Oru Tamil Katal Katai...

My gift to a very special person....Ragasiya Nanbar...:)

Note By Author

We often come across many love stories in our lifetime...every love story has its own charm, excitement and thrill...but we forget the base of a love story and that is commitment for life time...it's not just a story it's a hope for the generations to come that there are real people outside movies who actually finds their soul mate and do everything in their power to keep their commitment their promise to one another...

This story is my gift to an amazing person who against all odds fought for his love...but the question now is did he succeed or like most of the love story did the family pressure decide his fate...life is unpredictable...so is love!!!

Thank you R for sharing this story with me and giving me the honor to write it in my own way…the essence is still the same the place and years may differ…

This is my farewell gift to YOU …..

 

Neetu (The Author)

 

 

Chapter 1

It was the last day of our college… batch of 1992. Like everyone else I felt sad…. for this felt like an end of an era. Hi my name is Rahul Rao and I am a student of Computer science. Being an average student I was never a popular person ….but that never bothered me as my school best friends Sidharth and Arun joined the same college with me. We were like the three musketeers always together.

For the last time we went to the college canteen to have our last idli sambar…. sitting on the stairs and looking at our college building in silence as the memories of our college day swept by….suddenly Sidharth broke the silence “Man did you see the chicks of first year… I should have flunked Man…almost everyone made a girlfriend but look at us three losers…” to this Arun chuckled and said “Come on you at least got a girl….” And started laughing…to this Sidharth threw a piece of his idli at him and said “what man don’t spill salt on my wounds….the moment I gathered my courage by third year to propose she turned up with a big sindoor on her forehead after the spring break…she used me to write her assignments…I did chores I never even did for my amma…honestly man if there is a karma this was it…”…to this we all started laughing and throwing idli at him….in these laughter’s and fun all I could think was how much I was going to miss these fools….then as I turned I saw her the love of my life Ananya the one girl I fell for so hard but never gathered the courage to express my love to her…she was not the most beautiful girl in college but there was something about her which made me weak in my knees….every time I looked at her I just couldn’t take my eye off her…the world stops moving everything becomes blur but her…I have always adored her for her simplicity and her calm beauty….she saw me as a friend but I saw her as my everything…..it was not love at first sight….we became friends not in the idol situation either….

It was our first day of college and as I entered the college premises with my friends Sidharth and Arun we saw a bunch of seniors ragging some girls… the stories of college ragging told by Sidharth’s elder brother has already horrid us…. we tried to keep our head low and walked slowly towards the college building….but one of the senior spotted us…and called out to us and asked to join them….I could see the three girls shaking with bowed head….then one of our senior Mayank from 2^nd year asked  “so who would want to take the first task”… both my loyal friends stepped back immediately (the trick they have seen in a movie) resulting me being in the front…I was late to respond so the seniors picked me and gave me the most cliched task of proposing any on the three girl…I know what you are thinking that I proposed Ananya…NO…as I said she is not the prettiest girl in college it was Sanya…the most good looking girl in our whole batch who later became Sidharth’s crush and you know the story she married a rich business man’s son in our third year….anyways that story for some other day….now here I was with an imaginary flower in my hand kneeling on my knees and proposing Sanya I don’t know if it was her beauty or my fear I said “Aka (Sister) I love you!!!” suddenly her expression changed and within the first few minutes of my college life I made the most beautiful girls in our batch my sister…yup that’s the tragedy of my life ….anyways Ananya was Standing right beside and started laughing hysterically so our senior made her propose me which she did flawlessly with some nice movie dialogues which I hardly remember due to the humiliations caused earlier anyways that story became the talk of my entire first year….but that also resulted in my friendship with Ananya….she was the first girl I have ever friended but she was very cool academically she was brilliant and she loved taking part in every extracurricular activities she was like a complete package…she was the kind of girl any guy would fall after knowing her…I realized my love for her by the mid of third year…but never had the courage to express my love…

As I have never been close to any girls other than my Aka and after her marriage there is a void in my life…she does try to stay in touch sometimes via call sometimes via letters but still I know she has responsibilities which she cannot ignore…and even I never bothered her with my troubles. But when Ananya entered my life I felt like she filled that void….I started sharing everything with her except what I felt for her…she too as a patient listener always was there to hear my worries and lend me her good advice…she always knew how to brighten my day…I got closer to her more than I ever got closer to any of my best friend. Even with me telling them Sidharth and Arun knew how I felt for her.

The first time I realized my one sided love is when I started feeling jealous of our class topper who was always waiting for an opportunity to talk to her…and she being good academically she and him always participated in intercollege competitions like young innovative mind or robotics…which led them to spend more time together…sometimes for days I wouldn’t see her….I was losing my mind in those days that’s when I realized how much she meant to me…and this is nothing but feeling of love towards her…my friends noticed my situation and asked me to man up and express my feelings to her… but call it my cowardness or my scare of rejection I never expressed my feeling to her….love or not the thought of losing her scared me a lot.

