“Hi Sathi” . . . that’s how Melinda’s emails begin. Sathi–it’s Nepali (and Hindi and Urdu and Sanskrit) for “friend.”
As far as friends go, we were quite different to start with: I was older, she younger; I’m short, she’s tall; I had adolescent children; she had a two little boys, one still in diapers. . . But as strangers in an even stranger land, away from extended family and home, with workaholic husbands, we found comfort in each other and became close friends.
She’d whinge (She’s from Australian) and I’d whine (I’m from the US) and we became Sathis. . . The word “sathi” means more than friends; it means faithful partners. In Nepal and India Sathi is used to refer to both friend and spouse, it signifies a relationship that is not to be broken.
Life is often too busy to keep in touch, but with sathis, it’s great to know that they’re there when it counts.
Says Fyl 