Is a man known by the company he keeps?

A retrospective on the years gone by, and on those who were the partners in crime


What is it that defines the existence of men? Is it their achievements, the shields in the cupboard, or the certificates in their folders? Is it the impression they leave behind or is it the kind of times they enjoy?


Frankly, it should be all of this. Yet, we find that we typecast people into many moulds, which are pre designed by our beliefs, and won't be remoulded easily. So a girl, who hangs out with a group of snobs, is by default assumed to be a snob. A guy hanging out with studious kids is by default, a geek, and someone hanging around with rustic rouges is labelled a rogue too. Sadly, not many get to know the persons before typecasting them. Another example of our bounded rationality, and laziness maybe.

Yet, there are some typecasts we choose for ourselves. There are certain clubs, groups and social circles we want to be a part of. Either, its for the glossy labelling (IIMs would do that I guess), or for finding people who have interests in common with you, and thus, are likely to be better friends, or at least people with whom you can discuss stuff that is of a common nature.

Plus, when you work in clubs, committees, or stay in hostel wings, fraternities, or sororities, you spend a lot of time with the people there. Either, you begin to understand and appreciate each one for their worth, or you adapt yourself to the norms of the group. And generally, the common goal, and its achievement thereof, sets the stage for a nice celebration, which does gel teams and people well.

Maybe this explains why I think my clubs and committees are a big part of me now, and even led to my nickname (or that of the committee) to be altered. And the best parties I have had, were either with my Literary society pals at D'LangChaps, or at Oculus - The Communication Platform, or with Team Perfect Score- the INDEX team I was a part of.

And at each of these stages, I learnt a lot. First from my seniors, Harry sir n Joban sir in graduation, Anshul Jain, Riddhi n Puneet Saxena at Oculus, and Mukesh at Team Perfect Score. These were the best times, and I have always enjoyed being a junior much more than a senior. There’s no extra baggage of responsibility or of appearing disciplined, which I guess goes against my DNA :)

As a senior, I tried to give some of this back, and again, had great times with most of them. Rajdeep (the idiot), sup (the guy), tapsie, modis.. everyone.. n still, given an option, they r all nice people to hang out with... and similarly for the Index team I had to lead..

Further, I guess I was known for my clubs at both these places.. and the need for social affiliation, and possibly the need for achievement, were fulfilled by these two groups. And I was passionate about them. No wonder, I would still love to talk to any of the people from there.. and most of them (I hope) won’t mind it either :)..

So is it right or wrong to know a man by his company? I don't have definitive answers yet.. though some comments would surely help :)