veen in india: my can of bliss boys.

every so often you meet a group of people who are going to change your life even if you don’t realize it in the moment. for me, that has been my can of bliss boys.

i wrote a few months ago about the harrowing experience of our first trip to manipal. on my second visit in 2008 i met one of shonali’s friends and we hit it off. neither of us was interested in a long distance relationship, but we liked each other enough that i went back to visit a month later. and that’s where i met them.

on this, my third visit to manipal, i met a group of vik’s friends who were in a band together called can of bliss. they were all studying in different colleges but had bonded over their shared love of music and playing, and they would have their jam sessions at vik’s house.

one by one they arrived, each greeting me with a giant smile and a hug and immediately making me feel like part of the group. they asked me about myself, they included me in conversations, and within an hour it felt like i had known them for years.

one morning, when it was time to clean the house, i was pointed to a chair, handed a newspaper and cup of chai, and told to relax while they did the cleaning and straightening. when it was time for me to leave that evening, they all accompanied me to the bus stop and waited with me until i was on my way. and the following morning they each texted me separately to make sure i had made it safely back to bangalore.

my sweet hobo. manipal, karnataka. january 2008.
family pic. manipal, karnataka. april 2008.
bestest friends. manipal, karnataka. november 2009.
favorite photo. guwahati, assam. march 2013.
so grateful we made this trip happen. kaziranga national park, assam. march 2013.
faves. kaziranga national park, assam. march 2013.
still holding down the fort at toto’s all these years later. bombay, maharashtra. january 2024.

this continued for a few more trips, and even once vik and i were no longer together, my relationships with the guys never wavered. it had only been a few months, but by that point we were family. i’ll never forget going to a concert in bangalore with some of them, and at one point i noticed they had created a perimeter around me so that no one could get too close to me. whenever i needed help or somewhere to stay, they were there for me.

and in the 16 years since i first met them, they remain hugely important people in my life. i’ve visited them in kathmandu and shillong and guwahati and bombay and boston. even though we are spread all over the world i know all it will take is one bat signal and they’ll be wherever i need them to be, and i’ll be there for them.

one day eventually we’ll manage a reunion, but in the meantime i hope they know how much they mean to me.