A love so abiding!

The night sky was dark blue with the stars twinkling. There was this moonlit ambience. The cool breeze stroked the cheeks making them pink. Neil and Nitu were gazing the stars. As they lay under the serene and silent sky on the beach. They could hear the waves rising and kissing the shores to silently retreat and march again. They could hear their heartbeats in unison with these waves. They had so much to talk about but, this time, they were inarticulate to express their exact emotions. They were sitting close enough yet were distant and feeling short of words. One wrong word said, could cause more misunderstandings.

Neil and Nitu had taken a break from work to spend time and clear things between them. Neil was a businessman, running his own company. He had to attend meetings, go on business tours every month, had to attend conferences, business parties. Nitu was self employed too. She was a wedding planner. She had to run up and down the town for venues, catering, decorations, bridal shopping, salons etc. Both of them were married for 3 years now.

They had fallen in love at first sight. They had met at a wedding. Neil could not take his eyes off when Nitu was on the stage dancing to the tune of 'london thumakda'. Her thumkas made him go crazy. The song changed to 'Bole chudiyan bole kangana, hai mei ho gayi teri sajana...' and Nitu ended up pointing towards Neil. Their eyes met and Nitu goofed up all the remaining steps. She barely managed to finish her performance and got off the stage. Her friends were surprised to see Nitu flabbergasted. Nitu was the best dancer in their group. How could she goof up? Nitu somehow escaped the glares. She had to stop by the drinks counter to get something to heal her parched throat. She ordered a 'Mojito'. She drank the cocktail bottoms up and as soon as she turned her face, Neil was standing besides her. She wondered, "Am I hallucinating?". But then she heard him say "Hi, I am Neil. You are a very good dancer". "Its actually him", she came to her senses.She had totally fallen for him. She stared at him for few seconds and fumbled, "Oooh! Thanks, ummm...I am Nitu".

They dated for 2 years after that. Neil had already started his own business. He was doing good, at his young age. Nitu was a fresher, she had just made her new venture with wedding planning. She wasnt much busy either. They had plenty of time to spend with each other. They celebrated their birthdays, all their anniversaries - first dinner, first clubbing, first kiss..... They were so much in love. They were almost inseparable.  Finally they decided to tie a knot and be together forever.

After marriage, lot of things transformed. They became more and more busy with their work. They were always short of time when it came to spending time together. The love they had, seemed to be diminishing slowly. They were just worried about earning more and being successful. They started having clashes and quarrels over small things and their points of view. Neil started underestimating Nitu's work. Nitu didnt appreciate Neil either. They were always finding faults in each other to show 'how one is better than the other'. More than a couple, they had become competitors now.

The distance between them was increasing continuously. The scenario had started bothering them. But none of them wanted to stop and give it a thought, as to - Whats going on in their married life? Are they really happy? Do they care for each other?

One fine day, at a friend's party, Neil and Nitu got into a serious fight. They lost the sense of where they were, what they were saying. Their friends were worried for them. They couldnt bare to see the hostility between the couple who was once deeply in love. The friends decided to help them out by making them take a break and introspect. They forcefully made Neil and Nitu to go out on a holiday to the same destination as their honeymoon's.

It was the same beach they had strolled along, holding their hands, during their honeymoon. It was the same sea that had witnessed the promise they had made, of being together forever. Nitu smiled gently as she recalled the way Neil had made a 'tiara' of wild flowers and placed it on her head, last time they were on this beach. Neil glanced at her. "She looks so beautiful when she smiles", he thought. Nitu broke the ice and said, "How naive we were back then Neil, a simple tiara of wild flowers was enough to show how much you love me". The scene flashed infront of Neil's eyes too. "You look beautiful when you smile, Nitu", he said. Neil hadnt seen her like this for a while now. Nitu looked into Neil's eyes and blushed. Neil continued, "When did we change into money vending machines Nitu? Why couldnt we stop and retrospect things?". Realisation had dawned upon them as to how wrong they were. Nitu held Neil's hand. Neil and Nitu looked at their wedding rings. "Its a promise we made, to be there for each other always, to never fall out of love", Nitu said, while toying with her wedding ring. Neil quickly got up and rushed somewhere. Nitu was confused. Neil went to a corner at the shore where there were wild flower bushes. He came back with something in his hand. He had made a flower ring this time. Neil got down on his knee and said, "Will you marry me again?". Nitu was overwhelmed. She was teary eyed. She noded her head in a yes and brought out her left hand. Neil held her hand and placed the flower ring on her ring finger and said, "Nitu, I wont give you another chance to get mad at me. We have been through alot of ups and downs. We have done and said things we shouldnt have, to each other. I am sorry for all that". And he kissed her hand. Nitu wiped her tears and said, " I could have slowed down on my pace too. I could have chose not to argue. I am sorry too, Neil". They hugged each other and reconciled. They held their hands and made the promise again, a promise of being together forever in this abiding love!




