Second Chance.... (#oSoS story-7)

"Can we talk for 2 mins on the phone before?" was one of the first lines Ankit said to me on WhatsApp. I initially denied talking because even if we did talk, it would be hard for me to remember all of it. But I felt if he needs to talk it must be something very important for him. So I eagerly awaited his call in the midst of my packing.

And upon calling the first thing he said was "well it’s a bit complicated..... ".

Ankit meet barkha through one of the many online marriage portals. Since both knew their individual purposes and intentions of registering, there were no surprises. They both knew why the other person was talking to them. Before meeting each other on the portal both barkha and aniket had been doing partner hunting since some time. until....

Until they saw each others profile and initiated a conversation. Just like every other conversation this too began on a very formal note. But this formal conversation was going to be much much more than just a general hello hi...

It took them just 10 days to get rid of any doubts about each other. It was during the last week of February 2015 they formally dashed into each others profile on shadi.com and it took them merely 10days to feel confident about each others intentions. In the first week of March they meet face to face for the first time.

 
It was in the serene and colourful ambiance of CCD andheri where they meet for the very first time. Although it was the first time they were meeting ankit for once was very sure that he would like to see more of barkha. According to Ankit the best thing he remembered about their first meet was that barkha was very beautiful and very mature at the same time. These two qualities just sank into him.  Their first meeting was followed up by talks on phones. The more they became comfortable, the more they began to meet. The curiosity about the other person and the willingness to share more about themself triggered the increase in the frequency of their meets. From every other weekend to every weekend and even sometimes on weekdays after work hours. 

In less than a months’ time they felt that they have reached the end of their search. In the mean while at least Ankit stopped his life partner search on portal. According to Ankit since both were looking for a long term stable relationship they decided to take it slow and one step at a time. 

It was indeed a very obvious decision take. He liked her maturity and simple hearted personality whereas she too liked Ankits straight forward ness and willingness to allways be there for her. Yet it took them 4 months of dating that too with initially not involving their parents to give a 100% commitment to each other about each other. 

But they both eventually did and after sometime notified there parent about each other and their intentions about each other as well. Surprisingly both their parents agreed to it.
But you must be wondering how a story that is sounding so flawless and simply prefect could be assumed to be 'complicated'. 
And if it is so, why have they decided to go ahead with their marriage?

I know these questions are in your mind as well.

The 'complicated' part of the story is that it not the first marriage for either of them. 

I was a bit worried and hesitant while asking questions related to their first marriage but again it was something that has to done and I am so glad that even Ankit didn't mind opening up about it and sharing it as well. he began...

"well its 'complicated' beause its not our first marriage. Our first marriage ended in divorce. we both initially got married via the arranged marriage route and it didn't worked out either for us. Mine ended in just 3 months but her first marriage took a lot of emotional toll on her as her marriage ended after one year. But although it took me just 18month to get out of it, hers took more than 3 years, mainly because her husband was an NRI. You know these things take prolonged time in our judicial system."

Now I started to understand why they wanted to take things slowly. it was the scars of the past that made them doubtful even of a good thing.

upon asking why did things went south on their first marriage he replied.
"both the partners are equally responsible. I had my signals initially but I still went ahead with it. Mainly because my parents had chosen my partner, which is how things are done, for which even they might have felt responsible and bad at some point of time."

"do u feel that divorce is the new deep, dark and hidden truth of Indian arrange marriage system?” I asked him hesitantly.

“Yes it is…..and it is increasing by the time. I met around 10 to 15 such divorcee… its tough that once you met parents quickly get you engaged and once engaged it difficult for both to get out in case they felt so.. specially for girls… once you go ahead and things don’t work out, it’s the only way out.”

“is it because of the generation gap or because of education which has given both partners financial independence and self-reliance?” I asked.

“Both I would say.. Since family are involved and there is pressure partners don’t get much time to explore each other plus the financial independence too is a major factor.. These things are there they are changing as well…. But still I believe that it happens mostly because of our Karma…”

“do you feel your bad first marriage robbed your romance?” it is what mostly people assume about broken marriage so I had to ask it.

