Of the little joys from life

For the last few months I have been up all night. I've been pretty engrossed in making full use of every possible communication technology available to me (read Yahoo messenger and Orkut). I have been chatting with my friends back home and in other places. Nothing that sounds out of the world there, you may say. But these are people I have known for periods as short as a month.
It is an amazing experience to gel so well with people who you've never even seen. Sharing jokes, pulling each others legs, or simply talking your heart out. The cornerstones of friendship. How did it happen? After 12 years of schooling and 3 years of college, and I had a handful of people who I could still call at any time of the day or night, just to say hi. But suddenly, I am up all night pouring my fears and joys into those multiple messenger windows, to people I've met just a couple of times. What is it that connects me to them?
I have seen the same kind of sentiment echoed at PG meets around the country. Groups of level-headed mature people congregate and feel a bonding that's closer than years of sitting side by side through math class and eating out of one lunch box (okay, that's a bollywood line) But what is it that makes these people feel closer than ever to complete strangers, known by nothing but a virtual image they have chosen to create?
Initially, my thought was that a common underlying thread connecting everyone, was that elusive feline, CAT. But no, its not that. There's a sentiment stronger than just an exam (oh, alright, CAT isn't just another exam!). There was the element of being able to think on a common plane,of intellect, interests, joys, fears. But there was something more also. This is no ordinary friendship, a passing infactuation, in a manner of speaking.
I find it hard to explain what draws me to these people, why I want to spend time just joking around and debating on the silliest of issues with them. But all I can say is that this is one group of people I will not want to lose. Friendship is sometimes like wine, it gets better as it grows older. For all those wonderful frienships out there......Cheers!!