Chennai to Bangalore: My Journey with a girl........

Disclaimer:

The blog written below is a pure work of fiction. Any resemblance to those living or dead is purely coincidental. The incident shared in the blog is collated from various experiences of the author while travelling to different places and fictionalized with imaginary happenings over certain real incidents that happened over a period of time. 

Chennai to Bangalore: My Journey with a girl…….    

Genre: Comedy                                                                               A Short story by Karthik.

It was a hot Sunday afternoon. I was accompanied by my male friends (My misfortune!!)   to Koyembedu  bus stand, Chennai for my onward journey to Bangalore. We were three in number and our conversation swung towards girls in our lives as well as our school/college mate’s lives.           Fact No:1 (Whenever two or more friends of the same gender meet after a long time, there is 99% probability that the conversation will maneuver towards the opposite gender and there is still higher probability that the discussion will be of love stories and affairs between our school /college/office friends.). I had booked my ticket in KSRTC Multi axle Volvo bus and    we have reached the bus stand more than an hour in advance and had enough time to poke upon love stories. Varun, the most talkative person in our group started the conversation by live reporting the status updates from our friends. Everyone paid minute attention to the conversation as if a company’s board meeting was going on:

Varun: Hey guys, did you know Sathish and Rakshita got  married last month. They loved mutually since school days and after facing many hardships along the way and finally with their parents consent they got married.

Karthik: Hey Varun, It’s unbelievable da. I had never seen them uttering a word during school days and no one had a trace of evidence that they were in love. They were also from different states. How they fell in love da?

Varun:  You see Karthik. The power of love works wonders. You have to experience it to understand how it works.

Balaji : Hey you know what happened to the love of prasanth  and shravanthi? Shravanthi refused his proposal and Prasanth is still unable to cope up with the feelings and emotions and he is very much depressed nowadays.

Karthik: OMG! Prasanth loves her since Std Six from our school days to till date but shravanthi is not responding to his love request. I can’t understand the subject: girls and love. In one case, love overcomes all obstacles to end in marriage and in another case; Love fails to enter the first stage i.e other person’s heart even after several attempts. (It’s a very complex subject. I bet anyone to do a Ph.d successfully in the subjects of understanding a girl’s feelings and how love works differently for different sets of people. No one can ever do it.)

Varun: The power of love works wonders but with one condition. It has to exist mutually between the parties involved. Then only the feelings & emotions of love will be reciprocated by the other person. It’s all about feelings and chemical reactions happening inside the brains of both the persons.

“Karthik, you start loving a girl. You will understand everything about how love, emotions, feelings & chemical reactions work? Have you ever loved any one till date?” Varun asked.

Karthik: The concept of chemical reactions was so fuzzy for me to understand. How without a person’s knowledge these reactions takes place yaar?..Nope. You all know that I was a studious boy during college days. I never had time to fell in love with a girl.

Varun: Poor chap, There is still time. You go, search a suitable girl and fell in love. The fact that you have a steady job in hand will work to your advantage.

Karthik: No da. Varun,  “ Can we decide whom to fall in Love. We can’t go in search of love. It won’t last. It should happen on its own accord. It has to hit us…. make us topsy -turvy. It has to be with us. That is true love.  “  ( In the film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya (VTV).  Young super star Simbu has told.

Varun: Dey . In the film VTV, Director Gautam menon was with Simbu da.. That has given the confidence for him to utter such things. If you go by the principle that Love will happen on its own accord. Then you may have to wait till old age. Mind it.

Karthik: It’s true that I don’t have director  Gautam menon with me but I have the helping hand of true friends like you..

Varun: Karthik, You have touched our hearts da. We will help you to fall in love with a girl da.. Don’t worry. Just act as per our advice.

Karthik: I am really fortunate to have friends like you. I believe that you people won’t land me up behind bars.

Balaji kidded, “karthik, Do you still believe Varun? I feel pity for you…”  

(Meanwhile the KSRTC Multi axle Volvo bus has just landed in platform no : 3 with thirty minutes for departure.) I waited for the crowd to disperse inside the bus. I am allergic to crowds. I can’t understand the logic behind many people getting inside the bus in a sense of urgency immediately after the bus has arrived. Given the fact that their seats have been confirmed. Then why the hell they run mad into the bus just like having a glimpse of a famous film actor. I think in India, it has become a habit. The scene resembled cows running madly after seeing fodder from a distance..(Funny Sight!)

After ten minutes, I went inside the bus freely. Varun and Balaji accompanied me.

What is your seat number? Karthik, “Varun asked.  “Seat No : 11”, I said.

I landed myself comfortably on the aisle seat. Window seat next to me was left unoccupied. Everyone loves to be seated in the window seat for the reason that it will provide nice scenery and you can observe the happenings of the world at a distance. Often the sceneries we come across while travelling in a bus or train invokes our thought process and leads to a pleasant state of mind.              I wondered who will occupy that seat this time.  Suddenly a good looking girl in twenties (it seems) came in front of me and started a conversation.

“Excuse me, Is it seat no:10, Can you please make way for me? . I have to get inside.” She said

“Yes. Of course. “ I said. She placed her luggage on the top and landed comfortably on the window seat.  She was perspirating at that time. I thought that she came in a hurry to catch the bus.

I never expected this to happen. I took my seat.  On my previous occasions when I am seated next to a girl, always some guy will turn up from no where and say that    I am her boyfriend. Can you please exchange your seat so that we can sit together? But this time, it didn’t happen. With hardly five minutes for the bus departure, Varun and Balaji asked me to come outside the bus to have a discussion.

“Hey karthik, you are so lucky to have a good looking girl besides you.”, “Happy journey”. Balaji said

“Even the girl is not married da. So befriend her and start a conversation and enjoy your journey”, Varun said.

Hey Varun, How do you know that the girl is not married?

Varun said, “ I observed that she is not wearing Mangalsutra and engagement ring on her fingers.”

(Fact No: 2: It will take less than a minute for a boy to scan a girl for the first time and make interpretations in mind.)

“Varun, If you had shown these analytical and interpretation skills in your job, then you should have got promoted much earlier.” I said.

“Thanks for the compliment”, Varun said (with a sense of pride in his voice as if he had cracked a tough CAT maths question successfully).