“well it actually it did not rob me if you ask….i was a different person back then… I guess emotionally weak .... as far as my romantic element is concern it is there… it is still there minus all the stupidity part….  I guess we both are matured enough to skip it as well… but still I like to give her that special someone wala feeling too. She is a very beautiful girl and has a very humble family background.. We have so many thing similar amongst us, from education to passions, like we both explore new places, both of us likes to experiment with drinks… aur music toh hai he. So the romantic element is there but in a different dimension”

I was amazed to see the belongingness he had for barkha has transpired into something even I was finding hard to compile into words

“how do you show your romantic side to her?”  I asked hoping that it would bring out something exciting and it did.

“well it was her first birthday that we celebrated together. It was on 4^th October . I tried to make it very special… like kept gifting her throughout the day…took her to a nice restaurant, gave her many surprises there as well… and ended the night by bringing all her family members to the restaurant together and also a guitarist which played all her favourite songs. It seemed liked her face was not enough to withstand the lengths of her smile.. I guess she needed it as well.. it was high time that she too felt loved. ”

I was awestruck by this story. It’s the stories like this that inspires people to still have faith in love and god. Ankit and Barkha are set to get married on 16^th of April 2016. And I am so glad that they chose to share their story with me.

Lastly Ankit has two messages….

For Barkha:- I know you will keep my happiness ahead of yours… we had our downs. Life has given us a second chance….and it’s in our hands to take it to a different level.

For all those who don’t believe in second chance:- Love is beautiful. Whatever is gone is done. Give love another chance with learning from previous ones. At the end of the day it’s good to have someone besides you emotionally, physically and mentally as well.

All the Best Ankit & Barkha… 

Since this is the last write-up of OneStoryOnesketch I would like to extend my sincerest and abundant thank you to all for showing you faith in the idea. All I could share with you is my time, my siddhi and my prayers, because they are the only thing I consider as mine. I just hope people who drive inspiration and strength to listen to their hearts from all your stories.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all and all the best to all 14 individuals

God bless you all.

High on love (#oSoS story-6)

It was the first day of my college. My MBA College. Doing MBA was always a huge personal ambition rather than a dream for me. It was something that was also a very obvious choice since I had done my Bachelors in Commerce. Going through the entire Mba screening process was a very interesting experience. I must mention here that IBSAT was one of the toughest. But I am glad I did considered it in the beginning itself. You know how this CAT scores are roofing up. Cracking IBSAT was tough but getting through GD and PI was simple. So at the end of, it was the only best thing I had with me. But I believe that it was suppose to happen the way it did happened in the end.

So many things were on my head as I drove my Yamaha FZ through the narrow shaded roads inside Hiranandani complex in Powai. The entire complex is cozy and cool at the same time. The tall building gives a new definition to architecture and in one such beautiful building was situated my college. IBS Mumbai it was, a three floored building with a huge open space in the reception area. The college campus is just enough for the purpose it serves. Neither too big nor too small, Just the appropriate size. Just like the space in my heart. It is just the right size. Walking through the glass gates filled my lungs with the air of achievement, content and ambitions. Somehow I already knew that my life is no longer going to be same.

And I saw the first signs of it when I opened the doors to class room LH3. She was sitting there neatly dressed in formals, a pony tail hairdo and my eyes were just stuck on to her. Deep down a voice echoed, everything in my life was about to change, rather than changing it was going to become better. And my life just changed, it was 17^th June 2013.

I would deliberately sit in front of her; I wanted her to notice me. More over I wanted her to notice me noticing her. There was really something special going on between us. But our shyness was coming between us. That awkwardness that by default appears when, your intentions about the other person are much more than friends. It remained the same for another month.

Getting her number was not a very big task specially now in the times of Whatsapp and other socialization apps. We were on the same class group on whatapp and we started to talk on personal chats. It stayed this way for some time. Although we talked for hours on whatspp we were really shy to talk each other in front of college (probably bcoz of our shyness). But i broke the ice one day by giving her a chocolate. Since then we talked in person as well.

I was going through a tough emotional phase at that time. I found a very genuine friend and a trusted person in Ishitaa (with a double aa...). She not only helped me in getting over it quickly but i found a beautiful person in her during that phase. Even though we both had brown eyes, her eyes are much cuter and far better than mine. I would easily get lost in them while we would talk. Those blackish brown eyes would just take me to another place. A place I wished to get lost never to be found again. She had one of the most beautiful brown eyes.

We began to sit next to each other in class. All of our friends knew from our strange behaviour that there was something fishy going on between us. I guess friends know it before you know. So it was on 27^th August I formally proposed her. Well it wasn’t an actual proposal; it was something very unique or rather special I would say.