Now on this last day I finally gathered my courage and wrote down my feelings on a piece of paper and was finally prepared to give it to her….As I watched her descending the stairs our eyes locked she smiled my way…. I stood to walk towards her and then I saw Mihir (the class topper) kneeling in front of her and proposing her …..she was caught by surprise but it was more like she knew this was going to happen kind of surprise…and then I saw her accepting the rose…she looked very happy I could see it in her eyes….that was the last time I ever saw her…and this turned out to be my last memory of my college days…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2

Being in a different state was new to me let alone a new country. My third job took me to the city of dreams and tourism Dubai this is the year 1998. Dubai is still developing yet far ahead in the process of development than any other country. After college I never kept any contact with anyone, not even Sidharth and Arun. But they found me, I think that’s what is called true friendship…. honestly I felt like a fool for breaking all contacts with my best friends and for what….. a stupid one sided love. Anyways after the first heart break I never went that way. I worked very hard to get to where I am today. Siddharth actually got me this job. As soon as the vacancy came for a field engineer he called me as he was aware of my experience in the field. Arun was also working in Dubai as an accountant. So this was perfect three friends together again.

The new job was a bit challenging mainly because I was new to this place and my job required me to travel a lot but with my experience in the field soon I became an expert in my job. Sidharth stayed alone so he asked to move in with him, which was convenient as it was close to my workplace. Due to the nature of my job soon I started my driving lessons as till then Dubai didn’t have a metro service yet and using public transport in the heat plus the endless walks to reach the client place was becoming a hassle .

I got my license in my 4^th attempt. Yes I was the lucky few who passed in the single digit Sidharth himself got the license in his 15^th attempt. Well that night we partied hard. All three of us. Those were the best days of my life, to be back with my best friends. We were living our dream.

Towards the end of the 1999 Sidharth got hitched and soon after Arun too got married we had a blast at both weddings. Then I moved out and rented my own studio apartment near our office. We still used to meet and have fun but since now their priority was family I started keeping my distance. Slowly my work also started increasing and I had hardly any time for socializing.

One day as I was leaving for a call Diya who was working as a store in charge asked me for a favor…. as she was moving into a new apartment she needed a vehicle to move some of her belongings to the new apartment. At first I said no as after Ananya I could never talk to a girl let alone friend a girl not like I have ever been rude towards them it’s more like maintaining a boundary for myself. Anytime a girl tries to cross that boundary I will push her away. Diya has always been nice to me in my initial days of work; she always helped me with any issues I faced in my initial days, for that I was always grateful to her. When I said no I could see Diya was disappointed in me and I felt horrible so after my work calls I apologized for my behavior and offered to help .So the next Thursday I went to her working women hostel. She came with two big iron suitcase and some of her friends carried other stuff. We managed to fit her stuff in the car’s trunk and behind the seat and went to her new studio apartment. To my surprise this building was right next to my building to which she seemed equally surprised and jokingly said now I don’t have to use the bus anymore as I can take her to work. I said sure but after office she needed to manage herself as due to my work calls sometimes I couldn’t make it back to the office. She looked a bit sad but I didn’t care and after I helped her carry her things to her apartment she asked me for dinner to which I lied I have other plans…again she looked sad but I didn’t care as I said boundaries….even though she is a nice girl I didn’t want her to have any expectations from me…ya that does sound rude but come on that’s me being honest….but that was all about to change!!!.

Next Sunday when I was driving to office Diya called me and asked me where I was. I said I was on my way to work and she got angry as she was waiting for me. I tried to calm her and said that I took it as a joke but she got furious as she would now be late to work and that would be my fault. I immediately turned my car and went to pick her up. Thankfully she was still waiting for the bus. I really felt bad and apologized to her. She became calm afterwards as I raced us to work and thankfully punched in time. Later that evening we had dinner together and after a long time I felt comfortable around a girl and then thought to myself she is a good friend…and maybe I was over thinking about the whole scenario.