Karthik,” Don’t be shy. Just start the conversations by saying, I wish you a happy journey. May I know where you are working? Just start like that and see her response and take the conversation forward. This is a golden opportunity. Don’t mess it up.” Varun said.

Pointing out to tag line (Sleep like a baby) of the KSRTC Volvo bus, Balaji added, “Karthik, Don’t sleep like a baby but romance like a Romeo.”

I said, “You guys had gone crazy to the core.”

Varun and Balaji said, “All the best Karthik” (as if I am going to appear for a job interview.)

The bus is ready for departure. I stepped inside and settled in my seat. The bus started to move.

I gazed at her for a second. She has closed her eyes and started praying. I guessed that she might be praying for a safe accident free journey. I too closed my eyes and prayed for ten seconds. (May be because of that girl’s effect over me.)

I opened my eyes and my mind started  thinking “How to start a conversation with a girl whom I am meeting for the very first time?” I wondered that it would be better if Chetan Bhagat has given some expert tips on this subject in his novels. Normally in tamil films, the hero starts the conversation with an unknown woman by saying this line.       “ I had seen you somewhere.”  I thought to myself, No that would not be apt.  After considering many such proposals, I decided to start the conversation by wishing her happy journey. ( Varun suggested me).

I prepared myself by saying several times “I wish you a very happy journey” in my mind just like a film actor rehearsing several times for a difficult stunt scene in a movie.

When I am about to tell her, my heart stars to beat faster as if I am appearing for my first job interview. (Fact No :3: whenever a boy starts a conversation with a unknown girl for the very first time, his heart will beat faster).

She is sitting in the window seat and is staring on the road outside.

I closed my eyes and had taken deep breadth to calm myself. Suddenly, I heard a sweet voice   which had resemblance to film actress Trisha Krishnan, “Excuse me Gentleman, if you don’t mind, Can you please alight and make way for me? I have to take my bag from the top shelf. Please.”

(My heart starts to beat faster just when I tried to speak). She starts to alight.

I said, “Please be seated. I will take your bag from the top for you.”

“No. I don’t want to give unnecessary burden.” The girl said.

No, “It’s not a burden to help others.” Saying this, I took the bag and gave it to her.

“Nice of you Gentleman, The girl said. “ I reciprocated her with a smile.

I just turned forward to notice many boys sitting on the subsequent rows staring at me just like someone is blowing hot air on their faces.   Their envious look communicated to me that “hey lucky chap, today is your day. Conquer her.” ( Fact No: 4: Whenever a boy starts conversation with a girl, he will always attract envious faces from the male gender.)

My heart returned to its normal state and I grew in confidence that my benevolent act of helping her would have definitely left a good impression of me on her and I can talk to her freely from now onwards.

(She took a book titled “Life is what you make it, written by upcoming author Preeti Shenoy” and a water bottle.)

She zipped her bag and said to me, “Can you please keep my bag in the top shelf? Mr…” (What’s your name?)  “ S.Karthikeyan …. You can call me Karthik..” ,I replied.

I said, “Of course.I will keep it.” So you want to kill time by reading books. It’s a nice practice. I too like to read books. (Who on Earth will refuse when a girl asks for a help from a guy.)

( A sense of deep satisfaction swept over me as if I had accomplished a great deed.)

“May I know your name?” , I asked…. “Aswini” came the reply..

She replied with a smile and prepared to glance through the day’s newspaper.

After going through the various pages in the newspaper, she became visibly upset and murmured something.

I intervened.  I said, “It seems that you are visibly upset over something. If you don’t mine, Can I know the reason?”

“That’s none of your business” came the reply from that girl.

“Sorry for the inconvenience.” I said. (There was no reply from that girl.). May be she was still angry.

(I was a little bit hurt by her comments. Girls were really complex and unpredictable. You never knew how they will behave at different circumstances.  I felt that it was wrong on my part to ask personal question to a stranger.)

I started reading a collection of short stories titled Wise and Otherwise written by Sudha murthy. Sudha Murthy, wife of Mr.Narayan murthy heads the philanthropic wing named Infosys foundation. Narayan murthy and sudha murthy are livng a very simple life style and sudha murthy’s short stories are thought provoking. Their’s love story is also quite interesting. They are an inspiration for many youngsters like me.

Suddenly towards my left side, I saw a woman in forties struggling to adjust the seat. She was pressing the seat in the hope that it will be adjusted. May be it was her first journey it seems. I helped her by adjusting the knobs of the seat and also I helped her to keep her bag on the opposite side of the shelf so that it can be within her eyesight. She kept it on her lap earlier.   I convinced her that it won’t be stolen. She thanked me. (I am getting a sense of relief every time when I help some one in need. I liked it.) Witnessing all these things, Aswini smiled on me. (I didn’t give any reaction. I was afraid of her reaction.)

“Sorry Karthik, I was a bit harsh on you few minutes earlier.”  , Aswini said.

“It’s Ok. Actually it was wrong on my part to ask a personal question to a stranger. Sorry.” I said.

“Not an issue.” She said

(I decided that it was the right time to continue the conversation.)

I said, “Aswini, I presume that you work in an IT company. It’s my guess. Am I correct?”

“Correct man! How come you know?” Aswini asked.

“I know from your looks, gestures and your personality.” I said

“Well Karthik, You appear to be a person reader. I have to be careful with you.” She smiled.

“Well I am not a person reader. I am a bag reader. I read the words ‘Tata Consultancy Services’ inscribed on your bag.” I said.

Amidst laughter, she told, “Great man, what an observation Sir Ji? I can’t control my laughter.”

“May I know the reason why you are visibly upset a few minutes ago?” I asked out of sheer eccentricity.

