Forever And Always...

I belong to the category of people who like to live in two parallel universes at the same time, one which reflects the world they desire to live in, and the other, the world where they actually live in. And it is not often that these two worlds coincide but when they do, its a beautiful feeling. Romance has always been something that I believed in deeply. It is something that is a part of both my universes. I have seen a lot of couples in love, some who have managed to stay by each other no matter what, and some who have drifted apart with time. I have seen people who were in love long before they got married and some for whom love happened after marriage. The one thing that remained common to all the couples was love. Every time I come across a couple, I find out something about love and relationships that I have not known earlier. I have seen my parents, their friends, my friends, and a lot of other couples, who let cupid play his tricks on them and have only fallen more and more in love with each other over the years.  But even then, there have always been questions that have never left my mind. Is it really possible for two people to spend a lifetime together? Does 'forever and always' happen for real or is it just an illusion created by novels and movies that two people in love actually are capable of devoting their life to each other completely? What happens when these so-in-love couples face old age? When they can no longer walk on their own or when sight and sound start to leave them slowly in solitude? I got the answers to all my questions a few days back. I was out with my best friend. Priya's complex in Delhi has always been a place where you can find a crowd full of cupid's victims. We stepped into a coffee shop and took a seat that faced the door diagonally. The coffee shop had a few stairs at the entrance which made the main entrance only partially visible. We placed our order and in a few minutes we were enjoying coffee. A couple of minutes later, I saw a man, covered in wrinkles, with thick glasses and a walking stick to help him walk, slowly climbing up the stairs. He must have been in his eighties. He wasn't very tall, had silver hair and bald patches, and wore clothes that made him appear slimmer than he actually was. He climbed up the stairs slowly and came and stood near the table next to us. He stood there looking all confused. We were looking at him constantly and couldn't help but feel bad that he was all alone at that age. A waiter approached him, hoping to help him but he dismissed the waiter. We sat there, trying to figure out what was going on. He had his gaze fixed at the door. A few mins later, I saw someone climbing up the staircase at the entrance. The waiter who had come to the man, was now at the entrance helping someone. And then, at the staircase, appeared an old lady, dressed in white, with silver hair, and a walking stick in her hand. As soon as she reached the last stair, the man slowly walked to her and gave her his hand. She held his hand and he lead her to their table. As they reached the table, he asked the waiter to pull out a chair for her and once she was settled, he sat across her. They placed the order for each other and sat there holding hands, looking at each other with a smile on their faces. I sat there looking at them in awe with the biggest smile on my face and watery eyes. They were both in their eighties, needed walking sticks to help them walk, were wearing hearing aids and were out on a date! They sat there looking at each other with the expression that people generally have when they are just in the beginning phase of their relationship. It was hard at first to believe what I was looking at. But it was a time where both my universes were coinciding. I was sitting there, witnessing a couple who had spent a lifetime together and were still in love and by each other's side. It was this incident that answered all those questions I have had. Some people do spend their lifetime together.It does not matter how old you get, or how much time you have spent together. Love, if it is true, does last forever and always, no matter what!  

