Life is a kaleidoscope...and I love to explore as much as I can. Here's life from my spectacle...Follow me for my take on books, food, movies, travel, parenting, relationships, social issues and anything interesting I come across…Bienvenue!
Throughout my
growing years, I teased my mom for one thing – whenever I would fall sick or be
in pain, she would start crying. I remember once when a dog had bit me, on our
way to the hospital, mom was crying more than me. She had heard how painful
anti rabies injection was and she was scared about how I would tolerate the
pain. As I joked that she looked more like the patient than me, she said, “You
will understand my pain when you become a mother.”
Mom left me few
years ago, but her words have echoed in my mind several times ever since I
became a mother…
After my delivery,
when my intravenous cannula was removed, I rejoiced thinking, “The pain is
over!” Little did I know a new challenge awaited me – of witnessing my baby in
pain during vaccination!
As the date for
the next monthly vaccination drew near, anxiety gripped me...
The initial
mandatory vaccines were administered by the pediatrician while I was still bed
ridden. But, as the date for the next monthly vaccination drew near, anxiety
gripped me. The mere thought of the needle pricking my baby’s soft skin and the
imaginary sight of my little angel wincing in pain gave me goose bumps.
Ours was an arranged marriage.
Unlike majority of my friends who boasted of love marriages, their “I Do”
stories and lot of PDA (Public display of affection), mine was a rather shy affair. The only aspect I could
boast of was that unlike poles attract, for we were poles apart yet we
felt the sparks enough to say yes after just half an hour of meeting! Like most
arranged Big Fat Indian weddings of our times, our “I Do” was a rather shy
moment in front of our families. As for PDA, well before we could even break
the ice, we were married, almost like a miracle!
So here we were, a newly married
couple, trying our level best to know each other and bridge the gap between
those unlike poles. As a new bride, I was in the “impress your hubby” mode,
whether by whipping up lip smacking meals, dressing to kill, or charming him by
my creative attributes.
One morning, sitting on my desk
and sipping on my morning cuppa, my mind threw an amazing idea of impressing my
cute, lovely and shy hubby. I used to send a Good Morning mail with an
inspiring thought to my team, few friends, boss and super boss every morning.
As I was drafting the Good morning mail that day, I thought, “Why not add HIM
to the mailing list?” I knew he was the intellectual types. So, with all good
intentions of impressing my hubby and starting his day on a beautiful note, I
marked him too in the mail and hit the “Send” button.
Within seconds, I started
receiving the usual replies of appreciation and Good morning wishes from my
colleagues. But my eyes were desperately looking for this one name in my inbox,
while my fingers promptly kept hitting the refresh button. “Would he have liked
it, or thought it as yet another forward mail in his inbox?” I was curious to
know the reaction.
My wait was short lived, for
after few minutes, my eyes finally spotted what they had been looking for. It
was a reply from him. He had loved the mail and replied, “Loved it baby, just
like your cozy cuddle this morning!”
But, before I could even recover
from recalling that morning “moment” we had, I was disturbed by a “Hmmm…cozy
cuddle” from the next workstation! I was awakened with a start. Was someone
peeping into my PC? No.
A moment later, my eyes went wide
with shock looking at the mail, as if they had witnessed the sun rising from
the west!
My loving hubby, impressed by my
gesture didn’t waste much time in seizing this moment of praising his wife.
However, it so happened that in a hurry to shower his love, he selected “Reply
All” option instead of “Reply”
The rest, as you can all guess is
indeed a memorable moment of my life!
His debut attempt at PDA was read
by my friends, team, my boss and to my horror, even my super boss! As I saw my
friends share naughty smiles and girls say “Aww, so romantic”, I felt like
forcing my tomato red face into the PC screen. A moment
later, my mobile flashed with his number. The poor thing had realized his mistake and apparently tried to recall the mail. But the arrow had already left
the bow!
After a moment of silence on both
the sides, suddenly both of us shared a laugh!
He - It just happened, I swear!
Me -Yeah, I could make that out
He – They must be teasing you na!
Me – Hmmmm (Going super conscious
with all eyes on me)…they find it too romantic (almost whispering)!
He – But I loved it!
Me – What? (Whispering, with my
face going cherry red by now)
He – Your morning cuddle, and oh,
uh, the morning thought as well!
Me – Well, what was the thought by the way?
He – Ummmmmm
And we both burst out laughing!
The ice was melting faster than
we had expected. A true soulmate is the one with whom we can share a good laugh,
I had heard. This funny PDA moment proved it as well!
The
inspiration for this post came few days ago after a telephonic conversation
with my mom in law. As I was discussing my daily challenges faced while
managing the baby and the hacks I have developed, she chuckled and said, “I am
very impressed with you and your little one. I am glad he has been able to
teach you overnight, what I had been trying for 6 years!”