Aswini said , “Hey it’s about the crimes committed against woman nowadays.. Nowadays reading morning news is just enough to upset you and change your mood. Every day you get stories like “Man kills pregnant lover, Twenty two years old girl raped. Some X commits suicide…Y murders Z..etc. It’s pity that in India, still women are not safe.  I don’t know how many years we have to wait for this country to become a safe haven for women. Often we were at the receiving end for all atrocities and crime committed out of sexual desires by male gender. Often many men treat women as a lesser mortal created by God to satisfy the needs and fantasies of men. Even the media is portraying women as objects of sex.   Nowadays even the highly educated persons of society are also behaving like this.  We women deserve a lot better than our present entitlement. We can’t suffer this much. (Tears rolled down from her eyes.) She started speaking slowly as she spotted many glaring eyes around us.  I am not against male gender and a particular community.”  ( After a five second pause)

She continued, “Even in our female gender, there are many dreadful elements (mostly in *******and ***industry) who are further responsible for degrading womanhood. But men outnumber women in committing heinous crimes.  If men might have behaved in a responsible manner by respecting woman hood, we would have been in a much better position as of now.” “How can men commit crimes to a gender which is responsible for his birth in this world? ( Citing Motherhood). ( She finished with tears in her eyes.) . I am sorry if it hurts the male gender. It is bitter truth. I have to tell.”

Her outbursts made me to think of a saying in Sanskrit that “God exists where women is respected.”   I consoled her and made her wipe tears. Her tears amply demonstrated how much she was deeply affected by the happenings around her. People around stared at us with a puzzled look wondering what went wrong between us?.     (Fact No:5: A women can’t store emotions at her heart for a long time. A women expresses her emotions spontaneously through tears). I wondered how a girl was able to change her emotions from smiles to tears in a matter of a few minutes. Understanding girls was really a very complex subject it seems.

I said “Everything will come to an end sooner or latter. Bad deeds can’t happen for a long time. In the cycle of mankind, good deeds will definitely emerge and replace evil deeds. If a man/woman knows his real nature and purpose of life, then he / she won’t commit heinous crimes out of sheer ignorance. They cannot wander away aimlessly for such a long time by committing crimes against fellow human beings. A day will come when they understand the value of true education and the sheer stupidity of their actions. “

 I added further, “Man making education is the need of the hour. One of the reasons for the misery of women in rural areas is the lack of quality education, which in turn leads to a lack of freedom and if she is not economically independent, her life is difficult. But for the change to happen, we have to start a mass movement of education to wipeout ignorance from the minds of people which is the prima facia reason for all evils in our country. Every action is accomplished as a thought during initial stages in human mind and then it is executed as action/deeds. If care is taken through imparting quality education to teach the man kind to reflect upon one’s thoughts and its outcome and if good thoughts are implanted in the minds, then definitely the outcome will be good actions/ deeds. For this change to occur, we have to conduct additional workshops for the children of our country in schools to impart moral and ethical values to make them behave as responsible citizens in the future. It is only possible by self help groups and through CSR’s wing of corporate giants. It’s everyone’s responsibility to make this country a safe haven for all. We have to initiate steps to contain the rate of deterioration of core human, ethical & moral values.”

Aswini said, “Yes Karthik. You have a valid point. Once I return to my company, I will inform our company’s Corporate Social Responsibility wing to conduct workshop to educate the rural masses and special training programs to educate our children about the importance of moral, ethical values & good character. At least we can do something for our future generations by making India a safe haven for women. I will initiate the change.”

“Nice of you Aswini, I will support your initiative.” I said

(At last my lecture works out to bring in a change in her mood. She is somewhat in a better mood now.   I hope to divert the topic to calm down her further).

Hey Aswini, May I expect a small favor from you? I am aspiring to be a writer in the near future.         I have started by writing blogs of different genre. Here’s my collection of blogs. I have already collected enough feedback from my friends and the persons I know. Now I want to get feedback from a neutral person whom I don’t know. This will help me to know where I stand among the emerging writers.

“Of course Mr.Karthik, Let me read your collections and revert back.” She said.

Ok Karthik, I am going to read your blogs and will tell my observations/feedback when I am finished.

“Aswini, you first read my short love story titled The Healing Touch.” I said.

She started to read. (For the very first time, I observed different emotions on her face while reading my blog.) It was a nice experience for me.  Fifteen minutes have passed by.

Meanwhile the bus has reached the outskirts of Hosur. The bus stopped around 7.30 PM at one of the highway restaurants for dinner. We sat across each other in a table. We had Idly and dosa for our dinner. When I paid the bill after dinner, she promptly gave her share of the money to me even after my refusal to accept money from her.  She went to the nearby shop. I accompanied her.

“Five diary milk please.” She asked the shop keeper.

Karthik, “One for you, one for mine, Three for my brother ,father and mother.”She said in a childish tone.

“Why diary milk? Any special occasion?”, I asked.

She kidded, “My mother used to say before starting any good deed, we should start with sweet.”

What good deed? I asked with a puzzled look on my face.

From now onwards, we are going to become good friends naa. You are my BF ( Bus Friend) not boy friend. To tell in facebook style, Aswini wishes to be your friend for all seasons. Accept or Reject. Which button will you press, Karthik. she told with a hint of shyness in her face. ( Her tone and childish manner had resemblances to film actress Genelia D Souza in the telegu film Bommarillu.)

“Accept button”, I said.

“Nice, so we are friends now.” Aswini said.

The driver blew horn to give signal that the bus was ready for departure. We got into our respective seats.    So Aswini, how do you like my story : The Healing Touch?

“Nice Story. I liked the way you portrayed the character Roshini and her matured way of handling things. Not all love stories are destined to end in marriages. Some end in marriages. Some end in friendship. I liked the message you portrayed that one have to accept the reality and move ahead in life just like Krish did. Love is always beautiful whether it ends in marriages or not.  But you have not portrayed the feelings of Roshini after her departure with Krish.  Girls too have feelings & emotions Mr. Karthik- The Writer.” She said.

( With Smile on my face) “Great observation Aswini . No one has pointed out this flaw till date. I agree with you Aswini.  As a guy, I know the feelings of fellow men but I have never got an opportunity till date to know completely the feelings and emotions of a girl in Love.” I said.

“Simple. A girl will know the feelings & emotions of a girl better than a guy. I suggest you to read the works of great writers like Chetan Bhagat. Have you read Chetan Bhagat’s Two states: The story of my marriage. You can understand the feelings and emotions of a girl in Love better from that story or from some of your real life experiences or from your friend’s love experiences. I believe that your story         ‘The Healing Touch’ is inspired from one such experiences.” Is it? Aswini asked.

