पीछे रह गए वो दिन...

माँ कहती है हम नींद में मुस्कराते थे

बहुत पीछे रह गए वो दिन जब ख्वाब हमें परियों के आते थे

ज़िन्दगी मुस्करा के दामन में भरी थी

छोटी छोटी ख्वाइशों में खुशियां बड़ी थी

धीरे धीरे न जाने कब ख्वाइशें बढ़ती रही

न जाने कब वो खुशियां सिमटती रही

बहुत पीछे रह गए वो दिन जब एक चॉकलेट से हम खुश हो जाते थे

बहुत पीछे रह गए वो दिन जब ख्वाब हमें परियों के आते थे

एक पल में लड़ाई दूसरे में सुलह थी

शिकवों के लिए कहाँ दिल में जगह थी

रिश्ते मज़बूत हुआ करते थे, अहम् कमज़ोर

न जाने कब बढ़ सा गया मन में उस अहम् का शोर

बहुत पीछे रह गए वो दिन जब एक पल में रूठे दूसरे में मन जाते थे

बहुत पीछे रह गए वो दिन जब ख्वाब हमें परियों के आते थे

माँ कहती है हम नींद में मुस्कराते थे

बहुत पीछे रह गए वो दिन जब ख्वाब हमें परियों के आते थे

LIFE AND IT’S STRANGE WAYS

This is the story of a dear friend. I met her in my college days. Sorry, I can’t reveal her name for obvious reasons.

A boy proposed her when she was in school, in eighth grade. She refused, as they were just kids, moreover love marriages were a taboo in her orthodox family. But the boy was persistent. He did all the filmy things to win her, even gave her love letter written with blood. Yeah, that’s crazy, I know. It became impossible for a sweet little innocent girl to not fall for a smart, intelligent boy who wouldn’t stop trying. So, one day, still confused, she accepted his proposal. Well, accepted is not even the right word. She half accepted it.

She said they were too young and must wait till they reach a marriageable age. Then they can discuss it with their respective families, but till then they will be just friends. Sort of #halfgirlfriend thing. Though, at that time, there existed no such word. Time passed and their bonding grew, but being a part of an orthodox family the girl could somehow never convince herself for love marriage. In those times using a word like boyfriend in front of parents was no less dropping a grenade on them. After about 8 years of their friendship, she wrote a letter that was so long it could compete with a novella. She wrote it over days, capturing her tangled emotions in pages over pages, asking for a break up. Long back a love letter written with blood united them and years later a letter burdened under the weight of a responsible daughter departed them. He broke up. Though she had asked for it, but still him accepting the break up broke her and she used to cry for hours. I still remember once we were travelling in bus and the song played in the background “dil deta hai ro ro duhai kisi se koi pyaar na kare” (heart is in pain and pleads not to fall in love). she cried for hours listening to that song. Till date, whenever I hear that song her face clouds my memory.

Soon she shifted to another city because of her father’s job transfer. We couldn’t talk much after that since there were no mobiles and internet wasn’t easily available. After a few years, she invited me to her marriage. I couldn’t gather the courage to ask if she was happy or if she still missed her old friend. I congratulated her and wondered if her old friend knew this or not? And if yes, how he must feel? I think a lot, even about people I have never met. May be that’s the reason I get the answers, sometimes even years later.

Years passed, and I joined a firm where I met a man whose name was same as that of the boy I am talking about. Thoughts of my friend cluttered my mind as I was being introduced to him. As soon as I was back to my cabin I checked his file. (A benefit of being in HR Dept. You can access all employee files.)

I checked his resume.

Same surname

Same school
Same year of passing
Married

And the file fell from my hand. It was odd, because my friend was married and it was wrong to expect he was still unmarried. A thousand thoughts cluttered my mind and the most prominent one was does he still remember her? Well, again the answer awaited me.

Our office was on outskirts of the city and one day I missed my office bus, so the same colleague offered me lift. I had no choice but to take the offer of the gentleman. When he started talking I was surprised for I never knew he was so talkative. He talked about his wife and kids.

And then…

He spoke about school. He said “I had such wonderful friends in school. One was so special”

And there was a sudden pause as he was lost in some other world. I got my answer.