We were having a nice evening dinner at TimBaktoo’s a very cool hangout place which is situated just near to our college in Powai. We decided to have some drinks you know just to feel a bit easy and relax. But what started with an intention of relaxing therapy ended up in something else. I was initially surprised to see this side of her personality; it was the first time I saw her this way. I guess it was the only way in which she could loosen her minds grip over her heart. Perhaps the best way some may say. Finally when she was totally drunk and on clouds-9 she her heart finally conquered her mind and all she said was “from now on we are a couple!!!!”

To which my obvious reply was “alright!!”.

I think she needed to get high to say it, and I am glad that we did it. It isn’t that it was never gonna happen but would have happened a bit late. I was very happy initially but as time went by I realise I was losing my significance in her life. Somehow I felt she was taking me for granted and won’t give me enough attention. I never had any fancy expectation when I say about attention but atleast enough to say that we are still together. Things were dily-dolly for a year or so.

I felt that she was suddenly starting to become bhav khau. I know it sounds very rude but thing were actually starting to become tough to manage. Mainly because my conscious wasn’t allowing me to be in such a thing were i wasn’t being respected. A point came where things seemed like going above the threshold. Although it was tough, and sounds rude now but it was something that had to be done.

I remember we met at Sirocco. I was assuming that this would be our last meet, as it was the very intention with which I wished to meet her. Upon meeting her I explained her, my state of mind at that moment. It was tougher than it is sounding now. I told her what I was thinking about their current situation and the reasons behind his thoughts as well.

I felt it was better to part ways as both of them were not on the same tangent. Well I guess she liked things to be dramatic in life. maybe she was just confused or atleast not sure. But she cried, like all girls always do. I think it was the time when she realise that even she loved me, and perhaps my intention of moving out triggered this feeling. 

And when you realise a person who loves you is choosing to give up on love because he feels that you don’t respect that feeling pings a sense of fear. This is the fear of losing someone special in your life.

It like you are losing something good, something even better than your own self.  The evening ended on a rather opposite note with respect to how it began. We decided to give each a second chance and since then it has been the best times of our life.

It has been three years since that incident and our bond has grown stronger. Stronger than ever and there is a mutual respect that we have for each other as well. We don’t get much time to spend together, you know how the life in big city like Mumbai is. But still whenever we get we have the best times.

We like to explore new places, new hangouts and places to have cocktails and enjoy variety of food. I am surer than before that we have found our soulmates. And even caste is not an issue for us since we both are of same caste.

All lights are green for us and all we need is a go ahead from our parents. And I know that it will be a yes from them too, because ishitaa (with a double ‘a’) is the best girl for me. We are compatible in all respects and our love has stood the test of times, faced the challenges it threw on us and emerged stronger and firmer than before. I am sure our parents would acknowledge it and bless us for a 

prolonged life ahead of us together.

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Thoughts and views of Rohan Jain.

Words and sketch of Ignatius Lewis.

When distance are just numbers (#oSoS16 story-5 ).

Based on actual conversation.

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“It was one of those days when i was just trying to find something on FB”.

We started to talk awaiting our Mccafe to get ready. Our order number was 292 and i could see a number 276 being flashed on the big screen. It was a medium sized MacDonalds outlet  but the rush inside made it looked smaller.

We found ourselves a place to sit and that was all it took to him to get started.

“Actually I have no words to thank Mark for making it happen...” he began fidgeting with the credit card slip.

“A mutual friend? ” I interrupted.

“No... No...Its Mark Zukerberg....the FB wala” he corrected me. But he sounded as if he knew mark personally. But his gratitude and thanks for him was clearly visible.

“I stumbled upon her profile under ‘people you might know’ and then...” and before I could know he was lost in the memories.

“....then I saw her profile pic, in Navvari dress. I don’t clearly remember the color but I guess it was green. Initially it wasn’t easy for me to believe how someone could so graceful yet simple. I ended up starring at her pic for quiet sometime. I was not sure whether it was because of her looks or because of the Navvari or both. The dress just enhanced her looks”

“I can only imagine how it must have felt” i added.

“Yes and fortunately she replied to my messages, and then one thing lead to another. I wished to know more about her for which she responded with equal enthusiasm. Time revealed that there were many things common amongst us....” he continued.

“Like maybe what??” I interrupted.

“The one I clearly observed was loving the person who loves you...and even more than the person who hates you..hahaha...” he joked.

