Will you be my Rain?

Madhu is one of my close friends and works in a nearby consulting firm to mine. I would like to share his sweet little love story that happened a few years back. His lady love is actually his colleague in office but works in a different department. I am not going to reveal the real name of his lady love; we will just go with 'Archana'.

Like Kamal's rainy day (Check my previous post 'On a Rainy day') Madhu had his own special day, the day he first met Archana. It was 8.00 am in the morning, Madhu was returning back to office after breakfast. That was when he saw Archana in the ground floor. She was so beautiful in her black Churithar and Madhu took some time to realize that she is just a girl and not an angel. She asked, "Is Deccan Consultancy 4th floor?" Madhu replied, "Yes, and whom do you wanna meet there?” She said, "No, I am not going to meet anyone, I am a new joiner in the HR team". Madhu said to himself, "Okay! Okaaay! I can take time to know about her".

The first day at office for Archana was exciting and she tried to find where Madhu's cubicle was, but unable to see him later that day. Madhu left the day with much excitement and was eager to talk with her. The next day Madhu waited at 8.00 am in the morning to see her. She came by 8.10pm and was rushing to the lift lobby as she was already late. By the time Madhu could reach her she moved into the lift and left to the 4th floor. Madhu was totally upset and pissed off with this bad luck. The day was not so good for Madhu and he took permission for a couple of hours and left early.

As it was a friday evening Madhu came to chit chat with all our friends. Normally we use to listen to the 90's pop ballads during our meetings. The way Madhu shared his meeting with Archana was poetic, we knew that Madhu was developing interest on her. Coincidently the next song was Bryan Adams' 'You love a woman' and Madhu said he wanted a moment of silence to enjoy the song:

When you love a woman, you tell her that she's really wanted

When you love a woman, you tell her that she's the one

Cause she needs somebody, to tell her that it's gonna last forever

So tell me have you ever really, really really ever loved a woman?

It was Monday and Madhu had some personal work and came late in the morning by 9.00 am. He was flooded with his official work and totally forgot Archana. During lunch break he was eager to meet her and went to her cubicle, she was not there and Madhu came back to his seat disappointed. However something cool happenned in the next few minutes.

Madhu turned back after he heard someone calling him. It was Archana and Madhu had butterflies in his stomach, his heart started pounding. She looked at him with a friendly smile and said, " Yesterday, I came in the evening to meet you, but I was told that you left early." Madhu, "Oh yes, I had some personal work, so left early". Archana after a moment of silence said, "Actually, I wanted to say sorry". Madhu was confused but Archana continued, " Yes, yesterday morning I saw you in the ground floor, I wanted to talk but it was too late already, I thought I could catch you later but you left early". Madhu thought to himself, "How sweet...this girl is the girl of my dreams". They talked for few minutes before she left to her cubicle.

The next friday Madhu shared all the sweet moments of that week he had with Archana. He also added that he is going to propose her the following week. All our friends started cheering him up and wished him good luck.

The following week Madhu became much closer to Archana. They went together during breaks and lunch. She shared about her interests, family details, future plans etc. While she was talking Madhu was in a different world thinking to himself, "Talk my little princess, I have lots of time to listen to you, soon you will hear something lovely from me".

It was Friday evening and there was a slight drizzle outside. Most of the colleagues left already and the remaining were only handful. Madhu was looking for Archana and saw her standing alone near the window. Madhu neared her and asked, "Do you like rain?"

"Yes, I love it, its one of the most wonderful things that God has given us" She said. Madhu felt she was in an ecstatic mood and thought this is the right time to propose her.

"Why is that you love rain so much?" Madhu asked. She paused for a while and said, “I feel rain brings changes in life, a constructive change, a refreshed change, above all it brings happiness in me". She was so expressive and continued, "Its like rain washes away all the problems, worries, bag things in life, and I love to walk in rain". She noticed the silence in Madhu and asked, "Do you like rain?"

He paused for a while and said, "Yes, but I like you more than rain". She was dumbstruck and was not sure how to react. Madhu continued, "Will you be the rain in my life?"

There was a moment of silence; Madhu knew that she needed that silence much more than anyone else.

After a few minutes Archana looked at him and asked, "Will you walk with me?"

They walked together in rain hands together and hearts together.