I said, “Aswini, You are correct to a certain extent. As a writer, when you perceive a concept, then your mind sees the concepts from the light of your own experiences, your encounters with different characters in life and also from the real life incidents of your close friends. Finally the concept itself gets refined & comes out in a certain way from the incidents which made you to feel during certain stages of your life. You can very well understand this when you pen up a story.”

“Nice explanation. You see Karthik, after reading your story, I too like to pen up my story inspired from my own life and my friends’ lives...Suddenly something inside me is urging me to write stories.     I usually paint artistic images as a part time hobby.”Aswini said.

I said, “You see Aswini, there is not so much difference between a painter and writer. A writer expresses his inner feelings and thoughts through words and a painter expresses through images. Both require imagination, patience and perseverance.     All the best for your writing.”

Aswini said, “ Thanks Karthik. Of course, I need your help and suggestions during the course of my story narration and screenplay.”

 “Of course. I will help you but I am not an established writer. I am also a beginner and learning to write stories. First you choose a topic, Genre & narration style. Then prepare a rough draft containing the gist of the story. Then prepare scene wise narration with timelines and finally elaborate every scene with dialogues. If you wish, you can write the dialogues separately and then you can add it in your story. As simple as it gets. That’s all for now. You start writing your story. If you happen to come across any doubts while writing your story, feel free to discuss with me. All the best.” I said.

“Thanks a lot Karthik..So nice of you to share this valuable information. You see One day, I will also give competition to you as an aspiring writer.Mr.Karthik.” Aswini said.

 “Of course Aswini . I love to have healthy competition.  You read my remaining blogs and give me a feedback.” I said.

“Ok. I need a week’s time to contemplate over your stories and your style of writing. I will post my feedback on your blog address. .If possible we can meet at Iskon Temple coming Sunday along with my friends. I want to introduce you to my friends. Are you free? Karthik.”

“Nice. Well I have to make my selves free this Sunday… Agreed… We shall meet at Iskon Temple.”

“Hey.. This is too much. You are showing as if you are a very busy man.” Aswini said.

“I am a little bit busy with official commitments since I work as a Project Engineer- Construction in a leading Engineering consulting organization. I am used to roam a lot from Karnataka to Maharashtra many times for our project.” I said.

“Hmmm  Hectic schedule…Karthik..You better look for a job in design or engineering and settle in chennai or Bangalore or Hyderabad to spend quality time for your writing ventures..”  She said.

“It’s better said than done. I am trying. If it works, I will shift over there. If it doesn’t, I have a back up plan. Probably in next year, I will be publishing my first book: A collection of twenty short stories of different Genre. I am aspiring to be a writer in the near future.                  

                                                                      

I feel that I am alive when I am writing.                                                                                                                      I get the same amount of happiness while writing my stories that Sachin Tendulkar gets while playing cricket and A R Rahman gets while composing music. Writing is my passion.  I will see the response among the public for my stories. I have lot of stories to tell to everyone. I want to write more stuff. Then slowly, I will set my sights on becoming a full time writer.” I said

Aswini said,  “ All the best for your endeavors. You can make it big. It’s a matter of belief and hard work combined with sheer determination and will power to succeed against all the odds.”

Thanks Aswini, I need your permission to pen up this bus incident as a short story. It will help me to improve my writing skills.

“Permission granted.” How long will you stay here at Bangalore?,  Aswini asked.

“I will stay here for about two weeks.”  I said. ( Aswini smiled) (After a couple of minutes of silence.)

Aswini said, “I am normally a shy person and I have never talked to any stranger like the way I did with you. I never became friends with anyone in such a short span of time. It was a memorable journey and I am fortunate enough to find a friend like you. I cherish this journey.”

I said, “ Thanks Aswini. In the Journey of life, it is quite strange that sometimes we encounter a person with certain character and personalities in sync with our character and personalities and suddenly our mind develops a special liking as if we had known the person through ages from our previous births. You are one such girl it seems.  We became friends immediately as if we had known each other previously. I felt that it was as if we were destined to meet each other in this birth. It was never like meeting a stranger and having a conversation. We exchanged our views, shared our successes, failures, setbacks, hardships of life with open mind and familiarity just like two close well knit friends who knew each other for many years sharing their life experiences.”

Aswini said, “ I agree with you completely. It’s because of destiny, we have become good friends.        I hope that we will remain as good friends till our life time.”

I said, “ Why this life time only? Even in next birth, we can remain as good friends.”

“Sure Karthik”, she said (with a big smile & shyness on her face). Meanwhile the bus has reached Bangalore. She was about to get down at Shanthi Colony where her brother was waiting to pick her up. Her stop was about to come. I took her bag from the top shelf.

Thanks Karthik. She kept the book : Life is what you make it : inside and told me…Karthik, “I have not read single line of this book but I enjoyed the journey with you. I will never forget. Soon you pen up our journey as a short story and send it to me.”

Nice of you. Aswini. The title for the short story: Chennai to Bangalore… My Journey with a girl… How is it? 

Great title. I like it very much . I am eagerly waiting for the story to turn up. Meet you at Iskon Temple coming Sunday, saying this she alighted since her stop had come and gave a firm handshake to me with a pleasant smile on her face.

We both exchanged our visiting cards and promised to stay in touch.

We both waved good bye to each other. Aswini had gone out from the bus as of now but the fragrance of good friendship still remained in my heart for a very long time. It aroused a special feeling inside my heart which cannot be explained through words.

It was one of my most cherished and remembered journeys till date.

****************************  A Short Story by Karthik********************************

Dedicated to all my friends…….. Happy Reading & Smiling.

Mail in your suggestions and valuable feedback to karthikthewriter@yahoo.co.in

With Lots of Love,

Karthik.

The Healing Touch..... (Revised as per readers comments)

The Healing Touch.....     

A Short story by Karthik

(Narrated by the Lead Character Krish (First Person Point of View)

The Long wait was over. It was a special sunday for me since I was going to meet my fiance for the first time to know about her. Earlier my parents have already met her along with her family. It was an arranged marriage.