Slowly we became good friends. Sometimes she would cook nice food for me for lunch and even sometimes she cooked dinner for me…she always made an excuse to bring food for me . I didn’t like to take the food but man I missed home cooked food. Not like I didn’t know how to cook but I was too lazy to cook anything. One day for some festival we were asked to come in ethnic dress….Diya also wore a saree and looked nice. Actually everyone looked nice. I went in my casual attire, a light orange kurta paired with jeans. She kept asking me how she looked. I did complement her as this was the first time I saw her in a saree. But again she kept pestering me after like 4 times I complimented her I got annoyed  and said “Come on Diya…I told you that you are looking nice…could you please stop asking me again and again…” after that I think she got upset as she didn’t speak to me at all till the end of that evening…

After the function I was looking for her to ask if she needed a ride home but someone said she left already. Which surprised me but then again she is very unpredictable. I continued having fun with my office colleague and then came home. Next day Diya started acting strange… she wouldn’t look my way at all. She didn’t reply to my good morning even though she didn’t call me in the morning asking for lift…which is strange as she used to be my morning alarm. We only spoke about work related stuff other than that she was very cold towards me…but I didn’t think much of it as I was busy with my work issues…This continued for a week now. But seeing my casual reaction to her coldness… was like putting oil to the already raging fire.

One day she called me and asked me for dinner. To which I happily agreed as I thought finally she was over her craziness even though it took longer than expected but I was happy that it’s finally over now. I picked Diya from her apartment. Her eye was swollen hair messy like she had been crying for hours. I asked her what happened to which she replied “Don’t you know what happened”…I was still confused and asked her again trying to calm her at the same time “Please tell me what happened…” she then said something in her muffled voice “I…..” I asked again “What is it?” then she suddenly raised her voice and said “I love you….” I froze didn’t know what to say at that moment…I gathered myself from the shock and again calmly I said ”Please calm down let us talk about this…” she  agreed and since she was crying I was scared to take her to any public place so I choose to take her to the only place I know which would have less people at this time and that was Mamzar beach bridge…this was my spot when I needed some alone time…I took her there and once I felt it’s ok to start the conversation I said “Look Diya I am not saying that you are a bad person or that you are not attractive…so please do not misunderstand me when I say this…I have always seen you as a good friend nothing more than that…look love should be mutual and I learnt it the hard way so please try to understand me and if after this you do not wish to talk or have any contact with me that’s completely ok I can understand as once I was where you are…but honestly you are in a much better place as at least you are getting a closure which unfortunately I never got…but again I see you as a good friend so if you need a friend I will always be there for you but I am sorry I cannot reciprocate your love…hope you understand”….she said nothing just kept sobbing….then we spent another 20mins sitting there holding hands then I dropped her home….that night I couldn’t sleep and I am sure she didn’t either…but to my surprise next day Diya was standing below my building and she smiled at me and said “Rahul you are a true gentleman and I really respect you for that….I know I overreacted but honestly I wouldn’t want to lose a friend like you…I may take some time to get over my feelings but don’t worry I understand now that love should be mutual…anyways can you take me to office today?” “Of course” I said happily….

After that episode again life got back to normal Diya was still the same but now she was an understanding friend. I was pretty content with my life. Then one day Diya asked me to drop her to the apartment if I am still in office…. I agreed as that day I had no client calls. When she got in she said I have another friend with me and a girl in her mid-twenties entered in the back seat of my car “Hi I am Simran..” she said…before I could answer Diya said ” Simran this is Rahul field engineer and Rahul this is our new receptionist and my new roommate…” I looked at her through the rear view mirror and said “Wow congratulations Simran nice meeting you….where are you from?” I asked before Simran could reply Diya again spoke with a childlike excitement “She is from Chennai like us….and guess what she is from your college….batch of 1995” “Oh I passed out that year…man what a small world…” I said she smiled timidly and started looking outside in amazement…it’s the same look I had when I first came to the city….I saw her from my rearview mirror she was very young much like a fresher and she had that young people enthusiasm the one where we feel like we can do anything and achieve big goals in life ….the time when the age is small but the energy is at its peak…it was refreshing to see a younger face in the office…yes that sound shady but I meant in all good sense and well she was really pretty too…but I brushed off my thoughts and started my conversation with Diya….I dropped them and headed to my apartment by still in the distance in my rear view mirror I could still see her walking with Diya…I jolted as I was going to hit my building entrance gate….

Even though I tried not to think about her something about her kept drawing my attention towards her the events of the evening were going in repeat mode in my mind and it was in some bizarre way giving me immense pleasure….I thought to myself “I should not think this way…this is bad….” And then I started some random movie to divert my mind and I slept watching the movie…