First Love

First love

First love is always unforgettable and those special memories would always linger around for life time. It was in the summer of 1996, Rajesh was 16 years old and had entered into the first year of higher secondary school. There were some newcomers as well, both boys and girls in the class and it took almost a month for every one to know each other. That was when Rajesh saw Trinity for the first time. During break time, he saw her reading a book on Mother Teresa. She seem to have noticed that he was watching her and turned towards him. She gave a friendly smile and said, "Hi!” he responded back to her and continued "Do you really like Mother Teresa?". She said, “Yes, I like her a lot, the kind of service she did for the poor is something extraordinary." Rajesh looked into her eyes and got lost in its depth.

Days went by and his feelings for her grew more and more. Rajesh's friends were able to spot the difference in him and started to tease him. Whenever she walked in front of Rajesh, there were smiles, his name was being called out slowly. He felt like flying whenever she smiled at him. Whenever he looked at her his heartbeat would start pounding and adrenaline would start pumping.

It was the beginning of September 1996 and there was an elocution competition in another School. Trinity was one of the participants and Rajesh was excited to listen to her speech. The topic was, "Thamizh Mozhiyin Sirappu" and all the participants were trying to show off their skills. She came to the stage and started her speech with this great song of Bharathidasan:

thamizhukkum amudhendru per,

andha thamizh inbathamizh yengal uyirukku ner, uyirukku ner,

thamizhukku nilavendru per ,

inbath thamizh yengal samogaththin vilaivukku neer,

thamizhukku manamendru per,

inbath thamizh yengal vazhvukku nirumiththa oor,

thamizhukku madhuvendru per,

inbath thamizh yengal urimaichem payirukku ver, payirukku ver,

thamizh yengal ilamaikku paal,

inbath thamizh nalla pugazh mikka pulavarkku vel,

thamizh yengal uyarvukku vaan,

inbath thamizh yengal asadhikku chudar thandha then, chudar thandha then,

thamizh yengal arivukku thol,

inbath thamizh yengal kavidhaikku vayiraththin val,

thamizh yengal piravikku thai,

inbath thamizh yengal valamikka ulamutra thee,

The song was sung with such power that every one was silent. She then continued with her speech and when she finished the applause was deafening. Rajesh felt proud, surprised, shocked, amazed and had every other feeling in the world. She won the competition and became a star of the school. Rajesh thought to himself about expressing his love.

On 14th September, there was an educational tour which was planned to visit the Kalpakkam Atomic Power station. On that day, in the noon that Rajesh called her and said, "I have to tell you something". She said, "Sure, tell me". He was not sure about how to start the conversation however he brought up some courage and told her, "I think am in love with you, I like seeing you every day...". He didn't know what else to add as he had rehearsed a hundred times but fell short of words to express himself. However he felt nice that he had proposed her. She did not reply anything and did not show any emotions on her face. She left that place without uttering a single word. Rajesh's heart was pounding heavily again and couple of hours passed by.

All have left that place and started back to the school in the bus. Rajesh sat in the last seat with tears in his eyes. All students except him were singing and enjoying their ride back to the school. The school was only 30 minutes away, Rajesh leaned to his front seat and was wiping his tears slowly. Suddenly someone touched his shoulder and he noticed that his lady love was sitting in the front seat. She smiled at him and said, "I love you too". At that moment Rajesh felt that he was the King of the world. All his friends were loudly cheering at him.

After this lovely incident, Rajesh had changed completely. There was a change in his lifestyle, dressing, manners etc. They were the most popular pair during their school days. They came to school together everyday and left together. Those were some of the beautiful days of their life.

Well, those beautiful days lasted for one and half years until her parents came to know about them. Trinity did not come to school for a couple of days. After that, when she returned back to school, she did not speak to Rajesh at all. Rajesh was called to the Principal's room and was warned. After two weeks, she reached out to him looking worried and said that she wants to break up. She told him that her parents were very particular about their caste and that they would never agree for an inter caste marriage. Rajesh was shattered to hear that as he had never imagined that caste would play such a big role in their relationship.

Their final exams was fast approaching and that was the last time they saw each other. She came into his life, showed the meaning of love and then left him.

Years passed by, Rajesh completed his post graduation and got placed in a good job. His parents had arranged for his marriage with a girl who belonged to the same caste to which Trinity belonged which was a sheer coincidence. Rajesh decided to move on with his life.

Sometimes, Rajesh used to remember his first love however he does not regret, instead he cherishes those memories as it gives him immense pleasure and satisfaction.

I would like to quote those words of Lester from the movie, 'American Beauty' which says:

"I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but it’s hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst. Then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain, and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life."