I have decided after a long thought to disclose an important secret about my first Love during my college days.The Venue was NIT Trichy... The lush green campus where I started my college life.   The verdant activity filled campus where I fell in Love for the very first time. The thought about NIT Trichy brings about ever green, ever lasting memories which when I rewind in my mind brings about never ending happiness & peace .It was a special feeling for me.

I waited at the campus gardens with a photograph of her in my hand. I decided to make a call to her..

(Phone Rings)

Hello Harshita  ...Krish here...Have you reached NIT Trichy Campus?.

Krish, Almost reached.. I will be there in a couple of minutes.

Ok I am waiting there at the Campus Gardens of the University.I am wearing sky blue shirt with white stripes and black pant. Also I am having the novel “Two States by Chetan Bhagat” in my hand..

Ok ...Krish...see you there...

( Suddenly I spotted a girl in Green chudi coming towards me....) I verified with the photograph in my hand)

Harshita....Am I correct...

Ya Krish....How are you doing?

Doing great. I must admit that you look more beautiful in person than in photo Harshita.

Is it? Krish. Thanks for your compliment. Tell me about yourself?

Fine, I am a simple person who expects much from life, but in reality, I often struggle to cope up with the expectations.

Ok Krish, what are your expectations about me?

Harshita, I expect you to be a good companion for me in my success & failures, a kind daughter in law to my parents.I can't rule out the possibility of any difference of opinion between us in the near future but you should take the initiative to bridge out the differences through harmonious ways. you should be transparent enough and if you don't like some of my behaviors and actions, you should feel free to talk to me in the beginning itself. At last I expect you to be a good lifetime friend.

Krish...Are you finished? Shall I expect the same from you?

Of course Harshita....I promise that I will be a good companion for you.

Ok Krish Let’s see

Harshita , “Tell me about your college life?” ,Krish asked

Nothing much to tell, I am an adventurous girl with fun loving attitude. I use to move freely with my friends.

Many guys proposed me but, I rejected their offer. I made them realize that their love was a mere crush and infatuation .I was even blackmailed by a guy to love him. Thank God, with the help of my friends & brother, I got away from him unscathed. I cherish some of the moments in my college life. I love to be around my friends, playing little pranks, tricks but I never truly fell in love with a guy in the context of marriage.

That’s all from me .Now Krish, you tell me about your college life?

I have a lot of things to share with you about my college life at NIT Trichy and my first Love. (Krish told)

Really First love!!!!! Sounds interesting..Tell me about it.... (Harshita said)

(Flash back)

I had never anticipated that my first day at college would be that much fascinating. A group of seniors ragged me and I was assigned by them to rag first year girls.

Posing as a second year student along with our seniors, I ragged one of the first year girls named Roshini and ordered her to bring a sweet box to college the next day. The most embarrassing moment came when I met her in our class after an hour of the ragging session. I confronted her and told that actually the seniors ragged me and made me to rag you and I asked sorry for that. She left the place without uttering anything. I felt really sad for the incident.

Then Prof Mr. Ramesh entered the class and introduced himself briefly before commencing the orientation session.  He took ourselves to the library and made ourselves to introduce ourselves in a way which we never imagined. We have been divided into groups and made to roam across the different shelves and everyone including guys and girls has to gather information about each other in the group including their name, hobbies, interests and future ambition in life and note it down on their diaries. Later Mr Ramesh will ask every one of us to introduce the other person randomly. In one of my turns, I met Roshini. I got an opportunity to apologize for that ragging incident.

Hii.. myself Krish..your name is Roshini ..I am sorry for that incident. Could you now please speak to me?

It's Ok. I understood your situation. What are your hobbies and interests Krish...

Well, I want to become a successful mechanical engineer for the first five years and then an entrepreneur.  (Roshini noted down on the details on her notebook)

What about yours Roshini?

I want to pursue higher education, & pursue doctorate and then to become a Research Scientist.

“Great Plan...All the very best.” Said Krish.

In a matter of few weeks, after a few meetings at college lawns & canteens, we become good friends.

We began to meet together during lunch breaks and free periods at Library. Slowly I began liking her.

My heart felt for her absence when she was not around me. My friends told me that it was Love. Whatever be the case, I just loved to be in her company. I like her way of speaking, smile and her actions. Just I was spellbound by her woman hood. Even she made me to unveil the poet in my selves.

Oh my Love! You are a shining star that the heaven has never seen.

              You are a precious pearl that the ocean has never seen.

              You are an ever fresh fragrance that no one in the world has ever experienced.

              You are a cool color that even the rainbow has never seen.

              Your smile is mesmerizing to dissolve my day to day worries in my mind. Oh my Love!                  

Oh my Love: You are a matchless friend to me & I am blessed to have you on my side.   Oh my Love!

I have sent this message via SMS and she super- liked it and complimented me with some touching message about Love. I read her SMS several times and it aroused a special feeling in my heart. Roshini has a mole on her cheek. During an occasion, I just kidded that she got the mole by default to safeguard her from the evil eye & wickedness of people just like a caring mother applying a black mark on the cheek of a new born baby to safeguard from the evil eye of people. On hearing this , Roshini burst into laughter yelling me not to kid her. 

             

Then the semester exams came. We began to meet often during combine studies at Library and class rooms. During one such combine session, I completely lost myself for a couple of minutes by the gentle fragrance emanating from her shampooed hair combined with the scent of fresh jasmine flowers. She interrupted me by asking a doubt. I somehow managed to clear her doubt.

Over the next few months, I got ample opportunities to meet her. Our friendship grew into a special kind of bonding between us. We loved to be in the presence of each other’s company. On many occasions, we exchanged our lunch boxes and often shared our food. I used to ask my Mummy to cook the food she likes. Often my Mummy wondered how I developed sudden fondness to such foods.   

Then came the Pre-final semester and everyone was busy with Final year project & campus placements.

Roshini made her intentions of higher studies clear as she decided not to attend many on campus interviews as lucrative offers may change her mind. She attended a few interviews with a free mind with no expectations and came off with flying colors on many occasions; she assisted the activities of the Placement cell and often dispersed the tension of interview goers with her cool attitude. The fact that she had no additional burden & expectations since she had opted for higher studies worked well to her advantage and she influenced many guys and gals with her attitude and made their fear of interview dissolve into the air. I liked her service motto very much and joined her in helping other students. I still remember the days in which we jointly assisted our Juniors with resources and lectures.