Next day I got up late and asked Diya to go by bus…she got mad and said that I am going to get them both late today to which I realized Simran was waiting with her I quickly ran to the balcony and saw them waiting she was wearing a light blue color vertical lined shirt black trouser and a formal coat…hair pinned in a neat bun…I was surprised how much I observed from this distance…I never cared what Diya wore or looked she always to me was same as Sidharth and Arun….I called Diya back and asked her to give me 15 mins to get  ready…I rushed through my brushing bathing ironing and in record time I went to pick them up…Diya as usual sat in the front seat complaining about my habit of sleeping late at night and stuff and I adjusted the rear view so I could get a better view of Simran….that sound creepy but my intentions were clean honestly it’s something which was drawing me towards her like a magnetic force which I couldn’t resist…suddenly Diya screamed “Hello are you even listening to me?” I turned to her and said “Come on Diya you give this lecture every single morning…I have by hearted it by now…Ok tomorrow onwards I am going to change OK!!! Now please don’t say that I say this everyday yet I repeat the same mistake again….I said and I will keep my words OK…” Diya gave me a punch and as usual slept till office in the meantime Simran I was still looking outside still amazed by this beautiful city….I tried to start a conversation with her “You know Dubai is in the process of building the world’s tallest building….” “Yes I heard about that….” she continued “So are there many good malls in Dubai as well…” ….I got excited as I knew this was my chance to spend more time with her outside work…..so I said “Anyways Diya has been bugging me to take her to a mall since past few weeks….if you wish you can join too…”…she smiled in agreement…

Thursday evening even though I had a call I managed to get it postponed to next week. And as Diya and Simran came out I offered to drop them home. “Rahul actually we planned to go to a Mall today…” Diya said “Sure I can take you there no problem…” I said…. Diya looked confused and a bit suspicious “You sure” she asked…”I said yes anyways I do not have any plans I could take you their…”. After we reached the mall I realized my mistake…taking a woman to a place with millions of shopping options is like participating in a never ending marathon…you walk and walk and walk and then walk some more until your leg starts cramping… ….Diya was with Simran like a bee to honey I never even got a chance to talk to her and my foot was hurting because of so much walking…then I asked Diya “Diya are you making sure that I never take you to a mall ever again?” Diya looked puzzled and asked “Why do you say so…” “I mean you have been to at least 20 shops spending minimum 15 mins in each…so in total 5 hours I spent walking with you and you have got for yourself and I am saying combined only a small t shirt…seriously…can we now at least go eat something I am starving….” Diya felt guilty and understood thankfully as I know how moody she can be sometimes….after that we all went to the mall’s food court…. luckily this time Simran sat next to me….and Diya as usual went looking for food she wanted to eat….she is very choosy…this was my chance and I started a conversation with Simran I started with the casual talk about the college she shared her experience in the college and how seniors used to rag them and how she was asked to propose to a fellow classmate during one ragging session to which I shared my stories we laughed and then she told me about her family…she was the middle kid elder brother and a younger sister….she came here with a cousin on visit visa her cousin tried but didn’t get a job but luckily she did….he father was no more and her elder brother’s job was also not so stable so it was on her to earn  the money and provide for the family…. Her honest words…. Her simple attire…. and that dimple on her right cheek ….which only appeared when she smiled ….everything to me was mesmerizing…. The sense of happiness I felt with her is like being around something so pure so divine….I was so into my thoughts and her that I didn’t realize that Diya was back and was closely noticing my reactions….. but I was in another world where there was no one except me and her….On our way back Diya was very silent…Simran on the other hand was talking continuously as I think I made her comfortable enough to talk….

Now Simran was very comfortable with me and I was also very honest to her about my past life. Since she was a receptionist I always saw her while going out for calls and made sure to wait and speak to her. Every weekend we three would go out for weekend dinner or movies. This was the time when I felt like the old Rahul in me which I thought got buried deep inside me got a chance  to come out again I felt like myself again….which was a pleasant change everyone around me started to notice too that the otherwise reserve Rahul started to become jovial and very social and active in every events. Time passed by and suddenly one Friday evening when I was with Sidharth and Arun for a drink I got a call from Simran….she sounded very scared and hysterical….hardly any words were coming out of her mouth and I immediately left my friends to see her the moment I reached their building entrance she was already standing with her bags packed with Diya trying to pacify her… I asked what happened to which Diya said “Her mother is very serious…she had a stroke and is in ICU right now…she need to leave as quickly as possible…I have booked her flight”….after this I slowly put my hand on Simran’s shoulder and suddenly she hugged me and started crying I too held her tightly and tried to calm her down….then I escorted them to the airport…She was still very worried and was softly sobbing as Diya tried to console her…as we bid goodbye at the airport my heart sank when I saw her leaving….the kind of pain you get when you are separated from something you love so dearly….that evening I was very restless checking my phone every min just to see any text from her but I knew she was still in plane and why would she message me I mean her family is in crisis and I would be her last thought right now…but deep down I was expecting a message from her I was getting very desperate…in the anxiety I didn’t realize when I slept off…next morning again I checked my phone I got few messages but nothing from her… I rang Diya and asked if she got any call from her but nothing…came Saturday yet nothing Sunday I didn’t go to work as the weekend went very restless for me… whole day I was staring at my phone for a single message from her…