“....but yes it was really one of those greatest things that became a foundation stone of our relationship.” He ended as he looked back to check our order status on the big screen.

“So when did you guys first meet?” I asked.

As if he was waiting for this question from beginning. He took a long breath as if ready to plunge into those memory seas.

“For that I have to thank my chota bhai.. ..Actually she is studying in pune, and so was him and she was in her 6^th semester of engineering that time. His birthday was due on 24^th march it became an excuse to meet her.”

“So it was 24^th march?” i asked.

“Yes..It was the first day when we meet in person with each other. I found myself in the middle of a huge phoenix mall surrounded my loads of mixed emotions from curiosity to insecurity to anticipation and eagerness. But mostly I was a bit conscious about my height...”

“Your height....?” I shockingly asked.

“haan na yaar... i was just hoping the she doesn’t turn out taller than me. But fortunately it turned out that we were just about the same height. Although she was wearing a simple black top and blue jeans yet she looked elegant and sweet. She quickly guessed my nervousness and joked saying ‘ab mai heels nai pehen paugi..!!’... hahaha”.he again laughed in the middle of it.

“we spend the entire afternoon playing all the games in the gamezone....” he again began.

“hmmm???” I asked sipping my coffee.

“yes every game. Probably it wasn’t the games, it was the company of each other’s that we enjoyed the most, and by the time we were done i realised that she is the one.” he answered.

“itne jaldi?” i asked

“pata nai .. it was.... I think.. I guess the voice of my true self... I took some time but before I could ask myself ‘are you sure about this?’ to that inner voice the answer stood right in front of me”. he answered.

“How did you say it?” it was a very typical question but it was the whole deal of this one story on sketch idea.

“I think there was no need for either of us to say anything. I don’t know about her but i could feel it. But I still wanted to be sure about it, mainly to avoid any confusion....so I asked her. 

We were sitting in front of a cafe on a bench i remember... side by side... initially she was surprised but her reaction assured me that it was a yes.”

“Waow that amazing.. hold on to that.. let me get our coffee.” Our number had been on the screen for quiet a while.

I left him with that beautiful though. I felt it was a height of his emotional memories. I can only assume how one would feel about remembering one of those moments that liberated your life. Falling in love is more of a choice. A choice both the person indulging makes. And if it originates from depths of your heart it will reach the other person hearts as well...

The coffee could wait.

“And then the usual silly stuffs began?” i asked as we stirred our coffee.

“Yes yes.. all the usual silly stuffs and we did all the silly stupid stuff...you know whatsapp... immo everything.... we would just look for reasons to meet each other.” he said as he took few sips from his coffee.

“And then I again went to pune two months later and we again meet at the same mall and she was wearing a beautiful black colour one piece, and OMG was she looking like and angel or what. My heart was about to fall from its place right down on her feet’s.”

“Really??” I was amazed by his excitement.

“But hum bhi kisise kam nai the... the next time I visited her dressed to impress... hahaha”  he laughed.

“What happened?” I had to ask this.

“I was suppose to attended a friends marriage all decked up full suit boot, stood in front of her college with a teddy bear in my hand and got even with her. It was like.... If you can do good.. i can do the same better. And her joy and happiness seemed priceless to me.”

“Did she like it?” I asked.

“Liked it???? She loved it” he answered.

“So only you visited her... she never came here??” I asked.

“mi pan tech mahntlo tila...mich ka yeu bhetayla tu pan yet ja....hahaha.” we laughed

“So did she...?” I asked

“Yes.... She initially cancel a pre-planned visit citing project work and the suddenly called me saying ‘ek tasat panvel pochnar ’ and I was still sitting in my short at my place...” he laughed again.

“And then it was totally filmy scene at panvel station... as we try to locate each other. Apparently it was her first visit here and on the phone we were like .... “tum kaha......mai yahan” and finally after 15 minutes we met....she looked tired and by god even more beautiful than ever....”

For a moment even I was thrown back into my visual of seeing my special person in such a situation.

“She was tired and had travelled all the form pune after her exams. I had planned a few things but had to reconsider most because of her tiredness. The journey from panvel to vashi was the best ride i had ever had. She sat in my bike hugging me from behind and almost fell asleep as she rested her head on my shoulder. Her hair occasionally tickled my neck and I could feel her fatigue from her heavy long breaths on my back. And it was December sunset which made everything even more special. I wished the clocked stopped and the road became endless...i would have given her a ride till infinity” he ended.

