Nothing strikes you more than the divinity of this feeling called love. Its sweet yet has this tangerine feel to it. It’s everything they say we shouldn’t and yet should do in life. It’s a mystery; it’s a pain but never is it in vain. Love, an equalizer and a master, all at the same time! You have done so much less in life if not teased and tickled by this strange sensation. It beguiles and satisfies at the same time. How is it possible? Poets through centuries have brooded over this conundrum until they realised it’s a gift unknown, often a muzzled moan, not to be bared but caressed alone.
What are we – you
and I – if not touched by this blithe arrow of saccharine love? Mere mortals,
just mere breathing mortals, unless by providence marred by Cupid’s arrow sharp.
And the day that happens, the day when even the cacophonous hoots sound as enticing
as jazz, that’s the platinum day of love.
Platinum for it’s rare, it’s
precious. Platinum for it sparkles on
through the rest! And if only I had the wings to fly high I’d show the world
how I twirled in joy on the day that was mine.
A mundane day, a
day full of paltry nothings when all of a sudden, as if by the sway of a magic
wand, it becomes ‘a day extraordinar’; it becomes ‘a platinum day extraordinar’! It is magical, this fanciful love! It is
elusive, rare but one which forgives every err!
It’s hard to
believe that a decade has passed since he first laid his eyes on me. Ofcourse, it
wasn’t love at first sight; more inconsequential yet crucial in so many ways! Our
professor had suddenly on a whim decided that the meaning of my name was
imperative to the world’s survival. And in the next few moments there I was, a
coy fresher standing; pen in hand, looking towards the board, elucidating the
meaning of Nabanita. And in those
very seconds, oblivious to the future was Shobhit
sitting in one of those infamous back benches, looking at me. What we didn’t
know then was that somewhere in the universe some very impish stars had conspired
to bring us together and on that day the first domino had fallen. As a
consequence here we are today fox-trotting our way together through this ride
called life.
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| 'Us' over the years... |
Some bad days,
some worse; some good days, some great; we have had them all. But yes there is that
one day; a day that always, always makes what we have today special. On 11th
August 2006 in a restaurant situated somewhere in Gorakhpur, Shobhit sat
waiting for me to arrive. It was to be our first date. Yes, our very first
date. With the proposal and acceptance over during college break, we were to
meet there in the flesh as a couple, for the first time ever! Anti-climactic I
know! Now that I think about it we have actually never done things in their conventional
order!
I woke up early
that morning. Excited I certainly was, but fear was the most predominant of all
emotions. Infact, I was ready to even ditch meeting him due to my drumming
heart if it weren't to escape torture watching Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna with friends. Strangely though, I hardly spent any
time on my clothes that day, while isn’t that what I was supposed to do? All I
thought about however was what would we talk about?
Two people who had
hardly ever conversed except on chat or a few flirtatious words here and there;
what would they talk about? But there I was on an auto-rickshaw making my way
full throttle towards this man I had a few weeks back decided to make my beloved!
Oblivious to the
butterflies in my stomach on the far end of the college campus was Shobhit getting ready with the help of
his friends. Someone put something like moisturiser on his face which he now
recalls smelt very much like vomit. Another put some cash in his purse while
the notorious others had a great laugh at his expense. And then he marched
mounting his friend’s mechanical stallion towards our rendezvous point!
I remember that the
restaurant was huge and all I wanted to do on seeing it was run away! Which I
almost did, I was almost on my way to be the run-away girlfriend! I
recall as I entered, my nerves made every attempt to get the better of me. Infact,
no sooner had I passed through the revolving glass door than I almost decided
to do an about turn; yes to instead torment myself with a never ending Karan Johar flick. But for some reason I
didn’t, I stood under the enormous chandelier and there he was wearing an
off-white shirt with about a dozen empty cups of coffee all over the table. Oh
did I forget to mention I was about two hours late!!
We sat there; I
mostly quiet, deciding whether he was really as handsome as I had thought.
Ofcourse, now that I look back at our pictures from that era I realise I should
have pondered on that point further! Love truly is blind but then thank god for
that! Ofcourse, he thinks the same when he looks at my Einstein styled gravity
defying hair every day!
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| 'Us' long back in 2006 |
He sat there
talking, all the while giving me his life and family history. And I thought ‘gosh he really can talk a lot! Blabbermouth!’
And I know today that right at that moment he too was pondering on my talking
abilities! ‘God is she mute? Does she
ever speak at all?’ was what he says he had thought. We ordered about every
possible item on the menu from appetizers to main course to desserts but we
hardly ever ate! All he did was talk while I observed.
But somewhere in
this mundane setting I knew that he too was ravaged by a typhoon of emotions just
as I was. He was scared for I was a Bengali and he from Uttar Pradesh; worlds
apart! And let’s just say time-pass wasn’t
what was on our minds. We wanted to be in it for the long haul and were trying
to decipher if it truly was worth the risk or the hard work it would entail! We
wanted to be those nonchalant lovers fiction raved about but reality held us
back. Ofcourse, we were no less in
imagination or adventure and are indeed
no less to this day as well, but that day was different, special yet very
different!
It’s strange
really how a lunch date made way to what we have today. Amidst all the talking,
the huge stack of food which we hardly ate and ofcourse the empty coffee cups, I
realised that this guy was really serious. I knew he was the one for me. As
ridiculous as it sounds, he was the one
for me! Why else would he bore me with his family history on our first date?
He wasn’t there to just go on dates and then wave good-byes. Why would he tell
me that if we go ahead then the path’s not going to be laid with roses? As
implausible as it sounds I knew right then that I had not erred! I hope he did
too for I just blinked or nodded my head over and over again!
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| 'Us' on our Honeymoon ,2011 |
That was our
special day of inception. Timidly yet valiantly it was on that day that we set
the remaining dominos rolling; together! It was the day when began our true
tryst with love. Ofcourse Shakespeare did warn us all that the course of true love never did run smooth. And it didn’t for us
either, but that day we set the foundation of our relationship on something as
trivial yet imperative as sincerity. Yes, as conflicting as our innocent
tete-e-tete was to the picture of two adolescents in love, there was that unflinching
flicker of novelty, of magic that coated every gleam, every camber of that day with
that layer of platinum.
We have so many
anniversaries; the proposal, the acceptance, the wedding! But 11th
of August, the anniversary of our first date, every year seems to be sprinkled
with droplets of metallic greyish white hue; our Platinum Day of love!
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| 'Us' Today! |
This post is part of Indiblogger's Platinum Day of Love Contest.