Wednesday she finally sent a message to me in the evening from her local number. I immediately called her back. She said “Hello…” and I don’t know why but I cried softly after hearing her voice. I felt like it’s been ages since I heard that voice….again she said again “Hello….Rahul can you hear me? Sorry the network is bad here” I tried to calm myself and replied “Yes Yes!!! I can hear you clearly…how are you? Why didn’t you call? How is your mother? ” to which she chuckled and said “So many question in one go….ok ok sorry I know I went in a very bad state but that’s because I was far from home and I didn’t know the seriousness of the situation….actually my dumb brother understood the doctor wrong…actually Thursday evening my mother complained of chest pain then latter she fainted and my brother and younger sister rushed her to the hospital….doctor said because of her age this could be a stroke but let us evaluate her and we will confirm if she needs ICU or not…that’s when he called me and said our mother got stroke and they are asking to admit her in ICU…but when I reached here they said it was mere exhaustion which comes with her age and yes there are some breathing issues that’s because my mother is an asthma patient…she is ok now and we brought her back home…today I had some time so I called everyone to tell them all is fine here…” I felt relieved and then spoke normally to her without realizing that this was an international call which abruptly ended….after that I rushed to the supermarket to get a calling card then I called her again….I think during this time over phone we started bonding as here we had only each other on either end of the receiver….for some reason this huge physical distance make us emotionally closer to each other….every evening she eagerly waited for my calls and till late night we will talk…I will tell her what was happening in office and she would tell me what was happening in her house….one day while on the call I said “Simran you know sometimes when you whisper and talk I close my eye and feel you very close to me….” She said nothing ….all I could hear was the music in her breath…I was a bit scared thinking if I went too far…then she whispered and said “I think the feeling is mutual…” and chuckled softly….honestly I was very confused as I knew I loved her but somehow before professing my love to her I wanted to be sure if she felt the same for me….and she was giving me mixed messages…anyways as this conversation was going smoothly I tried to go a little more further “you remember that one Thursday when we were sitting beside each other I was just trying to find a reason to touch your hand…fearing you might find this odd and creepy later I stopped…but we never spoke about it…do you remember?”…again silence I checked my phone to see if the call got disconnected…but then she replied again in whisper “Yes I remember the Rajnikant Sir’s movie…that was the first movie which I really do not remember much as I was giving you million chances to hold my hand but you would simply touch and quickly move your hand away”…my excitement was now at its peak and I said “So you wanted me to hold your hand?”…I asked teasing her…” But why didn’t you say so?”….now she stopped whispering and said “Come on man guys should make the first move not the girl That’s the RULE…and beside if I felt shy this was my first time I mean the way I felt for a guy”…..this gave me confidence to move further in the conversation and I innocently asked “What feelings??” she now felt little shy then she said “Ok please I cannot say it I feel shy….I mean I don’t know I always got the feeling that you felt the same but I was never sure so being a girl how could I say to you…won’t you judge me for being forwards?”….I said “Absolutely not…I believe in gender equality if guys can say why not girls”…to which she sighed and said “here we were going on a romantic track and you went on a feminist track you know that’s the problem with you even if a person want to express true….” I interrupted her and said “I love you.” Long pause……then she said “you mean it?”…I repeated a 5 more time and said “Yes I mean it…now could you say it back…as I took the first ….”….she interrupted me and said “I love you too”…..wow I felt like I was on cloud nine….for the first time in my life I felt the love which was mutual….the most amazing feeling in the world. That night I slept like a baby. I had no regrets in life anymore…..

After a week Simran was back and we had our first official date. Also before all this I did tell Diya everything to which she said she already knew and she actually helped me by telling Simran about how good I was….although she did mention to her about her one sided love towards me. As she hates to keep such kind of secrets which may ruin her friendship with Simran and she really adored her as a friend. Well she did confess she was feeling a bit jealous at first but during that time she met a guy online and slowly they fell for each other and now their parents are arranging their marriage. I was shocked to know all that and asked her why she hid it to which she said “I never hide anything but you started spending more time with Simran I never got an opportunity to tell you all these…” I felt like a crappy friend. I apologized to her, took her out for dinner and spoke about everything which I missed. She felt glad that I took time for her and was very happy for me and Simran but she also told me about the cast difference which we have I asked her why is that important I mean I love her she love me isn’t that important to which she said Simran is an upper cast and mine was lower and her family is strict on these matters….she just said that I should be aware of these things since it may become an issue latter….I took it as a joke and said to her for me and Simran our love matters over any caste or religion….But how wrong was I …I was going to learn the hard way….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3

Life has never been better …the feeling of being loved is like every morning waking up to the I love you’ s and good morning from the person who loves you more than themselves…even being sick feels like a blessing in those days. As you know someone is worried for you and trying every means to make you feel comfortable. Occasionally I could be like a needy child and she would still care for me and love me for my antics.