“Finally what message do u have for people who don’t believe in distance relationship?” I asked.

“Distance doesn’t matters... your loved one are always closer to your heart... distance makes relationship more firm and rigid” he concluded.

And I couldn’t agree more with him in this regards. Distance as they say still is a physical term, not an emotional one.

happy pappiyan te jhappiyan day...

Mine is yours, forever & ever (#oSoS16 story-4)

I always use to wonder how actually, in reality people feel in love with each other. All the more after having my own personal experience. Did it really happen the way they showed in movies? those old movies where a guy see a girl in temple and falls for her. My personal favorite would be how they showed kunder meeting zoya for the first time in ‘Ranjhanna’ Movie.

Precisely why, one should never give-up on love, because you never know when you bump into it. Sometimes you find the greatest of stories originating from the silliest of things and through the craziest means.

One of the most useful tool in FB is the Poke feature. I know it because it too helped me to finding a great person I had. But the end result that Miss Angel got is different than mine. Coz it helped her find the right person(anonymity requested).

A friendship that began with an all-out poke war with Mr. xyz 5 years back in 2011 has now become an inspiration not only for both of them but me as well. This is just one of those magical stories where a girl inspires a guy to become a better person and ultimately into a Gentlemen. And this transformation makes her realize his love for her and instead transforms her into a woman. Because when you find the perfect person you imitate that person so as to compliment them and become perfect as well.

But how to be sure whether it’s the right feeling? Especially in today’s world where love is camouflaged by so many of its own adjectives like affection, attraction and crush etc…For the very reason even after they had exchanged their number back in 2011 Miss angel was very much skeptic about Mr. xyz's intentions.

Maybe he jumped the guns too soon, maybe she wasn’t prepared, maybe the time wasn’t right or maybe there was something better written for them. They gradually parted their ways until 2 years later when Miss angel’s whatsapp showed a message from Mr. xyz. Contrary to the previous conversations this one was more oriented towards another female friend of Miss angel’s.

But girls are girls and this is what girls always do, first they confuse you then they avoid you and when they are just about to lose a great guy they reel you back in. Maybe Mr. xyz hadn’t forgotten about her Or maybe it was destiny giving her another chance with this great guy. 

What initially seemed just an intersection was actually a one way road. They say it doesn’t matter what road you chose until it takes you home. And yes this time it was very different, because contrary to what had happened earlier both were willing to know and let know. Finally they were allowing each other into their previously hidden, closed and drastically different worlds. Miss angel says their conversation grew deeper and endless.

This is where magic happens, you end up sharing so much about each other that before you fall in love with a person you have already fallen in love with their personality. It reaches a toppling point where you just can’t wait to meet that person and experience and feel it. 

Finally with loads of curiosity and eagerness they finally meet each other on Navratri that year. Yes a meeting that took 4 months to materialize and lasted just 5 minutes. But those awkward 5 minutes were enough to cement their love each other. Because when you have already fallen in love with the soul, rest will automatically fall in place.

Miss angel and Mr xyz realized that their personalities are diagonally opposite to each other. Yet there was no stopping them. Miss angel staying in JUHU would be frequently visited by Mr XYZ, who stayed in Malad, and they would spend their evening walking and talking on the scenic beautiful Juhu beach. There was this one incident Miss angel says that totally changed her view towards Mr xyz. There was this once when he dropped her home all the way from kandivali. 

For the entire 30 minute of the journey he kept asking weather she was hungry or not, to which she constantly denied as she was running late.

Only to realize that in a hurry to drop her home he had skipped his dinner. This was a very subtle, yet responsible way to indicate her priority in his life. After the long walks on the beach and endless an endless chatting one week after diwali he proposed to Miss Angel.

But girls being girls she again declined to it. Her decisions made not only Mr xyz feel bad but also made her realize that her decision was wrong as well. Unable to find a valid reason for her denial he stopped talking to her.

But this time something had changed. She instantly realizes that this wasn’t the right decision. There was something inside herself that just couldn’t accept this decision. It was something that ticked right as a clock when she was with him. She realize that she is not only declining his proposal but also to a very positive he nurtured in her.

2 days later she finally accepted his proposal. Saying no consecutively to an amazing guy who is a pianist, composer, musician, caring, responsible and patient and in short a totally romantic guy would have been a very bad decision.