During the days of our Final Sem, I can’t forget the Matlab & Labview Software incident. Roshini’s final year’s project demanded expertise in these softwares. I never knew a single bit of coding about these softwares but I pretended as an expert to get an opportunity to teach her and to move closer to her heart.

Just I have asked her three days time since I was busy with my Final Year Project. But the actual fact was that I need time to learn these softwares. I troubled one of my close friends to teach these softwares. After much difficulty, I managed to learn a few steps about how to operate on those softwares.

For the very first time, I invited Roshini to my house in the pretext of teaching her those softwares. She agreed readily. I took her to my house. I introduced her to my mother. She had a brief conversation with my mother and after that she entered my room. My entire room was filled with her fragrance. I taught her how to work on those softwares. Then the most unexpected moment came, her eyes spoke the language of Love. For a moment, her left hand gently caressed my right hand with her fingers. Accidently it happened and she withdrew her hand at once. Then at one occasion, I told her that if she continues to commit the same mistake on the programming, she will get a nice beating from me? Roshini laughed and told that she wanted to experience “how nice beating would be?.”  I gently slapped lightly on her cheek once and she responded by a gentle pat on my cheek. We both thoroughly enjoyed those fun moments.

While leaving, she expressed her thanks and gave me a firm handshake. I loved those special moments and went to a dream state and it took several hours for me to recover. I kept on recollecting those special moments and the conversations several times and shared with my close friends. I really cherished those moments.

Then during one of our routine long stays at University library for Final Year project, around 8 PM, her vehicle got repaired and she had no option other than coming with me in my bike during that night. I just can’t believe my eyes.

For the very first time, a girl sat on the back seat of my bike where usually my friends accompany me. I drove very slowly and enjoyed every moments of her company.

Is it a dream or reality?  How nice is the feeling when your loved one accompanies you in the bike.    I am at loss of words to express that special feeling in my heart.

(Harshita interrupts me)

Harshita asked, So Krish Did you propose your love to Roshini at least once?

Harshita, No.. Not even once, actually all our incidents from college life stood testimony to the fact that we loved each other mutually. There was no need to propose to her but the query to be clarified is that whether Roshini will accept me as life partner or not, considering the intricate circumstances which I will explain shortly. Till Pre Final Sem, we both believed that our Love will end in marriage. Her SMS’es stands proof to this fact.  But after Pre final sem, our mutual wish of marrying each other suffered a serious setback since we began to march ahead in our respective career paths. Then the most awaited moment came, I got an offer from General Electric, Baroda, Gujarat. My heart was filled with both happiness and sadness. Happy that I got an offer from a premier multinational firm. Sad that I have to depart from Roshini since she wants to pursue her M.E from NIT Trichy itself. She already had the required scores from GATE  Exam to support her cause.

I had a feel of her parent’s wish during one of my SMS conversation with her. I have asked her an interesting question requesting her honest opinion.

The Question is whether she will opt for arranged marriage or Love marriage? Justify your decision.

She replied that as per her present scenario, she may be forced to accept for arranged marriage (her parent’s choice) since her parents want her to get married within the same community and also from the same place:-Trichy. They are very much conservative and possessive about mine being their only daughter. She added that it will be very difficult to convince her parents in case of a Love marriage if the guy was from a different community since their family has a set of beliefs which they don’t want to get away with it. At that stage grave realities of Life struck me. Things were pretty clear that my Love won’t end in marriage. But my heart was not accepting the reality. What to do with my heart?

Even though it is pretty evident that she won’t be in a position to marry me, still my heart won’t accept that decision. I am still looking for a miracle & turn around in our relationship. If she accepts the proposal of marrying me, either I have to drop the prospects of going to baroda for my first job or we have to live separately after marriage since she wants to pursue M.E & Ph.d ( Research Internship) at NIT Trichy. I cursed my fate and it was very difficult for me to embrace the grave realities of life.

I wondered what her state of mind would be. After being in love with me for the past three years, how could she move away from me? How her heart would accept this reality? All this questions hovered over my mind. I sensed an opportunity to get this confusion cleared off the air during my send off to baroda at Trichy Railway Station. I decided to ask her directly, What were the circumstances that forced her to take the decision of arranged marriage and what was the state of her mind after taking that decision? Didn’t she felt the pain of her love with me not ending in marriage?

(Krish & Roshini along with Ravi reaches the Railway station.)

Roshini: So Krish, You are leaving us now? How are you feeling now?

Krish: No words to explain my feeling of loneliness and despair. I am going to miss you people but I take forward those fun filled moments of our college life and will take refuge into those moments during depressed times.

Roshini: College life is abuzz with creativity, fear less attitude, humor filled moments, love stories, crush, youthfulness, freedom to pursue our interests. Those days will never ever come back. College life is a phase in our life and it has to come to an end for the next phase to start with. Like every one, I wish to have a college life that never ends .Now the end seems to have come. 

Krish & Ravi, we have to accept & acknowledge the end of our college days and move ahead in life for future commitments with the help of lessons about life learned from our ever green college days.

Ravi: I must admit that the future is not going to be a cakewalk for us. We should equip ourselves to face testing times with perseverance and positive attitude.

Krish: What about our Love relationship? How would you come in terms of our Love not ending in marriage? Roshini

Roshini:Krish,It was a very difficult call. It will take more time for us to assimilate the sadness of our love not ending in marriage.  I agreed for my arranged marriage at the cost of my wishes. I don’t have any other option. What can I do about my fate? (Roshini in tears.)

Roshini : I was not happy by the way circumstances had turned out for me. It was very difficult for me to digest that the circumstances doomed my marriage plans with you krish.

I had a special liking for you. Initially I wished to have you as my life partner but circumstances forced me to change my decision. Now, You got a nice opportunity to work with a leading multinational to fine tune your inter-personal & technical skills. The exposure of that multinational firm will equip you for future entrepreneurship ventures. Considering my family background, parent’s wishes & my career ambitions, it’s not possible for me to have you as my life partner in this birth. It will spoil the interest of both the parties. I hope that you will be mature enough to accept the reality, Krish

Roshini added ,” College Life combined with youthful exuberance gives us the freedom to expect many things about our life. It’s not a mistake to expect many things in life. But sometimes, the odds are high enough that expectations doesn’t matches reality.