My
initial reaction was a mix of shock, anger and confusion, for I didn’t know
whether to take it as a mere compliment or a backhanded compliment. Since I
have a great rapport with her, I dismissed the latter option however, it was
too thought provoking a remark to be forgotten.
And
so, I began to think what is it that motherhood teaches us, that nobody else
can –
Priorities
and altruism
Being
the youngest of four children in my family, altruism was always a distant
concept. My wishes would literally get fulfilled before I even completed the
sentence and the whole family doted on me. Since I was the first daughter in
law of the family, the trend continued after wedding as well, as everyone
showered me with gifts and attention. There are things I could never have compromised
on – sleep, my blogging time, that favourite TV show and even my favourite dish.
Many people close to me have been victims of my ire the few times they
mistakenly disturbed me in the middle of writing a post.
I
am a fortnight old mom today. Yeah…few days back, I was blessed with a little
prince charming (who is yet to be named) and life changed the very moment.
The
nine months seemed like a long, long time and transformed me into a test tube
with various chemical and hormonal changes happening all the time. Towards the
9th month, my irritation reached its heights and I often told Mr.
Hubby, “It feels like I have been pregnant for years!” The calm and patient guy
he is, he would be his pacifying best as he replied, “It’s a phase and a
tapasya and this too shall pass.” I would roll my eyes and wonder that it’s
easier said and done and secretly wished fathers should be made to carry the
child atleast 2 out of the nine month gestation.
I
also realised it wasn’t just Mr. Hubby, but many male colleagues at work as
well, who needed to go through the experience. While some of them were
pleasantly supportive, others just asked dumb questions which aggravated my
already oscillating mood swings. For instance, one colleague, despite being
married and having a kid would always ask me, which is the date when you GO,
despite me explaining several times that there was a tentative date however,
the stork could come calling anytime. Finally, when he paid no heed to my
explanation, one day I had to ask him shamelessly whether his wife delivered on
a pre decided date or whether it just happened. Seeing his reaction, I felt I
should have asked that question much before. Then, there were others who would
ask me how I felt. Now how was I supposed to feel and how could I make a guy
understand that! Pat came my reply, “if you tie a 2kg stone around your tummy
you will exactly feel the way I feel!”
Every
sleepless night with the little one also makes me feel if there is something
that can prepare you for motherhood, it’s just being open to change. Throughout
my pregnancy I was reading articles on pregnancy and parenting. A prenatal camp
also gave me insights into the pre and post childbirth life. Having armed
myself with an arsenal of information, I was super confident about managing the
baby as I marched into the hospital. However, the confident fizzed out the
moment I saw the baby. Lying on the operation table, with half of my body
subjected to anaesthesia and scissors, the moment they showed me the baby, the
emotions were a mix of joy and responsibility. The baby was crying his lungs
out, as if telling me, “Get out of Operation Theatre fast. You had to be on a 6
hour fasting for the operation, not me. I am hungry!!!” The doctors were all sympathy for the baby as
they told me the baby was hungry and need to be fed. But hullow! They were yet
to complete the stitches. Moral of the story – service before self!
All
the gyaan I had acquired from internet and pregnancy camp seemed useless when I
was bed ridden for good day and a half after the delivery. The mother should
hug and feed the baby the moment he is born, I was told. But leave apart
holding the baby, the C section left me confined me in a position on the
hospital bed and all I could do was helplessly stare at the little one as my
mom in law fed him formula milk. Lesson learnt – nothing can prepare you for
motherhood than motherhood itself.
And
yes, there were some pleasant surprises too! Having spoken to many friends
about their experiences, I knew delivering a baby and the hospitalization phase
wouldn’t be a cakewalk. However, all the pain was forgotten as the little one
made his presence felt. For a moment, the operation theatre no longer felt like
a dreaded place and I had tears of joy in my eyes as I kissed the little one on
his forehead.
The
little one also proved to be a motivation like nothing else. The next day post
surgery, when the docs came to mobilise me, the intolerable pain made me cry. But
I did manage the walk from my bed to the baby, for I was dying to take my
little one in my arms!
After
school and college, motherhood is another school that’s teaching me valuable
lessons about life and relationships. With the baby, I too am evolving each day
as a mom and I count my blessings.
Welcome
to my blog where I intend to share my experiences with motherhood. From my
journey during pregnancy to my experiences with the little one, there is a lot
I have to tell. Keep watching this space for more and feel free to share some of
your tips and experiences!
Does love come with an expiry date? Is there a
thing called as “And they happily lived ever after?” This question kept popping
in my mind when I was asked to review this book. “Love lasts forever”, is it a
mushy mushy story of a couple madly in love who were just perfectly made for
each other? (I prayed not, for it would have made for a super boring story)…or
was it some expert tips on How to make love last forever? (Although I wouldn’t mind
the tips, it would have still been like so many books that fade away from our
memory). And so, the day delivery guy handed me the book, I accomplished the
mission “Kill the curiosity” in 2 hours flat!