Not only Mr xyz But Miss angel too gave their love a second chance. Love is not smart, love is innocent hence when it is with the right person its worth giving a second chance.

Miss Angel, now working at her own start-up called HANDWRITING REVEALS says Mr xyz is the best thing that has happened to her. They both complement each other and are madly and deeply in love. She feels incomplete without her and see herself as a ship in the violent sea and him as an Anchor.  She sees a perfect gentlemen in him and now finds that simple and decent guy he meet outside Bhaidas hall on a cold evening of October 2013 hot, cute and handsome.

He has transformed an impulsive and careless girl, into mature and responsible women. She say “he isn’t very expressive about his love but it can be seen in just the way he looks at me”.

He loves her, guides her and holds her like a true gentleman.  She being madly, unconditionally and truly loving her stands by her side making an awesome couple. They wish to grow old together and their love is way beyond the levels of a committed relationship.

And this is precisely what love does….

It completes you!!!!!

Will come back in love. (#oSoS16 story-3)

Present day--------

“My heart was racing like horses. Beating so fast that I felt I might skip a beat on numerous occasions. My nervousness was having an internal tussle with this newly discovered feeling”.

She said this looking all over the place and struggling to find the right words to phrase her thoughts. Memories of the day, that day which is still afresh in her thoughts and in her heart.

“Unable to find the correct explanation, to these weird feeling I decided to just go with the flow of the moment”. She said. She seemed partly lost in the memories of that day and partly in urge to live that day again. And her reasons for this reaction is also very much justified in the end.

(Flashback)----------------------------------------------------------

There was very little that could have gone wrong this day she felt. It was Diwali for the god sake, one of the most auspicious days. It was a bit hotter than usual afternoon of November 2014. Amidst the curiosity and excitement she waited for him at Elphinston road station eagerly. Although the station is quieter than other stations in the western Railway suburban corridor but it was probably because of Diwali it held a deserted look. But its emptiness was compensated by the rush of thoughts and feeling she was facing.

Amongst numerous unknown faces she recognized him, only to find that he too was looking for her. He was there to receive her as he was an HR and had scheduled an interview for her. This was the first time that they have met each other up front, face to face. She was just unable to hide the joys. They were spilling from all over her face. They walked to the interview office and the meeting lasted for approximately 30 minutes. Neither they were talking for the first time nor was she seeing him for the first time.

(Few years earlier)--------------------------

Destiny u may say made them crashed into each other over the phone. Way back in 2012 when Malvi was working as an HR consultant and like any other day she was making her calls to prospected candidates. Her job involved calling them and providing their referrals to various companies and fixing interview. Ravindra was just a candidate back then for her. She had already called him once few minutes back. On another call a different person again gave his number as reference and being unaware that she had called him just a few minutes, she again dialled his number. Fate she says it was but back then she got plenty of earful for which Malvi was left embarrassed and apologetic.

(Present Day)----------------------

It was 5 months after this incident they finally talked to each other in a non professional and friendly way, it was this Diwali of 2014. Sounds really amazing till now isn’t it?

But one can only wish that life was this simple, it was the longest time they had met each other. And it is still the longest duration for which they had met each other, and you would be surprise to know that they both not only stay in the same city but also at a distance of 15 minutes away from each other places.

Even I was unable to believe what she was saying but this is the truth. Yes they would meet once in a while but that would be just a very short meet.

“I would just look for any excuse to see him, meet him. I don’t know why i would do so, nor i regret doing it. I just did what my heart told me to do”. She said upon asking why.

But they would talk a lot on phone. There were three things that brought them closer to each other. Initially was their profession then their mutual love for guitar. Finally it was their life problems that gave them each other’s comfort. Not only she was going through a rough patch in her life but even he was stuck in some real serious issue in his life.

But where life throws pain love provides relief. There are certain things in your life that you can control and then there are those things that not only your life controls but also about which you have very little idea. And when such problem enters in your life all you could do is pool your resources and try to contain the situation.

Which was the exact thing he was doing and because of this he had closed himself emotionally and devoted his entire time and attention in tackling them. But love as they say is so naturally existing in each one of us that it always fills the gap left by circumstances. Just like how sand fills the empty space of jar stuffed with rocks. Love is very flexible and adaptable i guess. It requires neither ample space nor time in your life. If it is originating from your own self, it can survive with the least of the resources. Sometimes all it needs is trust.