One day over dinner I said how good it would be if we could permanently live together to which she looked at me intensely and asked “Rahul are you proposing me?” at that moment I took a small box and said “Yes I am…” I can see the surprise in her eye…her eye widened her hand involuntarily went to her face …but when I opened the box all those feeling just died and she looked confused….I said “I really wanted to get you the ring but the ring you deserve is still out of my reach but I promise once I am capable enough I will get you the ring you deserve…for now please accept these earrings as my proposal..” it’s not the first time I was gifting her something but this time it meant something ….she happily accepted the earring and said “you are the most precious jewel of my life no ring in this world can replace that…beside earring has a ring to it don’t you think…” she smiled again and asked me to put the earring for her…... I took the earrings went to get right…as I was trying to put the earring my hands just wouldn’t stop shaking I tried holding my one hand with another yet it was very difficult to concentrate…since I never touched her beyond the limits of her hands and to put those earring I got close to her neck the faint smell of jasmine flower which she pinned on her hair was complimenting her beautiful off white saree which she wore for our dinner date….the faint cold breeze of the November evening which was making her hair dance on my cheek each time giving me the sense of the imaginary kisses which I so dearly wanted to give her ….being near to her rosy cheeks was just making it impossible to brush these thoughts…. trying to keep my emotions in check I carefully removed her earring and put the new earring on her right ear feeling the softness of her ear lobes….I could have done it faster but something about her was so intoxicating that I took my own sweet time to put one earring and then the other….she knew what I was doing but said nothing…yes one may think why was I being so shy…but the thing is this was the woman I loved and respected and I would never cross any boundaries which would affect this pure relationship which we had….love is a pure feeling which bounds two soul and only few are lucky enough to find their soulmate …..some take ages ….but I was the lucky few who would marry his soul mate what more can I ask for. After that I came back to my seat and continued the dinner admiring and appreciating every single second I spent with her….

After our date on Saturday she always wore those earrings as a mark of our commitment to each other for some reason it felt like we were already engaged. The next weekend Diya said she wanted to take us for dinner as she had some big news to share with us. We all three went to a nice restaurant for dinner and Diya announced “I am getting married guys…” almost shouting we both had a big surprised look on our face and we instantly hugged her congratulating her…this was a big news and she said they are planning to tie the knot in the last week of December as that was the auspicious time as per their Pandit. We were really happy for her and the whole night we spent enjoying and celebrating the big news….latter we spoke to her finance…. It was an amazing night. I felt so happy for her then we revealed our engagement to her… she was extremely happy and asked us to come to her wedding and make our parents meet each other…. As this was the best opportunity for the parents to meet and get to know each other. We both liked the idea and planned to do the same.

Next day we all three applied for the vacation for December and to avoid unnecessary gossip they both applied from 15^th Dec and I applied from 17^th Dec ….as already in office people suspected my affair with Simran…Luckily all our leave applications got approved…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4

The fight was late night so I went to drop Diya and Simran to the airport the plan was for Simran to go to her house first and convince them to attend Diya’s wedding and then once I reach, I will also convince my parents to go to the wedding. Simple right? well only life was that simple.

After dropping them I knew the moment they reach the airport I will get a call so I slept putting an alarm. And as expected I got a call from Diya saying they reached and since Simran’s phone got switched off and her parents were already waiting at the airport she would call once she get the India’s sim card. Which was ok but still I really wanted to hear her voice…then again then again after two days I will be there too and in the mean time I had lot of handovers to be done.

But when even after two days I didn’t get any calls from Simran. I started to get worried I tried calling Diya but since she was busy with the wedding preparation and ceremonies she hardly got any time to call me back. But she did try to message me to tell that I should be patient as its only been two days and she would anyways be coming for the wedding.