 

Love versus Infatuation

Why love affairs at school do not succeed most of the times? Well, I don't have an answer. May be it’s not actually love, may be its mere infatuation. I had a couple of love affairs which started and ended by the time I finished my schooling. However, there is one incident that I would like to share. Before that I would like to say a few things about Indian culture. Love affair is almost a crime in India. Love marriages are not accepted in most of the Indian families. Majority of the time they will not get any support from the parents or other family members. This is the real picture of love marriages in most part of the Indian subcontinent.

I will come back to the incident that I wanted to share with you. Shankar is the guy's name and Sonica is the girl's name. They both are much junior to me in school days. Shankar is the first to express his love to Sonica. At first she did not accept his love but later on, after many requests she finally accepted the proposal. Theirs was one of the most talked love affairs in School those days. School love is a sweet feeling which happens with most of the teens. It is sweet because it does not care about future, security, finance etc. You will just fall in love and enjoy the moment. Shankar and Sonica too had the same feelings.

Their first hindrance to love came in the form of College. They both got admission in different colleges in different cities. Distance should never be the hindrance for loving someone but it did. Shankar met her only once in every month due to time and travel constraints. Sonica became friends with some hifi girls and her activities soon changed. She started avoiding Shankar's calls and meetings. Our guy became desperate and was curious to know the reason for her change of attitude.

One fine day, without any prior information he went to meet her travelling almost 500 kms. However she was not in the class while he went there.  He waited for few hours but never lost patience. Finally when she arrived there wasn't any enthusiasm in her. She said, "What a surprise? When did you come?” He answered, "I came in the morning, why are you not answering me these days? Did I make a mistake? You have completely changed". She continued, "I am sorry, but there are some things I have to discuss with you". Shankar was wondering what's in her mind. However she was cool and continued, "I don't think it will work between us, I know it’s hard but we have lot to achieve."

"Why? I have always been good to you, I love you so much", he almost begged. "Please don't do this to me".

"No, Shankar! I have made my mind."  She added, "Please don't ever call or meet me, this is for our own good." She seem to have decided already and said, "It's not only about me, it’s about you as well, you should study well and get a good job and if its god's will, we will meet up again." Shankar was shattered and shocked looking at her attitude. Before she was leaving, he said, "I will wait for you even if it takes the rest of my life."

Years rolled on, Shankar became an Engineer and got well placed in one of the best companies in the city. He was true to his promise and never let anyone in his life. Sonica also became an Engineer and got placed in a good company in the city. She seems to be a person who accepts changes and luxuries in life. The last time he heard about Sonica was that she's engaged with a rich businessman in the city. He was shattered to hear the news and wanted to talk with her just once. However when he called, she made it clear that it was over between them.

Shankar initially had difficulty in accepting the hard reality but moved on. He had the opportunity to work abroad for a couple of years and so he left his native. When he returned back after the foreign assignment, his parents pressured him to marry. But Shankar was still undecided and convinced his parents that he needed some time to decide.

Things quickly changed with a weekend get-together of his friends in a nearby mall. He met Sonica in a coffee shop who has come along with another girl. He was desperate to talk to her, but was hesitant because of his last conversation before her marriage. A few minutes later, he heard a voice, "Shankar, how are you?". It was Sonica and Shankar was so happy to talk to her. However the happy moment did not last long when she said the she got divorced. She was surprised too when she heard that he was a bachelor still. Both left with heavy hearts but promised to meet again.

Shankar was loyal to his love and kept his promise. I felt Sonica just had infatuation on Shankar during School days but at last understood the meaning of true love. They say true love never dies, so I will stop here with their story.

On a rainy day!

Love is a beautiful feeling and everybody has their own story. This isn't a story but a sweet incident which happened with a friend of mine.

Kamal the protagonist of this story is in his late 20's and lives a life of a typical techie. His motto for life is 'No Girls! No Worries'. However what he never knew is that his motto would soon change. He used to work from 3.30 PM till 11.30 PM, so by the time he reached home it would be quarter past midnight. After few hours of browsing social websites he goes to sleep around 4 or 5 AM and wakes up around 1 PM. This was his routine life. He lived in his own world of virtuality and living in a cosy apartment was like a shell.