                                                                                                              JUI.

A Red-letter Birthday!

A Red-letter Birthday!

I came to the living room and exclaimed, “Wow!”. The room was decorated with lavender and white balloons. Pink and purple swirls were hanging in symmetry. A huge ‘Happy Birthday’ banner was tied. The centre table had a lovely 2 tier mouth-watering cake, with a candle saying “11”. A large table with spread of birthday snacks – multicoloured cupcakes, pasta, noodles, variety of breads, chips, waffles – yummy! All my friends and family were waiting for me to come in so that they could surprise me with this lovely Birthday Décor. When I stepped in, they all screamed at once “Happy Birthday”. My eyes were gleaming with happiness….  And suddenly, I heard someone call out my name aloud, tapping on my shoulder. I turned around, it was my mom asking me to get up and take a bath. Ah! It was a dream.

I got up from my bed. My mom kissed my forehead and wished me ‘a very happy birthday’. I touched her feet to seek her blessings. She gave me a lovely lavender princess frock and asked me to get ready soon. I did what my mom said. I was eager to know about my 11^th birthday party, its theme, where would it be, who all were invited. I was totally excited.

I saw mom and dad waiting for me in the living room. My dad hugged me and wished me a long life. I sought his blessings too. All that was going on my mind, was, “Guys speak out please, what’s in for me today?”. And my mom said, “Now that you are 11 years old, your dad and me have decided that we won’t have a party.” I was broken hearted. “Why are you doing this to me? And then why have you made me dress-up? It’s my birthday, I have all rights to have fun!” - all of this going on, in my mind.

My parents asked me to get in the car. The car was already out of the garage. Dad was loading the final box in the boot. There were already 3-4 boxes in there. One had a label – Baby clothes, second one said – Toys, third one said – Books, fourth one – Sweets and chocolates. I wasn’t even interested in what all this was. I hadn’t received any gift for my birthday, apart from the dress I was wearing. I just sat in the car. I was quiet, didn’t utter a word. But was sulking through-out the way.

We reached our destination in about 45 mins. The car stopped. I got down and saw a school like building. There was a board saying “Shelter – Orphanage”. Why had my parents brought me here? To this unknown place! Am I celebrating my birthday here? With unknown people? ......We were greeted by the head of the Orphanage, Mr. Gokhale. There were two more ladies who smiled at me and wished me. “Welcome”, they said.

They took us to a big hall. There were kids already sitting, waiting for us to arrive. All the kids were neatly dressed. I could see their smiling and eager faces, all looking at me. I felt a bit uncomfortable. Mr. Gokhale introduced all of us to these kids. The two ladies, Miss Lata and Miss Asha asked me to step forward. All the kids sang the ‘birthday song’ for me. Some had made beautiful cards wishing me happiness, luck, health, wealth etc… Some had brought flowers picked from the orphanage garden. Some just came and shook my hand. I was happy but confused. I really didn’t know what to say or reply. Then my parents asked me to distribute the sweets, chocolates and gifts that were packed in the boxes. All the kids were so delighted and overjoyed to receive the gifts. They thanked me again and again. There were no balloons, no banners, no swirls, no music, no cake, but all I could see was, a convivial wave spread in the hall. Everything was glowing and radiant. My dispirited face suddenly changed into a smiling face. It was an effortless change.

Mr. Gokhale took us to the baby’s section of the orphanage. There were 10 babies in different cradles. Some were very tiny, some were may be about 6-8 months old. Some were sleeping, some were staring at the fans, some had milk bottles in their mouth, some just making absurd sounds. My mom handover the ‘baby clothes’ labelled box to Miss Asha. I asked her, “How did all the babies end up here?”. I got to know that some of them were abandoned by their parents, some were found on road, railway track-sides, some were brought in after death of their parents etc. “So, the babies don’t know who their parents are?”, I asked. “They don’t”, she replied. “It’s the same case with all the children here”, she added. “Do they know their birthdates?”, I asked. “No dear, everybody celebrates their birthday together, on a common day”, she said. “How do you celebrate?”, I asked again. “They cut a common birthday cake, they wish each other, all of us sing, eat and enjoy”, Miss Asha said. “Oh! That’s unfair”, I thought, “how can you not know your birthday? Birthdays are our own, how can you have a common birthday?  How can you not celebrate it, throwing grand parties? All these questions were queuing up in my mind. I looked at my parents. They had a wide smile of satisfaction on their face.

Now I realised, why my parents had brought me here. I was unhappy because I didn’t get to celebrate one of my birthdays in a lavish way. Here the kids are happy and contented with a common celebration too! They have absolutely no fancy demands. They were happy with the sweets and chocolates we gave away. They didn’t even argue ‘why am I not getting a blue car or why am I not getting a pink dress doll?’, ‘why am I just getting a single bar of chocolate, why am I getting a 5-star and not a silk?’.