Life has its strange ways. They both are at happy places, faithful to their respective partners, somewhere still preserving the precious moments lost in time. I was a witness to a beautiful story that unfolded bit by bit and I got all my answers. Answers that told me separation is not always a sad ending. Love is not only about marriage. It is about a bond that connects two people beyond time and place.

I was inspired to write this post after watching trailer of the upcoming Hindi romantic film Half Girlfriend. It is based on the novel of the bestselling author “Chetan Bhagat” and has a fabulous star cast of Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor.

The trailer successfully captures the confused mind of today’s youth. Friend or girlfriend? Sometimes people are unsure what they want. Their priorities waver between society and love, ambitions and relationships. And a havoc is created when one is sure and the other is not, what exactly happens here. Our smart but non-English speaking Madhav falls in love with the sexy and suave Riya, who is unsure of her relationship with Madhav. And hence starts the roller coaster of emotional ride that pulls you to the extremes of joy and then drags you to the depths of pain. The passion in the eyes of the hero is what I liked the most. The surety, the commitment, dipped in a wave of pain – it always attracts me and so it did this time. The movie looks promising and I will join their roller coaster ride as soon as it hits the theatre on 19th May. What about you?

“I am sharing a Half relationship story at BlogAdda in association with #HalfGirlfriend”

Words or Silence? (A WOW Post for Blogadda)

Pic :Link

I have just 9 more months – Komal thought, staring at her engagement ring. It was a special day, but somehow it failed to fulfil her expectations. Everyone complimented her expect Pravin, the man to whom she was engaged. Though she found him staring with appreciation, but she expected a word or two. Her apprehensions haunted her once again. “I have just 9 more months, to stay with my parents, to live my life as I wish, before getting married to a stranger, about whom I know nothing” she thought. His resume only spoke of his age, job and other silly details that might interest a future employer not a life partner. She wanted to know him as a person. His likes, his dislikes, his passions. Lost in her thoughts she soon drifted to sleep.

Next day as soon as she reached office her friends gathered around her.

So, what happened after the ring ceremony, I mean after we left – teased a friend

Hand holding or more than that – teased the other

She forced a smiled and changed the topic, she had nothing to share. All the time she was surrounded by relatives and Pravin didn’t make any excuse to talk with her in private.

Days leaped to weeks and weeks to months. Being in the same city they met a few times. Pravin wasn’t as introvert as she thought but still he was a serious guy. She envied her friend Shweta, whose fiancé was romantic and always surprised her with flowers and surprise visits. Komal craved such surprises from Pravin but it never happened, they never talked over phone for hours. Initially it was difficult to talk to him, but then she started talking about her day, her silly thoughts and her crazy dreams. He would smile now and then and reply in a word or two, but nothing more than that. As time passed, they opened a little. He talked about his family, friends, his dreams and sometimes he would give her a friendly hug. He was a gentleman. She respected him, but love was still a question.

One day in office Shweta was crying in the washroom.

“Hey Shweta, what happened?” – Komal asked wondering why should she cry when she has such a wonderful fiancé.

“My fiancé eloped with someone else.” Shweta said in between her sobs.

“What? How is that even possible? He loved you so much.” Komal exclaimed.

“Well, this is what he said. Words are sometimes meaningless. I wished he was faithful rather than romantic.” Shweta said and left.

Komal stood there for long deciphering her words. Being a sensitive person she couldn’t concentrate on her work anymore and took half day leave.

“Pravin, can you imagine how low Shweta must feel, when I am feeling this bad for her.” She wanted to vent out her feelings.

“Don’t worry, she will be fine.” Pravin said tersely.

“My parents are not home and I am feeling low.” She said expecting to hear a few fancy words.

“You are thinking too much. Just go out for a while, you will feel better. Now listen, I have an important meeting in an hour and I need to prepare for it.”

“Ok” her voice hinted disappointment, but he didn’t realise.

She gulped down a painkiller and dozed off.

Her sleep was broken by loud bangs on the door. Startled, she rushed to the door. A thousand thoughts revolved as she opened the door.

Pravin was standing at the door, a disturbed look on his face.

“Where is your mobile?” his tone was uneven and before she could answer, he hugged her like never before.