Of course, we can take efforts to bridge out the differences between reality & expectations, but for that we have to lose more for that like going against parent’s wishes, our career ambitions…etc.

I love my parents so much that I can’t go against their genuine wishes. According to their ability, my parents have chosen a best match for me. They have fulfilled my every wish till date and they are the only reason why I am here at a leading premier institute to pursue my dreams. Now it’s my turn to fulfill their wish. I can’t go against their wishes and even if I did go against their wishes,   I am damn sure that my parents won’t accept my choice of yours as my life partner considering your family background, community & the choice of your workplace. They won’t be happy with my decision of marrying you. I can’t be happy if my parents were unhappy.

Also, You want to pursue MBA to become a successful entrepreneur & I want to pursue M.Tech & Ph.d and become a Research Scientist. Even if I have to marry you, either I or you have to sacrifice our career ambitions.

After coming this far, I don’t want both my selves & you to give up in the middle for the sake of marrying me. It won’t be appropriate & wise enough and both our parents will never be happy at the sight of their kid sacrificing their career ambitions for the sake of love marriage.

Also, you need to remain bachelor for at least three or four years to pursue his career ambitions. You are just going to start your career. You need time to settle down before marrying. You know family pressures will be more after marriage. Also I can’t wait that much time considering my family situation & my parents wish.

I don’t want to give suffering to my parents. I hope you will be mature enough to accept the reality. It will be a very difficult choice for both of us. I have taken this decision after giving much consideration to all eventualities.

Roshini said, Krish from my score, I am confident that I will get admission to ME Program at NIT-Trichy itself. I want to pursue my higher education and doctorate from there to become a Research Scientist.

My parents have shortlisted one Groom for me. The Groom works at BHEL –Trichy. Groom’s father & my father were office colleagues. I will be married within six months time.

My parents want me to live in their vicinity and being elder daughter, I have to take care of my parents at their old age and to fulfill their wishes. I agreed for the same.

I have taken this decision for the welfare of both you and me,Krish. I hope we both will remain friends forever. (Roshini & Krish are in tears now.) .May be in the next birth, we shall be blessed enough to have each other as Life partner.

Roshini said, “We should get over these emotions as soon as possible to surge ahead in our respective paths both in personal and professional lives. We have to find happiness in what we get in life. I wish you to find a suitable life partner soon and settle in life. Do inform your life partner about our College Love and if possible, bring her to our college and introduce with me. Do not hide anything with your life partner. I will also do the same, Krish.”

We departed with our hearts filled with sadness and lots of emotions. Ravi consoled both of us from uncontrollable tears.

It was very difficult for me to recover from the glumness of our departure and at the same time I felt depressed a lot frequently.

I have reached the company’s Guest House at Baroda and began to feel lonely, depressed at a new place.

For a change, I visited Sri Ramakrishna Math for inner peace and there I happen to learn a lot about Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda’s words have given me the much needed courage and wisdom to accept the realities of life. There I came to know about a child welfare foundation:-The Math supports.  I began visiting the Child welfare foundation whenever I got free time.

During one such visit, one of the volunteers informed the children that I support their initiative for their basic rights and education.  I was bowled over by the unconditional Love showered by the children. They treated me like a celebrity and they loved to be in my company. One of the children came from my behind and closed my eyes.

Krish: Whose this?

Child: Krish uncle you identify myself from my voice.

Krish : (Knowing that it was priya, Krish pretends that he doesn’t know her to play a prank on her).. Is it Vaishnavi, aishwarya,Rossy,shweta,nithya…etc….

Child: No, Krish uncle. This is not fair..You won’t recognize me from my voice.

Krish: Priya Don’t get angry. I just playing a prank on you dear..Now you close your eyes. I will give you a gift dear.

Priya: What Gift Krish uncle? ( I just handed her a Diary milk chocolate & Ice cream)

Priya: Ohh…(Smiles)… Thanks Krish uncle.. All of a sudden, she kissed on my cheek to express her love.

I got a special feeling like torrential rains drowning my heart. I got to experience true divine love that comes from sharing our resources with the needy people.

How true the saying is: You experience true love in giving and not in taking. Just like Nature which gives sunshine & rains unconditional to everyone, we should give unconditional support, love, help to these children of God. Whatever you give to them, it comes back to you multiplied. I started giving them unconditional Love & support and experienced the true love & affection of those children. All my depression about my first Love disappeared in the wind.

Days passed by…….. It was a pleasant Sunday, When I was finished with the routines of the day,  Roshini called me… (I picked up the call). Krish..Roshini here..How are you? Howz life? Howz job?

I am fine.My job is going on well. How about your studies Roshini? When are you getting married?

Krish… I am fine..My studies are going on fine. My marriage is fixed on the month of Jan. I will send you the invitation. You have to attend it..No more excuses plz. 

Definitely Roshini…I will attend it…

I want to thank you specifically for your gracious act of sacrificing our love for the sake of our family well being. I will never ever see a girl like you in my life again.

Thanks Roshini, because of you only, I understood the great philosophy of sacrificing & giving up in Life for mutual benefit. Here I give away my Love for you from my heart to you. (Krish in tears).   You keep it and live peacefully my dear friend. I am sure that I will get back the same Love reciprocated from your side. You are a special friend to me.Take care ..Bye…stay in touch…

“Thanks Krish for understanding me. You pray to God for my future endeavors and married life. I need the prayers and wishes of true friends like you Krish. (Roshini in tears). Stay in touch.”, Roshini said.

“Definitely. I will pray for your well being Roshini.’,Krish said

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Everyone needs a healing touch to recover from the depressed phase of one’s career. The sweet moments I shared with Roshini during college days, her friendship, sacrifice and the unconditional Love sans expectations of the underprivileged children provided me the healing touch to recover from the depressed phase of my life. I am indebted to all of them.

Krish:  Well . That’s all from me about my college life and first Love. Still I am in touch with her. We support & help each other mutually during testing times of our lives.