If you find comfort, trust, peace and deliverance in any person even in such challenging situations then trust me that person is your soul mate. Once you accept this you can wait for this person till eternity. So did malvi and ravindra as well. Once they became more comfortable with each other they started to open up more to each other and their talks become longer and longer. The more they shared why they are, the way they are? The more they realise that they are in pretty much similar situation. Basically both found themselves lonely and hence found refuge in each others company.

Finally one year later she accepted that he was the guy of his life and expressed her heart out to him. This sudden shift from friendship to a committed one startled Ravindra. There was a hint of doubt in his mind mainly because his priorities didn’t permit him. He just could not commit himself to another responsibility without finishing the one he was in. He couldn’t promise her a common future. But knowing him for so long even she started to believe that every expression of love need not necessarily mature into marriage.

They knows each other strengths and weakness.  Since she is very emotional he doesn’t share tough and complex issue with her, because he doesn’t want her to feel helpless and cry. He even asked her to walk out for the same reason.

Where as she acknowledge all these facts and still chose to stay with him... without loading him with any burdens of expectations. She knows he needs space and time and she gave him both. They are happy with whatever little they get for themselves from each other’s life.....Like the sand in the jar of rocks.

She wants him to come back to her only after properly sorting out issue which are his priorities now, with a promise to hold on to his hands forever.

Her message to him and everyone is “if you love a person love him unconditionally and irrespective of the circumstance. Love imbibes on Patience and Patience requires Trust”.

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On December 2015 Malvi proposed Ravindra which he eventually accepted……. But their meeting @Elphinston road station in 2014 is still the longest that they have met and they are truly in love with each other with a willingness to wait for the right time......

Thoughts and memories of

Malvika Chitalia.

Are marriages made in heaven? (#OSOS16 story-2)

Story of Shraddha and Pavan.

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In her very own words......

Are Marriages really made in heaven? I used to make a mockery of such statements and use wonder at a same time how can someone say such a hypothetical statement. I use to laugh thinking that this dialog was a very bad heritage left by Indian cinema for us.....well until.....yes you got me right....

Until... I met Pavan.

Many time even I found myself wondering how on earth this could happen to me. If I look back (which I do more than often), even I get mesmerized many times about how on earth this happened to me. I never thought that there could be something known as “our love story” when I was a child or in fact in college as well.

 

Our story is the best example of (the unwritten law of love i.e.) Opposite Attracts. 

·      I love singing  -he is a scratched CD (yeah!!! trust me I tried but it didn’t work).

·        I am a born dancer   - his dancing skills are..... (well...?? have seen it and you can’t even imagine what I saw)...him and dance.. No way.

·        I love cooking – he can....(eat what i make)...make....well not even a cup of tea.

·        I’m totally unromantic - he is full Hindi film hero (totally, madly and highly romantic) and overwhelms the above mentioned shortcoming convincingly.

·        I can’t go out @11 in night to get a cheese cake – He can do anything!!! (Would easily take me to stars if he can.)

 

That’s Pavan for you in a nutshell!!

Our story is more like the 19^th century stories. Well it not like we saw each other in a temple praying but because of ORKUT (rest in peace). ORKUT was (2 minutes silence.....) booming that time. It was like everyone was having 2 kinds of friends. Firstly friends who are were your classmates, batch mates and colleagues. And then there were what we called just ORKUT friends.

I too had one such Orkut friend, a good hearted  person (I never met that guy  until me & pavan married  but I met Pavan because of that guy)…..Fortunately  he was Pavan’s best college buddy (later turning into cupid).

One day we were talking randomly, suddenly someone shouted on his phone “ kisse bat kar raha hain tu , mereko bhi baat karni hain”.

That guy handed his phone to Pavan requesting me to say ‘Hi’ to him. So I did (bas hogaya shree ganesh waha se).

That’s how we started our journey. No wonders I got Orkut (2 minutes silence please) request from Pavan the very next day and then we chatted on & on & on. After a couple of months he gathered the courage (literally all of it) to ask me out for a coffee, I said “why not I love coffee".

31^st December 2008 , venue  - Barista @ Raghuleela

 

He arrived early and was waiting for me outside Vashi station campus, as if the huge courtyard wasn’t enough of a challenge in a hurry I also forgot to carry my specs.(without which i am blind as a bat even in day. Hence they search began) actually i just stood at one place he came looking for me.

