¡°Man is a social animal¡± said Aristotle centuries ago and rightly so. We all need company and companionship. Life would be a burden-hard to bear-without good companions to share your joys and sorrows. Family is the first kind of companionship of his family members only.

As he grows up he learns to differentiate between family and strangers. Away from his family he feels unsafe. But when a child starts going to school, his social circle starts widening. He learns to find companions outside his family. He thus starts making friends as per his compatibility, likes, dislikes, interests, aptitudes and attitudes.

I too have many friends in my class and also in my neighborhood. I like all of them and get along very well with all of them. But Ravi is the best of all my friends. I like him very much. He is my best friend. We have grown up together. We have been good friends since L.K.G. since then we have somehow struck together.

His father is a businessman, yet the entire family is very humble and kind. He is a part of my family now and so as I a part of his. We spend most of our time together. He is what people call my bosom pal. He lives not very far from my house. So it makes us possible for us to spend most of our time together, moreover, we have the same subjects, so we enjoy studying together too.

Recently, we had a science exhibition in our school. We made a working model of a windmill and a hydro-electric power station together. Everybody appreciated our work and efforts. Similarly, we had also prepared a house chart and a few other things together.

Last year we had celebrated Diwali together. It was one of my memorable Diwali celebrations. Our families too have very strong relations. Thus it makes our friendship even more bonded.

My friend Ravi is very talented. He is the captain of the school¡¯s Hockey team. He is tall and has a nice athlete built and a handsome face. He is good not only in sports but outstanding in studies. He also plays the guitar.

Even thought he is an all-rounder, he is very humble, kind and gentle. His friendly demeanor makes him very popular with everyone. He aspires to be an Electronic Engineer and I am sure he will bring name and fame to his family and friends because he is very hardworking.

He has a very melodious voice. I really enjoy when he sings on his guitar. Both of us like listening to songs and therefore we spend a lot of time collecting good songs on cassettes and CDs. Another thing we both enjoy is reading books-fiction as well as nonfiction. So, we keep buying to exchange books to read them.

My parents also like him very much. The best qualities that they like about him are his politeness, courtesy, punctuality and his being a very responsible person. I am glad I have a friend like him. He even helps me in my studies and never gets angry.

I think he summarizes the definition of a friend very appropriately, ¡°a friend in need is a friend indeed¡±.