.
It all began in 1940 when two young boys named Bipin Desai and Gunwant Desai met at Sarvajanik School. They lived close by in Sagarampura, walked to school together, shared lunch and talked about their dreams.
They had no idea their childhood friendship would shape not just their own lives, but also their children's and grandchildren's.
When
Mahatma Gandhi
called for the Quit India Movement in 1942, these young boys, who had just finished their matriculation, jumped into the freedom movement. Together, they handed out pamphlets against the British, organised protests, and even went to jail together.
After India got independence, both went to the agricultural university in Pune. When they graduated, they came back to Surat.
From farming to running a dairy, from contract work to various businesses, they tried everything together, always as partners.
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