Well dressed up, fair, tall chashmish guy basically (OMG!!! Super handsome...shuuu don’t tell anyone) typical the GUY next door type. This was his first impression on me. He is still the same (but only ONE THING changed).It was actually very cool meeting, we neither felt awkward nor uncomfortable during the met. He had to leave early because his gang was waiting for him. You know how these friends behave when you are going to meet a girl. But they constantly troubled him on phone as he was trying to tangofy a friend’s birthday celebration to be with me. He had given all the possible reasons to attend the celebration a bit late (it was cute and funny).

I said to him “it’s ok (which was not), your friends are waiting and you should go & have fun with them, surely we will meet again (I just hoped he did).We both left for our places

At midnight 12.00 a.m he called to wish happy New Year. (Actually he wanted to know weather i was free the following day or not.. woawww)

 CCD  -1^st January 2009 -   

I must say, we really lived the tag line of CCD (Sorry i forgot what it was???? Oh yes a lot can happen over a coffee!!).Citicenter CCD was where we meet again and since then it became our regular hangout place. 2 - 3 hrs we would meet to talk. Actually I used to talk he used to listen everything quietly. I thought he was a balanced guy, who never talks much… even if asked to do so. Once i insisted why he doesn’t talks much to which always replied “I am more of a listener (wowwwww amazing..And I was actually starting to like him) 

Do you Remember The Only thing that changed in him that I talked about just a few moments ago was he talks too much, too much (yes you guessed it right.. IT WAS A TRAP!!) and he gracefully lured me into it as well (did i forget my spec again for not seeing it??).He irritates me, he makes a mockery of people. I came to know about all his secrets and loopholes after meeting his gang.(bach gayi...hahaha).

He would give me indirect hint that he loves me & I used to enjoy that (don’t ask how much!!).

One fine day out of nowhere he said “let’s go out somewhere”

I asked “for what?”.

He replied “relax!! I know you are an abnormal girl, I just want to go out with you & I am very much aware that you are strong enough to take care of your own & I will not dare to even think what you are thinking about it”.

 I said “okies..NP”.

We went to kihim beach, breezy day it was. We both were walking on the silver sandy beach. Suddenly he requested me to sit down. What happened next was totally unexpected. Suddenly he went down on his knees (I was like OMG...OMG!!!), fetched a box from his pocket ((faster OMG...OMG!!!), opened it (I was like even faster OMG...OMG!!!). he then picked the diamond ring (then the racing OMG....OMG!!!), held it in both of his hands and asked....

“ SHRADS I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH ….I WANT TO GROW OLD WITH YOU ….WILL YOU MARRY ME  ….”.

And I was like (going crazy in my minds).....I had never expected it to come too early. Certainly I had the same feelings for him as well, but never thought this day will arrive so suddenly (and so dramatically as well, that’s typical pavan for you).

He again asked, “Will you marry me?”

It’s a dream of every girl that the guy she loves, should propose her in this fairy tale style (guys take a note of this). No wonder I cried saying “Of course I will marry you”. 

We got married on 16^th December 2011. Like all love marriages in our society, our marriage was not easy at all. Many obstacles stood in front of us, but I must say Pavan took some very firm & hard stands for me, which I will never forget in my entire life. 

 He never ever says NO to me. He is like…Your wish is my command (I want cheese cakes please... pavan). I am his Bacchu (baby in Marathi). Whenever we had fights (yes we do at times), Pavan is the only one who come & say sorry no matter if he was guilty or me (why I said madly and deeply in love with me).

He takes my tantrums, he balances my mood swing, he enjoy teasing me on Madhuri’s song  , he enjoy irritating me by singing himesh reshmiya, Altaf raja, Govinda songs (whereas i am hardcore Hrithik Roshan fan!!!).

 I think this journey is just the beginning, so many sunrises to see, so many countries to explore, so many dishes to taste, so many movies to watch and many more coffees we want to sip together. Together and with each other’s love. 

I trust we will grow old together Pillu  :*

Both are happly married and celebrated their 4^th wedding anniversary two months back.

I asked shraddha - what is your message to people who give up on love because of “ghar wale nai manenge” dialog.

To which she replied “listen to your heart... If marriage is in your destiny it will happen”. In other words (kisike baap se nai darna... karna hai toh karna hai).

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Feelings and thoughts of 

Shraddha. G. Khamitkar.

Compiled by

Ignatius Lewis.