It was a Saturday and it was raining when Kamal first met his lady love. He was returning back to his apartment after buying some household stuff. It was then he saw her for the first time. She had the most beautiful eyes that he had ever seen. Her face looked more brighter inside the hood of the rain coat. Her face was lit with a lovely smile while walking in the rain. Kamal was speechless looking at her as if he saw an angel. She looked at him and smiled. He could never forget that moment and her smile was captivating.

Days went by and Kamal used to wonder thinking, "where was she all these days?" There is a saying that Sunday is the best day of the week. Kamal felt that, as Sunday was the day of his new identity. She was a newcomer to the same block where Kamal lived. When he saw her for the second time, he felt ecstatic. She remembered looking at him earlier and smiled at him. There is no greater joy than watching a girl of your dreams smile at you. Kamal asked her, "Hi! Do you live here?” she replied with a smile, "Yes! I do". Kamal continued, "I am sure you are not from this place. How do you find your new neighbourhood?", She said, "Yes, I kind of like here". He wanted to ask her name, however he was hesitant. But something sweet happened again, "My name is Shiny", and she continued, "What's yours?". After a long pause he answered, "I'm Kamal". They were chatting for 5 minutes and then she left. Kamal thought to himself, "This is the best day of my life, everything happened like a dream".

As the days went by, their friendship grew stronger everyday. She was expressive and spoke about everything from daily affairs, music, sports to literature, Science etc. Kamal has been living most part of his life in a shell hence could not express himself easily. But the only thing he did was listening to her. He was a good listener and when girls get a good listener, imagine how expressive they would be.

Kamal shared his feelings only with a couple of close friends who advised him that one should not hesitate to express love. They also added that it is "Never too late!" to be in love and one should not be the last to express their feelings. Inspired by his friend's advice Kamal came up with an idea to express his feelings for her. He wrote all his feelings in the Guitar note that Shiny gave him earlier and planned to give it to her on the following day. He did not want to fail this time and so checked in the astrology calendar that the next day was an auspicious day.

It was finally the day to get his exam results. Kamal took courage and gave her the note, she asked, "Are you okay? you look nervous". Kamal replied, "Yes, Shiny! I am okay". She noticed the change in him and was wondering. Kamal felt so shattered as he did not get a response from her. "Oh God! I think I did a big mistake" he thought to himself. The next day he was so ashamed to see her face. He came to a conclusion that she wasn't interested in him and that's why she has not responded.

Hours went by and Kamal did not come out of his home during the day. In the evening, he sat near the window watching the sunset. He felt the cold breeze blowing and the sun looked amazing with its orange rays. Suddenly he realized that someone was waving at him and he looked down from the window. Shiny stood on the ground floor and called him. Kamal was overwhelmed with emotions and rushed to the ground floor within few minutes. Both looked at each other and smiled. Though Kamal was uncomfortable to look into her eyes, he asked, "Did you check the guitar notes?". She replied, "Yes, I did. I have also added a new note for a song by Savage Garden". Kamal was wondering, " Is she playing with me? She is acting like nothing has happened". She was about to leave and said, "Okay, I have to go now. Tomorrow you should play me this song in your house". Kamal was expressionless and went back to his room to try and practice the song.

He opened the notes and the pages that he wrote earlier. Everything remained same and there was no deletion or addition. He was fed up with himself and started to think about his future plans. After some time he sat with his guitar to play the new song note that Shiny gave him. It read:

VERSE 1

G        Am7      E#m7  C

May-be it's in-tu-i-tion

G                   Am7       E#m7

But some things you just don't ques-tion

C

Like in your eyes

G       Am7           E#m7   C

I see my fu-ture in an in-stant

    G

And there it goes

  Am7                C     D

I think I've found my best friend

    Am7           E#m7         C       D        Am7

I know that it might sound more than a lit-tle cra-zy

  E#m7   C2

But I be-lieve

CHORUS

              G       Am7       C                                                                                                                    

I knew I loved you be-fore I met you

D            G         Am7  C

I think I dreamed you in-to life

D           G       Am7       C

I knew I loved you be-fore I met you

D               G    Am7    C2

I have been wait-ing all my life

He started to play the song and after an hour or two he was able to catch the chords. He closed his eyes, and enjoyed the play. Suddenly something struck and he jumped off the bed and said, "Wait a minute! Is this true? Is this an answer for my proposal? Oh my God, what kind of an idiot am I?". He ran out and looked everywhere as he was desperate to meet her. But he could not find her and was about to leave but at that time he felt something and he turned around. Shiny stood near the doorstep, he looked at her with tears of joy and there was a moment of silence. It started to drizzle outside.