Warps & wefts of friendship

the warp & weft of a double ikat saree

The weaver sat there weaving, wanting to make a beautiful fabric. Each warp* was strung and placed with its surrounding warps on the beam. They all looked at each other and smiled. They were neighbours for eternity. They had to be the strong ones because they were to bear the trauma of all the weaving. They had already been through the shedding and twisting together, which was to strengthen them. They were like best friends who had seen ups and downs as one. The warps.

But sometimes history can be a baggage. They were permanently tied together. Still and rigid. Absolutely no interaction despite being so close. One didn't speak to the other. Soon they got tired of each other. They waited for the wefts** to come by. The wefts would be like a breath of fresh air. Always on the move, never a dull moment with them.

The weaver knew this. He started interlacing the warps with the wefts. The wefts brought new colours with them. As the interweaving progressed, the highly strung warps started swaying too. Fluttering to the music of the wefts. They criss-crossed, danced and created magical designs with each other. The warps were very happy. They had found new friends in the wefts. Someone they could talk to, someone they could relate with. They gradually started getting detached from the neighbouring warps.

All the warps had taken each other for granted that they would always be together. They were the original best friends. But they never realised how and when they got so disconnected that they belonged only to the wefts now, not each other.

This is how friendships fall apart.

Slowly. One warp at a time. Day after day.

The fabric looks beautiful. The motif is magnificent. The weaver has done a splendid job.

But the warps have lost out on each other. The wefts are their new best friends. ***




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image courtesy Wikipedia

*       Warp is the yarn that is permanently fixed on the loom in a lengthwise fashion. Called ताना in Hindi

**      Weft runs through the warp by way of threading. Called बाना in Hindi

***    I think I saw glimpses of one such great friendship fading away today. A little sad about it but then who knows what design has the destiny in mind for which this little detour was necessary.