Harshita: Kudos to Roshini for her attitude & maturity. I hope she is fine now. She has taken the right decision. I liked the openness of your heart in which you explained the incidents of your college life. Everyone wishes that first Love to end in marriages. But only a few are lucky enough. Rest has to contend with the succeeding Love attempts.  Rarely a few will disclose their happenings in their life.  I like your initiative and attitude. It will make me to believe you in your future dealings. I am eager to meet Roshini. Will you please call her? , if she is available in the university campus..                     Any other girl in your life? Krish…

Krish: Thanks dear. I played cautiously after my first love. I never fall in Love with any other girl although I liked many girls at my workspace. Harshita, I hope that you are my succeeding & final Love attempt.

Harshita: Since ours is an arranged marriage, there won’t be many obstacles but we have to transparent with ourselves about our likes, dislikes, expectations, reality, pros & cons of life. We have to work collectively during our good & bad times to bridge out the difference between expectations & reality. We should be ready to sacrifice our own interests for the mutual benefit.

Krish:  I endorse your views. I will play the role of a supportive life partner. Let’s start a new chapter in our lives. Come let’s make a beginning.

Harshita: Sure Krish but Have you chosen me merely because of your parent’s wish. What will happen when you found out that we don’t have many things in common during later stages of life?

Krish: For a relationship to sustain and prosper, you don’t actually need to have many things in common. It’s about understanding the needs and interests of the other person and giving freedom to pursue their own interests with harmony. When we have many things in uncommon, we have more scope to sacrifice , adjust and understand each other and true Love will blossom in such a relationship.           

I have chosen you because our family background, interests, horoscopes match pretty well. Also you appear to be a nice person.

Harshita: Really. You too appear to be a flexible person with a good heart. We shall start to love each other now. Whatever be the differences that prop up in the future, we shall meet head to head as and when it comes and will solve mutually. Let’s make a new beginning Krish.

Krish: Sure Harshita. I am privileged to have you as my Life partner. At last, I found a right match in you. We will meet frequently to take our love relationship forward.

(Krish is dialling Roshini’s number. Roshini picks up the phone.)

Roshini: Hi Krish, It’s been long time since you called me. How are you? Howz life? Any special news!

Krish: I am fine. Hope to hear the same from you. I am in university gardens with my life partner Harshita.      As per your wish, I have narrated everything about our college life with her. She wishes to meet you.

Roshini: I am also fine, doing great.. Is it? Good news. So, finally you are getting married? Nice. I will join you people within half an hour. ( Roshini reaches there within half an hour).

Harshita: Hi Roshini, Nice to meet you. Krish has told everything about you. Your attitude and way of handling things deserves special mention. It’s so nice to see that you people remains good friends forever. Both of you have set an example for the future generations to follow.

Roshini: Don’t compliment me so much. Our relationship (Krish & Roshini) started in friendship and I am happy to continue it in friendship. Am I correct? Krish.

Krish:Of course, I am blessed to have a friend like you by my side. I am contented with our friendship.

Roshini: I whole heartedly wish both of you a very happy married life. So Krish, what you have told her about our college life?

Harshita: OMG…Again from the beginning!.

Krish: Don’t worry Harshita. I will not narrate it once again. One of my friends is troubling me posing as a writer asking for a script for a love story. I will ask him to pen all these incidents.

Roshini: Nice, Tell your friend to reproduce just like the way it happened. Don’t ask him to add any imaginary things to spice up the story. Else, it will create a problem for all of us.

Krish: I agree with you. I will tell him so and will send the short story ASAP.

We had a nice time chatting about our progress in personal & professional lives and Roshini even invited us to her house for a dinner. We shared many fun filled moments between us. Harshita and Roshini have much in common and became good friends. Roshini whole heartedly wished for our well being and wants both of us to be cheerful & supportive throughout life. Roshini told us that she has no regrets and very contended with her married life. It brought further happiness to me as my friend was happy. 

Who told that you can be happy only if your love ends in marriages.     I have experienced happiness in my relationship with Roshini as a true friend for all seasons.

**************The Beginning of a new chapter in Krish & Harshita’s Life *************

Epilogue: Author’s Inference:

It is quite natural that often we come across depression in life when expectations don’t meet the reality. Real life situations like family values, traditions, core beliefs, career ambitions are so complex enough to bridge the difference between expectations and reality. It would be nice if we learn to manage both expectations and reality and accept life as it comes. Depression will leave a feeling of shallowness in the heart. Many fail to cope up with the feeling and often commit suicide. Life is a blessing and not just a show to end it in that way. They fail to realize that they are just a thought away from that suicidal state to get back to the normal state. If they wish, they can chose to experience the same Love from arranged marriage, by taking care of their beloved parents, by loving the needy underprivileged children of our country.  

It’s high time that media crazy youth doesn’t expect every time that their college Love or office Love to conclude in marriages often. There were many untold love stories, one sided love stories, love stories separated by circumstances ,parents , career ambitions…etc and many present day youths are dejected and under the false illusion that they won’t find the Love again in another girl and are driven towards ending their valuable lives. They should not do so. They should start believing their Love in the succeeding attempts will end in marriage. Life is all about self belief only

They should realize that, “Love is not restricted to loving a girl and making her life partner alone.  Love is about making your parents, friends, well wishers, needy under privileged children contend by bringing smiles on their faces and lending them a helping hand to live a respected life in society. If we start to look Love in this broad perspective, even if one Love fails, the other Love prospers and drives you away from depression.”

The present day youth should take a call at appropriate time preferably in the early stages of their love relationship based on real life situations, family situations and their career prospects to the issue of ending their Love in marriage or not for the benefit of both the parties. Even if their love doesn’t end in marriage, the extent of hurt will be less. They should stay within the limits to maintain status quo in a relationship.  It’s utterly silly to end Love in marriage just for the sake of being in Love and Roshini did the right thing for the mutual benefit by continuing in friendship.

Krish & Roshini are the inspiration for me to present this short story to you..Kudos to Krish & Roshini.. Long live their friendship.

*************************** Sweet memories forever ************************

                                                                                       A Short Story by Karthik.

Mail your valuable suggestions, feedback to karthikthewriter@yahoo.co.in.