Category Archives: Love

Ek chhoti si love story

17 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in Happiness, Life, Love, Musings

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Valentine’s day was celebrated a couple (pun intended) of days back, with a lot of fervour. Lots of people (read: the committed ones) were all awash in red, while many others (read: singles/cynics) saw red. Me? I was enjoying myself, watching both these types. And yes, writing this post. So, why am I publishing this 3 days after V-Day? Simply because I did not want to get it to get lost in all that red. 😉

Since this was written on V-day, it is obvious that it is going to be about love. However, this is not going to be about love per se, I am simply going to tell you about the best love story I have ever seen – that of my parents. 🙂

Almost 35 years...and still going strong!

Like all good love stories, this one too goes a really long way back. Both of my grandfathers were with the Imperial Police (post-1947, the Mumbai police). Both families were neighbours in the Police Lanes at Byculla (we are talking about the 1960s here) and it so happens that rice, sugar or pulses weren’t the only things that were exchanged between them. 😀 This was where love blossomed between the two. True to form, like most love stories, it wasn’t smooth sailing all the way. My maternal grandpa didn’t quite approve of the pairing and put his foot down, saying “no can do”. It was then that mom/dad did something which wasn’t quite so common in those days – they went for a court marriage. Yes, 2 witnesses from either side, garlands exchanged in the Registrar’s office, typical poses for the camera, and all that jazz. 😛

Well, the story didn’t end there. In fact, this was the real beginning, of a life-long story. One in which there were obstacles, ups and downs, sunshine and clouds, but most importantly, trust and faith. In all the years that I have been seeing my parents spend their lives with each other, one thing has always struck me – though theirs is a love marriage, they are not the typical “in love” couple. I cannot remember a day when dad bought a flower for mom or when mom sung a song for dad. In fact, the last time dad bought a flower home for mom, it was because he had got it at a wedding reception and did not want to waste it by throwing it away. 😛

So what is it that has really kept them together? There are many factors that make this happen, but the biggest one is the simplest. They want to be with each other – as simple as that. 🙂

For all their differences of opinion, and their small (and sometimes not-so-small) arguments about how something should be done, they have always been one person to the world. No matter how or what they think about something, once they have (together) taken a decision on it, it is well nigh impossible to get them to contradict each other on that. If you love someone, you stand for them, come what may – this is something I have seen happening throughout my life. I didn’t have to read quotes or watch any cute videos to know that – I have experienced it at close quarters. Of course, this did create some problems for me as a kid. I would hate it when I wanted something and went to mom to ask for it. Her reply would be “I don’t think you need that now.” and then I used to go to dad and pester him. His only question would be “What did mom say?” and on hearing the answer, he would smile and say “Well, its not happening then, son!” I used to be super grumpy then but today I realise how it has helped me a lot, by teaching me to wait for what I want, and more importantly, deserving something before wanting it.

Another very important thing that I learnt from my parents is how to always care for the one you love. It is OK if you may not like all that they do, but at the end of the day, you value the person as a whole, and not the bits and pieces that make them. Till date, regardless of what has happened during the day, I have never seen mom let dad go to sleep without ensuring he has drank milk and neither have I seen dad hit the bed without applying cream to mom’s knees (she has a knee problem). To me, THAT is true love – no matter what all the books/movies/songs in the world tell me.

And then, people ask me why I am such a firm believer in love? Silly question, isn’t it? 🙂

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So long, 2012…

31 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in Life, Looking back, Love, Musings

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And here we are, at the end of yet another year. And like always, here I am, with my take on the year gone by. However, this is a take on the year in my life, and is certainly not a review of 2012 as you get to read in the news or watch on the TV.

This was one year where LOTS happened in almost every area of my life, and I am not going to go really deep into the details. Autobiography ke liye bhi kuch baaki rehna chaahiye na? As I normally do, this time too, I am going to break this post down into a few major categories, and expand on them. This also ensures that you can run away anytime you feel like, without missing on too much. 😛

  1. Career:
    Like most years, this was the area that saw a healthy amount of activity. I had switched departments in 2011, and I came back to my original one towards the end of this year. Without going into too much detail, I can surely say that this was one of the best learning experiences I have ever had. To put my laurels behind, and to go back to being a rank learner, was a scary, yet exciting experience. Being a “newcomer” again taught me a few new things, helped me unlearn a few others, and gave me a fresh outlook, on the whole. And to boot, now I have a knowledge of one more domain, which helps me in my current profile as well, and not to mention, gives me some minor bragging rights as well. 😉
  2. Human Connections:
    I prefer to use this phrase over done-to-death clichés like “Love”, “Relationships”, “Friendships”, “Romance” and so on. Well, this was the front which dominated 2012 for me. And this was the area where I experienced both dizzying heights of ecstasy as well as the crushing depths of disappointment. It was in 2012 that the girl I love (not a typo – “love” is indeed the word, “loves” isn’t) the most, reciprocated my feelings (around January). A whole lot of moments and memories followed. Needless to say, it was the most top-of-the-world-and-beyond feeling ever. Having started on a heady high, the year almost floated by, before I could even blink. Unfortunately, the dreams that we saw together didn’t survive the collision with reality, and December saw life taking her away from me. The person who used to be an inseparable part of my being, is now but a fond dream from the past. And there is nothing that I can do except look back at the memories and smile to myself – “Well…it was great while it lasted”. So, has this changed me as a person? Well..that is what follows next.
  3. I, Me, Myself:
    Having seen both the highs and the lows that life can offer, all within the span of a year, one would naturally expect to see a lot of changes in oneself. Well, not for me, kyonki perfection ko improve karna bahut mushkil hota hai. 😉
    Jokes and dialogues apart, yes – this indeed has been a year which started on a high and ended in a kinda depressing manner. But no, this does not mean I have turned into some sad old bugger, cynical and critical of the world around him. Yes – I am indeed deeply affected by the disappointment, but no, I am NOT going to give up fighting for what I want, I am not going to give up on the hope that one day life will smile for me again, and for good. 🙂
    As I always like to tell myself – just because I didn’t achieve the desired success in a career initiative, or did not end up with the person I wanted to be with, it does not reflect on me as a person. I know that I did all that I could, and that is what really counts. If things didn’t happen the way I wanted, so be it. If I was punched and pounded, so be it. I am simply going to keep getting up, again and again, and again, a la Rocky Balboa, till life gives up and says…”kar le yaar…jo bhi karna hai“.

There is lots I could say, but I don’t want to be responsible for putting to sleep whoever reads this. So, I will sum it up with something that I always knew, and which life taught me once again this year:

हर जंग से विजेता होकर लौटना मुमकिन नहीं, कुछ सफ़र सिर्फ़ चलने के लिये तय करने पड़ते है ।

On that note, I will say adios. The hawa ka jhonka will blow past these pages soon…keep reading. 🙂