Puppy Love

It's strange how a small event or word or statement made casually can send your mind into hours of deep thought. I don't know if it happens to everyone but it does happen with me. I was reading Nicholas Spark's 'The Wedding' and came across a line about how love is more than just three words mumbled before bedtime... I couldn't help but realize how true it is. As we turn 15, this whole new feeling makes a place for itself in our hearts. And as we grow, our experiences with it teach us something at every point. Even if one doesn't have a crush or a partner in teenage, he learns a lot by constantly looking at people who do allow Cupid to let him play his tricks on them. At every step there is a new lesson that awaits us. Be it falling more in love with each other, or finding out that you are drifting apart, love has its own ways of teaching us.I have seen so many friends who keep falling in and out of love every now and then. I have also seen a few who fell in love just once and have managed to hold on tight to that feeling and yet giving it the space to mature with them. I still don't quite understand how it is that all of a sudden some stranger becomes so important to you that everything in your life becomes about him/her. My books, after my mom, have been the ones to help me learn about a lot of aspects of life. They have made me question a couple of things and have also provided me with the answers. One such question that struck my mind while reading today was, is it true that we never forget our first love? And then, in the pages of the same book, I found the answer to my question They are the first ones whom we think about selflessly apart from our families. Someone who other than our family, or friends make us feel special in more than one way. And perhaps the reason behind the feeling being so pure is that we are honest to ourselves. We are naive when it comes to the worldly tricks and have only seen and believed in the positive aspects of life. We fall in love as easily as a child makes friends and also with that same innocence. Everything seems perfect then. As they say, the magic of love takes upon us and everything begins to look beautiful. This book was not about a young couple... It wasn't a typical romantic novel that portrays the hero as the most desirable man and the heroine as the best female on this planet. It was about a couple in their latter half of life, with kids grown up enough to be married. It was about their love for each other from when they first met as teenagers to two old people about to be divorced. It was about the possibility for two people to fall in love all over again even if there has been a lifetime of disappointment between them.
It is rightly said, I presume, that only when someone steps away from you, do you realize their value in your life. It is only when they move away that they teach you that life isn't as easy and beautiful as you have always thought it to be. No doubt that as we grow and mature, we begin to face the cruelties of life, but still in our hearts we hold the hope and the love we had felt at that tender age. And no matter how much we try to get rid of it, it is a part of our life that always stays with us... And sometimes it is the same driving force that let's you find that lost love and fall more deeply in it. 

आज फिर हँसी में इक ग़म को छिपा लिया...

It is everyday that we come across a lot of less privileged people around us. But it is rare that we take some time out to be with them and help them to rise from the place they are stuck in. I went to meet a few such kids today...sat with them, talked and played with them... and it brought so much of relief to me. But I realized it was impossible for me to not to think about them after leaving from there. And so, I couldn't help but write what I observed when I was with them. Such strong people they are, fighting everyday for survival, yet making it seem as though it is nothing so difficult. We reach out to some, but still there are many who don't receive our support. If you can feel what I am trying to convey through this piece of writing, then please try and contribute towards a better future for these people, in whatever possible way you can. Every effort, no matter how small it is, can be a huge step in building a better tomorrow.


आज फिर हँसी में इक ग़म को छिपा लिया,
बिन आहट चलने वाली धड़कन को साज़ का नाम दिया,
परछाइयों में जीने वाली आँखों को रौशनी कह दिया,
और दुनिया को फिर एक मुखौटे में ख़ुद से मिलवा दिया...

कितने  मुखौटे हैं यहाँ सब के
हर मुखौटे का अपना सच,
कितनी चोटें हैं लगीं हर दिल को
हर चोट का अपना दर्द,
इन  मुखौटों को, इन चोटों को
आज फिर खुद में समां लिया
आज फिर हँसी में इक ग़म को छिपा लिया...

हर दिन की सुबह  नयी
हर सुबह की शाम नयी
इन आँखों में फिर भी
न सुबह नयी, न शाम नयी
ख़ुशी ने दस्तक दी भी कभी तोह लगा यूं
ज़िन्दगी छीन न ले यह भी मुस्कान कहीं,
आज फिर दुनिया को एक झूठ से रूबरू करा दिया
आज फिर हंसी में इक ग़म को छिपा लिया...

चलते हैं इस दुनिया में
जैसे हैं राजा सारी ज़मीन के
कोई झाँक के देखे अन्दर तो जाने
हैं मुश्किल कितने अंदाज़ ये,
कि न है कुछ, और न उसे खोने का डर
फिर भी है दुनिया की हर रीत की कद्र,
ठण्ड में तारों की रजाई तले पूरी रात बिता दी
और सूरज की धूप में पत्तों की छाँव बना ली,
आज फिर कुदरत को अपना ग़ुलाम बना लिया
आज फिर हंसी में इक ग़म को छिपा लिया...

न घर है कोई न खून के रिश्ते कोई
पर फिर भी परिवार में हैं लोग कई
हैं एक जैसे सब, बस सबके मुखौटे कुछ अलग,
हर मुखौटे के पीछे है एक टीस अलग
कल मायने रखता नहीं, है आज जीना चुनौती नयी,
जीत पाना पत्थर दिल वालों  की इस दुनिया में
बस है हर दिन की कहानी यही...
आज इस कहानी को लफ़्ज़ों में ढाल दिया
आज फिर हंसी में इक ग़म को छिपा लिया...