Friends - as we grow

Friends change as we grow and so does the way of friendship. If you happen to look down the memory lane you will find the no of calls you had with your friends in college days was far more than that you have with them now. Those were the days when you met your friends everyday and still had the time and zeal to call them in the evenings and there was no shortage of things to talk - you could spend hours talking. But now when you are working and are busy with your life you hardly find time to call your friends. And even when you do call someone you hardly have anything to talk to. The conversation converts into both saying "What's up?", "Anything new?", "Aur kisi se baat huyi" (Heard from anyone else) etc. After a couple of minutes there's nothing to speak. There was a time then when you would call to tell that your practical file is completed, assignment is over or you are bored with studying; but now you don't even call to tell that you are going out of town/country for certain no of days. There was a time when you would call and say "let's meet in 15 mins" and you would be there; and now you say "it's been a long time and we should meet", then a plan is made, modified and ends up with one saying "I am a bit busy these days, once the work gets done I will make a plan and call others as well" - That's where it ends untill the next call which again starts with "we should meet". There was a time when you didn't have to give a second thought before agreeing to meet; and now you have to think twice even to deicde whether to call or not. Earlier you would just call and say "CP aaja lunch karte hai" (Lets have lunch at CP); and now going to meet seems like wastage of time even though you have nothing else to do.

I often wonder that isn't it now when you are so busy with your life that you need breaks from it; you need to spend time with your friends, to go back to those days when you had so much fun, to spend time away from your normal routines, enjoy the moments of joy spending with friends. But strangely you have become so far apart that its almost like taking an appointment to meet friends that too if you don't get any last minute work.
When you see newcomers straight out of college (freshers as we call them) comming in groups and chit-chatting in cafeteria/canteen, you tend to remember the days when you had joined office. Maybe the work load wasn't so much then but you still had work to do and lots to learn; but you still had time for friends. Slowly the coffee breaks have come down, you prefer to bring the coffee to your seat, what once seemed like a welcome call for a coffee now seems like an interuption.
And finally when you do get a break for a day or two, you feel like sleeping rather then going out somewhere. TV and PC have replaced the phone calls and friends. Sleep has replaced the activities and reading part. Lying down and watching TV has become the major activity.

I just wonder how things change as we grow and so does the way of friendship. I feel like picking up the phone and calling all the old friends but then I think "they would be busy right now, I will call them later". And when does that later comes ..................