Sitting at airport I was getting restless and thought of many scenarios which could have gone wrong. Somehow I boarded the flight and I just couldn’t get myself to catch some sleep after reaching Chennai international airport I saw my mother eagerly waiting for me with my elder sister. For a second looking at them after such a long gap I forgot my worries and hugged them dearly on the way to my home they kept asking me many things like how I was and how was work and many other things which I just couldn’t recall but I kept nodding without replying to anything. I changed my number to India number which Simran knew hoping she would at least now call me… But again no reply….I called Diya and she was very happy to know that I have finally reached but then hearing the concern in my voice she understood that Simran has still not called… she tried to calm me down and said she would try to find a way to reach out to her…after like mid night she called me and when I picked the call I understood something was wrong. She said Simran at airport gave her brother’s number on a napkin just to call her once she reach home…but she apparently lost the napkin but afterward she forgot about it thinking Simran would call her once she gets the local number but now she again searched her bag and found the napkin with the number and got in touch with Simran….she said as soon as she reached home they had guest at home and they were there to fix her wedding apparently her father had fixed her wedding with his friend’s son as a kid which was the base of the small grocery business he started with his friend and for them they take these kind of commitment very seriously…as her mother see it like her husband’s last wish….but at that time Simran was in no position to disclose your relationship…. but after they left her family started discussing the dates to fix the engagement…then she tried to talk to her mother and brother about you both and they were got furious they didn’t speak to her that day she spent the whole day crying and that night her mother had a heart attack because of the stress they had to take her to the hospital her elder brother and younger sister blamed her for their mother’s condition and guilted her saying if now she rejects the guy her mother could die with the shock….she had no choice but to agree and her brother took her phone from her and is keeping a very close eye on ….since her mother has been admitted Simran has been by her bedside ever since…her mother is still at hospital and as soon as she gets better they will start the wedding preparation…I didn’t know how to react…suddenly the perfect love story was becoming the biggest tragedy…I felt like the world has stopped spinning my emotions crossed all boundaries and was feeling numb and broken…but I knew if I didn’t act I will lose everything…I asked where her mother was….

I went straight to the hospital as I knew everyone from her family it was easy for me to find her room number…when I reached I saw her sitting next to her mother in the private room the door was open a doctor was doing the routine check on her I saw a man with folded hands standing next to the doctor listening to the instruction carefully like a child listening to a teacher and nodding after every sentence…I waited for the doctor to leave the man didn’t notice me and went with the doctor, after he left I went inside the room and called her name she turned and a look of surprise flashed on her face she smiled tearfully then looked at her mother who was sedated then walked to the door as if to see if anyone was nearby and hugged me….I held her for a while and she pulled herself away gently and trying to be calm I asked her what was going on…seeing me there she understood knew that I have already spoken to Diya…so she didn’t try to explain she just said that if she doesn’t marry this other guy her mother might die…I tried to calm her down and reasoned with her that I understand her situation but she need to at least try…she need to explain what we have is very real and it’s the matter of our future…she cried saying she doesn’t want her mother to die to which still trying to hold my composure I asked her if I can speak to her brother ….he may understand our situation…to with she got scared and said her brother might kill us for this is highly forbidden in our cast to marry a guy from other cast then reluctantly she added especially a guy from lower cast…I was furious but still trying to compose my emotions I said we need to at least try how else we will know…she said nothing but kept saying “I cannot let my mother die….because of me….” I said to her “look Simran your mother is fine now ok…but if we don’t tell them how will they know what’s in your heart…I know you did tell them but please let me try…”….suddenly someone grabbed my collar and dragged me outside the room I hit my head at the door and blacked out for a while after I composed myself I saw her brother looking at me with eyes full of rage and said “how dare you touched my sister moreover how dare you come here” I tried to reason with him but then two of her brothers friend appeared and some nurses too…asking to not create a ruckus in the hospital….I had to back off but I did say that “At least give me a chance to talk” her brother again got angry and said “She did the talking and now my mother is in hospital…now I don’t want to listen to anything…get lost or else….” I thought this was not the right time to pick a fight and moreover I was out numbered so I left…..

As I entered my home my mother looked at me and suddenly in a worried voice started asking me many questions all at once like if I am alright how I got injured but seeing guests sitting in the living room I went straight to my bedroom….walking towards my room I can hear my father making excuse to the guest saying “it’s been long since he drove the two wheeler I am sure he must have lost the balance and fell….he would be alright…” and everyone smiled awkwardly…

Later that evening I bathed and sat on our dining table thinking of my next move….not even realizing that my father just pulled the adjacent chair to talk to me…”Son I am observing you from the time you landed in India…your mind is always lost….you are here yet I feel like your soul is somewhere else…tell me what is the matter?”….for the first time I felt the concern in my father’s voice the kind of concern which I have only felt with my mother…I looked at my father and told him the entire story he patiently listened to everything I said my mother too heard from the kitchen door…she even tried to interrupt me in between but my father asked her not to…. After I finished my story my mother came to my father and said “Now what will happen to Sunanda…what will we tell them….” Sunanda is my cousin sister kind of a long relation….my family fixed my marriage with her they were the guest yesterday…but my father looked at my mother and said “If he loves someone else then how could we get him married to her…this is unfair to both of them…I will figure out a way…Son you don’t worry for now have dinner and sleep let us discuss this tomorrow…”….for the first time in my life I felt how much my father loved me…all my life I have only seen the hardness in his heart for the first time in my life I felt the motherly care….even though I was worried that night because of my father I slept peacefully….

