You’ve probably never dreamt of getting together a whole bunch of your friends from different backgrounds like your school or office, all together unless it was a birthday party or a wedding. It sounds quite innovative doesn’t it? Merging your friends circles, or “frerge” as the online world likes to call it. In a city like Bengaluru where we really don’t have enough time to meet the people we love on a regular basis, it would be really cool if your different besties could all get along together right?
Although this is quite a daring move, the upside is of everyone getting along, which is a fabulous effort. Like Greeshma Narendran, psychology post-graduate student says, “A lot of my close circles came together because of mutual friends. That sometimes strengthens the friendship because we get to know about each other from a third person. And if my friends know each other then they are more involved in all my stories and can picture better. Also, if those friends are very close to me and if I want them to stay in my life I would bring them together.”
You would inevitably be the glue that holds them all together as you know each other best. But perhaps, it is better to leave be and avoid getting into a tangle of back and forth friendships, as relationships can be complicated. As Aashmi Kumar, a Master’s student admits, “I would not bring different friends’ circles together. The vibe I share with each group is quite different and the relationships change at different levels. I have changed as a person too, so it would not be cohesive to bring them together.”
The smart thing to do would be to carefully pick the ones you know would get along well and give them some time to do so. As Swetha Venkiteshwaran, a Theatre professional says, “It is actually an extremely important event for me when my friends meet. If I consider them important enough to meet each other it is because I think they are similar people with similar interests. It actually always hits off as I would keep talking about one person to another. They would already have an idea of the other person before they meet so I establish that connection between them and make sure it’s not awkward.”
