THE PURPLES - friendships stitched on a Purple Canvas

The Purples are the mixed shade evolved from many colours — eight young people who meet in the city of Guwahati (a city in Assam) and, through music, food, bookfair, late-night conversations and tiny acts of affection and care, form a family. The scenes are modest such as — chai and pakodas, cassette tapes and slambooks, house parties, jamming sessions, friendship bands and even Orkut profiles (the old school era of Facebook) — but the book is built on the large, quiet work of presence: how people keep one another, how they forgive, how they show up, how they protect, how they keep secrets. Set against the 1980s–90s backdrop before social media smoothed everything into instant signals, their friendships are tactile, steady, loyal and patient. I wanted to capture that texture: the way a song can stitch strangers into friends, how a revealed secret can become a shared duty, and how a farewell can become a lifetime of small rituals. This book is offered to anyone who remembers — or wonders about — the taste of friendships that grew slowly, with obligation and joy braided together. It is also for younger readers who may not have lived that era: for you, these pages are a small map of what steadiness looks like, and why a single honest relationship can outlast many loud moments. If the world now prizes speed and spectacle, the Purples insist on something quieter: loyalty, repair, and the courage to remain ordinary together. Thank you for opening this canvas and walking with them for a while. I hope these friends remind you of someone you once had, someone you still have, or someone you might yet meet. If one line from their evenings stays with you — a shared laugh, a private apology, a friendship band passed on a roof — then this book has done its work.