Next day my father asked me to get ready and we went to the hospital to meet Simran and family….but her mother got discharged from the hospital the previous evening…I somehow managed to get her address and we reached her house…her mother was alone with her younger sister….she took us inside to meet her mother…Simran’s mother slowly walked to the living room and my father spoke to her…. Her mother unlike her bother was very understanding of the situation and told us about the promise her husband made to his friends to give Simran’s hand in marriage to his son…and if this marriage doesn’t happen they will take back the grocery shop from us where my son is currently working the shop is still in the name of my husband’s friend and they will name it on my Son’s name after the marriage…that is the reason my son is forcing his sister to get married to that guy….as a mother right now I don’t know who to favor my son or my daughter and saying so she started crying….my father understood the whole situation and offered to buy the shop from them…at the same time her son entered and shouted at my father “we don’t need charity from strangers this is not only about the shop but also about my father’s commitment and I would never let my father’s word go wrong…I am his son…”…behind him I saw Simran with her head bowed and sobbing….my father got up from the chair and tried to reason with him ”Son I know what you mean and I am proud that you are being a good son to your father but aren’t you a brother as well….would your father hurt his daughter for some commitment which was done as a kid….you are the man of the house put yourself in your father’s shoe and look at the pain of you sister….she is so unhappy…”….he ran towards my father I came in between them and said “get out of my house I know what is best for my family…” before I could respond my father held my shoulder and asked to go….he said her brother has a lot of ego which could be because of the fact that he feels like he has not achieved much in his life and that is coming out on his family….he doesn’t look like a person you can reason with I think we need to find another way….

We further inquired and found out the house of Simran’s father’s friend….my father spoke to him and surprisingly he too was a very reasonable person and they had no idea that Simran was unhappy with the relationship…he said he was anyways going to name the shop on her brother’s name marriage was just the added benefit….also they assured that they will speak to the family to sort out this issue….I was surprised the way my dad so easily solved this problem….I also wanted to go with the family to meet Simran’s family as it felt I wanted this problem to get over as soon as possible….but my father said that my presence might anger her brother and it’s something to be solved within family we can go latter….

Next day my father said that the families are going to meet this afternoon the guy’s father called and confirmed…so we need to wait till evening to know what happened....that whole day felt like my final semester exam results were going to get announced that evening….I couldn’t eat couldn’t sleep my eye fixed on the minutes hand of the clock….it was taking forever for 5PM….in my anxiety or lack of sleep I unknowingly dosed off….I woke up with the phone bell…my father picked the call talked for like an hour…then came to me with a long face…. he could see the worry on my face….he said they have canceled the wedding but her brother was not happy with the decision and kept saying that this was the best match and they should not decide to cancel….he also shouted on his sister but then he said I will get her married to anyone but that guy….

I just couldn’t understand her brother’s issue honestly….now he is getting the shop so now what is the problem…then my father said “his ego got hurt!!!...before he takes any drastic step let’s go to his home and talk to his mother again…” I quickly got ready and we rushed to her home….again his younger sister opened the door as we were getting in he saw us and shouted to get out but soon his mother came and asked him to get inside….and invited us in….angrily he went inside….his mother apologized to us and asked us to sit down….she offered us some drinks then spoke “I am so glad that things sorted out itself….my son is getting his shop and my daughter getting the life partner she wanted” and she smiled ….this statement was the confirmation that she agreed for our relationship….”but your son?” my father asked to which she said “I am still alive and I know what is best for my daughter…he just have some ego issues but for that I would not let him ruin my daughter’s life….but the only problem is we are not as wealthy as you in the previous alliance the groom's family was going to pay for everything….”….”We only want your daughter….she is the real jewel for us…please don’t worry about anything….also now both have only a week’s holiday left I think a court marriage is the best option for now….we can do the other ceremonies as per convenience…if it is ok with you…” her mother nodded happily…..finally I saw a relaxed smile on Simran’s face….

Within a week we got married and since we still had some ceremonies to be done she stayed at her mother’s place for the rest of the week….we finally got back to Dubai as Mr. and Mrs. Rahul J …..

Yes our first night had to wait till all the ceremonies got over which happened after 6months but that wait for her was worth it…at least now I didn’t fear of losing her again…her brother also later eased up to me after his marriage…now we are good friends too…with small up and down our life is still going happily….today after 22 years and two kid still when I look at her all I could do is admire her and be thankful to God almighty for being so generous on me to give her as my life partner…so my advice to today's young couple is to never give up on your love...they say love finds the way but the way would never be easy so just have faith in your love and may be one day you could also have a happy ending ….oh no no...Happy Beginning like Rahul and Simran    !!!!

Author's Note

Love never comes easy...