And as she was enveloped in his rough arms she was confused and shocked but most importantly she felt connected. The hug spoke a thousand words he failed to say.

“What…why…I mean what happened”. She fumbled for words.

He freed her from his embrace and suddenly the panic in his voice changed to anger.

“Where is your mobile?” his voice shook the very core of her soul.

“Under the pillow. It’s on silent mode,” she said. “But what happened? And why are you’re here? You had an important meeting.”

“Go and check your phone,” he said sternly.

She rushed inside and checked her phone. There were 25 missed calls from him and a text – where are you, please pick up the phone.

She rushed outside in confusion, but he was gone. Without any explanation. She called him and all he replied was “Rushing to office, I have missed an important meeting. Call you later.”

Confusion brewing on her face, Komal saw a neighbour running in tension.

“What happened Mahesh Bhai?” she inquired.

“A bus met with an accident at the entrance of our society, it hit a girl who must be about 25 years old, she was driving a white scooty. She is seriously injured and admitted in hospital. The bus finally crashed over a wall and many passengers got injured. The news is over all channels.” He said and left.

A girl of 25, white scooty, her society… oh, so that’s why Pravin came rushing over, leaving his important meeting.

That was the precise moment, she fell in love with him. He was like that, not good with words, maybe to the extent of weirdness, but then wasn’t she weird in her own ways? And she remembered her friend’s words. Words are sometimes meaningless. I wished he was faithful rather than romantic. A man like Pravin. She knew “I love you” was not a statement she was going to hear often, she would miss all the surprises and long chats. But then she would be protected, cared for and of course loved.

And precisely 9 months after her engagement Komal got married to the stranger, oh sorry the person she loved, her soulmate.

‘This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’

5 Benefits of Getting Older

Looking at an old photo makes you sad? The slight wrinkles burying the youthful skin wasn’t a friend then. The glint in those dark eyes isn’t a friend now. Time does that to us. But getting old isn’t that bad. It comes down with its own happiness package.

Starting from middle age this package starts becoming lucrative with each passing year. I have listed down just a few of the endless benefits that comes down with getting older.

1)            Expectations are tamed down

I think as we age we make peace with reality. Youth is loaded with energy, dreams, ambitions. But a crushing weight of unrealistic expectations stresses it out. Expectations, from everyone and everything. And as the famous saying goes “expectations reduce joy”. It really does. And as the expectations are crushed brutally under realism we are forced to shed the layers of expectation with passing time. Though some expectations still hold us tight but they are much more realistic. 

2)            Realizing what really matters

I wanted a lot of things from life. The most important was to secure 100% in every relationship. I wanted everyone to be happy with me. And that made me most unhappy. The point is not that it was impossible, the point is that it wasn’t important. As time passed, I realized what really matters in life. And it is a huge relief.

3)            Getting comfortable in our own skin

I believe change is toughest to accept at the onset, and as the journey progress it becomes acceptable. I have never seen my mother fretting over getting old. She has other issues to deal with, like dreams of her children, her grandchildren’s health and other things, but the wrinkles on her face or the age spots no more bothers her. I am yet to meet an elderly person who is worried about being fat, short, dark or lacking a grand personality. Isn’t it great? Free from the burden of looking great all the time. Well this is something that comes late in life. I have yet to travel long to reach there.

4)            Little issues don’t bother anymore

Sometimes when I look back I am surprised at the things that fretted me out. They were numerous. I used to frown at things I now just laugh at because life threw bigger challenges. But then I realized time breaks us and then it only mends us. This too shall pass – this is the first thought to pass my mind when I am upset.

5)            Finally, some me-time

Everyone is talking about having me time. How does one get it with little toddler demanding all your time and energy? But by the time we reach middle age kids have passed the toddler stage. Though the responsibilities and tensions don’t end here but at least the nappy changing times and a kid-totally-dependent-on-me stage have passed. And finally, the me-time starts sounding real. What a relief!

These are just a few of the endless benefits of getting older. I would love to hear a few more from you. Till then cheers for every passing day making us wiser (Another Famous saying says – Age doesn’t bring wisdom always. Sometimes age comes alone.” I am in no mood to prove it true 😊)