I was upset with myself, for my childish behaviour and my unreasonable anger. I should be happy that I got to celebrate 10 birthdays with my friends and family the way I wanted to. I was showered with gifts, blessings and love. And above all I have loving parents and I know my real birthdate. I was teary-eyed. I gave a tight hug to my parents.

I thanked each and everyone present there, who made my day special. We were returning home; on the way I thanked my parents for organising a wonderful party for me. That day was surely marked as a Red-letter Birthday of my life!

                                                                      JUI.

The Journey!

The Journey –

I packed my bags. “Oops, that’s heavy” I said to myself as I lifted them up. But you know how it is, we females, in general, love to carry everything in our bags, even if we don’t use half of the things! Just going through the check list, I made sure I had packed all my stuff. “Done”, tick, “done”, tick…… “Ok, all’s set now, ready to go”. And I left for my trip. I was going to visit my friend in Delhi. We all had planned an ‘all women’ trip to Leh-Laddakh.

I got down from the taxi. I had a sling across my shoulder, trolley bag in my hand. “Oh! Gosh, I am running late to catch my train”, I pondered. Running swiftly, ticket in one hand, I reached the station gate. Rushing towards my platform, catching my breath, entered my compartment. And the train started moving. “Hush!”, a sigh of relief. I had just made it. After stacking my luggage, I settled down on my seat number.

All the seats in the compartment weren’t occupied. The compartment was quiet. “Good, now I have some tranquillity, to pen down my thoughts, for my blog”, I thought. I took out my diary and pen and started to scribble. Just then an old lady came and settled down in my adjacent seat. I glanced at her, she smiled. So, I smiled back and it broke the ice between us. She started the conversation. “Are you studying?”, she asked. “No, I am a blogger, I write blogs”, I said. She seemed to be confused. So, I explained to her what exactly blogging is - We can express our views through blogs, articles, write-ups, everybody can read them online. They can comment, give feedbacks, reviews.  “Oh, that is so nice”, she said with sparkle in her eyes. “In our era”, she said with a sigh, “we weren’t allowed to get out of the house, without permission. We were not supposed to speak, when not asked. Some of us were not allowed to go to school too!”. And she reconciled with her past……

I was small girl, with oil in my hair and two ponies tied. I used to be at home with my mother, to help her in daily chores. I was hardly 6 or 7 years old, but knew how to cook, clean, sweep, wash clothes and utensils. I also used to look after my younger brother, who was 4 years old. 

Once, on my way, coming back with my father, from the local market, I chanced upon a place. It had a big board at the entrance. I didn't know what it said. But the place was fascinating.  There were kids, mostly boys, playing on the ground. Some of them were sitting under a tree. A man was writing something on a black coloured board. The kids were repeating what the man was saying, aloud. As we walked past that area, I could hear sounds like ‘a’, ‘aa’, ‘e’, etc. Scared to speak, somehow, I dared and asked my father what the place was. He said it’s a school. “A school! what’s that father?”, I asked. He told me everything about the school – we learn to read and write here, we learn to play new games, etc..etc….. “Wow! That’s a good place to be”, I thought. When we reached home, I asked my mother, “can I go to school?”. My mother was surprised to hear this. She looked at my father, anxiously. My father was furious. He didn’t like what I just said. He shouted at me and said that school is for boys. Girls have to be at home and learn cooking, household work and looking after the children. That’s what a girl’s life is all about! So that meant my younger brother would be going to school the next year. I would be here, at home, doing what I was, since age 4. I ran into the kitchen and started crying. I thought I had made a blunder by asking such a terrible question. When my father was out, I told my mother that I would never ever repeat the mistake. My mother was considerate. She was a loving lady. Even though she favoured my views, she had no voice in taking decisions for the family. I had seen her in the house, mostly in the kitchen, all her life.

 I grew older, I got married. And as my luck would have it, my husband was a gem of a person.  He respected women. His sisters were educated. He made me learn, read and write. He took me to places I had never been and couldn’t have dreamt of. I wanted to have a girl child, whom I would educate, make her independent, make her enough qualified to earn for herself and live life being a strong and proud woman. But God had different plans. I do not have kids.

She stopped, looked at me and said, “when I see a woman like you, who is independent, I feel very happy!”. Again, the same sparkle in her eyes.

I was touched by her story. I rest my hand on hers with an assurance that I will take her thoughts forward, I stopped writing the blog. Instead started to write a story…. a story of how women have to come out of their shell, fight, struggle to do what they want. And how not remain in the shell, accepting all that is imposed on them.

So here’s my first short story. Hope you all like it. I need your support and feedback to keep writing more!

                                                                             JUI.