The Cover –
Bright green cover with wedding rings sitting
pretty above the title which reads “Love lasts forever”! And then my eyes fell
on the words below, “only if you don’t marry your love”. Now I was totally zapped!
Had our films and poets believed the same way, we would have been devoid of
many masterpieces that revolve around lovebirds finding solace in the company
of each other for eternity!
And that was not all, seemed the author had
challenged the readers on the back cover “So you think your love can last forever…?
Get married!”
My View –
The book instantly becomes a “pick me up” because
it takes the story of love forward from where our conventional film makers
leave it. We all love to see lovers getting united and getting married in the
end. But do we really think about what happens afterwards, when lovers become
Man & Wife?
Well, a similar dilemma has gripped Ronit.
Aspiring to rule the seas, he is enjoying his life at the pre sea training
institute till love finally comes calling. Love was one of the most beautiful
feelings he had experienced, except for one thing that soured it – the girl he
so madly loved was the sister of the guy (who was actually a girl himself!) he
loathed at the academy! Someone who was on the target list of the most chosen
pranks for Ronit and his buddy, Joe Singh.
But all is fair in love n war, and fair it seemed
to befriend the enemy to reach his lady love. Like a man who has conquered the
world, Ronit’s happiness knows no bounds when after great difficulty, he gets
married to the girl he loved. But life, as we know it, throws surprises we
would never have imagined. Within a week of getting married, Ronit starts
doubting his decision. Day by day, the wife he could die for seems like a Devil
who would one day suck up all his blood and life!
When problems overpower our capabilities to handle
them, we often retort to escapes. Ronit too, rushes to the next possible
sailing assignment to escape the domestic tsunami. Little does he know, that
destiny was yet to spare the torture. His ships gets caught by pirates in Somalia.
Here he was trying to escape the Devil in his wife when real devils are ready
to blow his brains in air till they receive their ransom!
With death and misery all around, Ronit finds a relationship
coach in his captain, who too had a love story! Whoever said distance
strengthens love did have some brains after all. In captivity for months, and
listening to the story of Captain, Ronit slowly realizes the trick
circumstances played with him, that, life with Aisha wasn’t as bad after all as
he had thought it to be.
But it had been more than a year in captivity and
there was no hope of survival. Would he be able to meet Aisha one last time?
Would life give him another chance – to love and make up for what had gone?
Would his love survive with him, or would he too, die the death of many sailors
caught by Pirates?
Well, that’s for you to discover…
What I loved about the book –
I love this style of oscillating between flashback
and present. Develops an emotional connect with the readers and gets them
hooked on till the last page. An quick read despite the 248 pages.
The book holds your complete attention for a major
portion of the story. In fact, I got somewhat angry with the author to read
about his description of his wife’s devilish ways. But then I thought, its not
a narration, it’s an account of someone who hates his wife and the author did
succeed there in getting into the skin of the character.
What could have been better –
Towards the later half, you wish for brevity in
writing. And well, you get overdose of it during the climax. Perhaps the author could have worded the
climax a little more interesting rather than rushing to draw the curtains.
However, apart from few nuances, I would recommend
the book if you feel the spark in your relationship has gone missing. Without
sounding preachy, the author gets us wondering if we put enough into our
relationships before expecting from our partner…
My rating
– 2.5/5
About the author-
A sailor by profession and a writer by passion,
Vikrant has penned two novels before this. He lives in Delhi with his family.
You can get in touch with him at www.vikrantkhanna.com
This review is written for Writers Melon. The
views are strictly my own and under no influence.
To
all my readers and friends who thought writers block has eaten my blogging
frequency, I have an update – we have moved to Mumbai. As much as I dreaded and
resisted moving out of Delhi, destiny proved its sense of humor. Mr. Hubby
found greener pastures in Mumbai and I had to follow suit.
So,
since the last one month, I am like a cranky cow…yep…you read it right! Cranky
cow, not a baby! Cranky, for obvious reasons. Delhi runs in my genes and heart
and moving all the way 1400 something km away was just not
acceptable to me. Cow – because no matter how much I revolt, I am a susheel,
sanskari Indian wife, who prioritizes her hubby’s welfare over her choices.
Transfer, packing, house are the key words running in my mind since the last
one month and blogging suffered.
Before
coming, everyone except me was super excited. Some think I am going to the
financial mecca, others think I would be hob nobbing with the stars (as if I am
the one they are waiting to give darshan!)…remaining ones have already planned
their holidays in Mumbai and Goa; while all this while I wondered how would I
survive without seeing my family everyday (Mr. Hubby said, “skype hai na!”)
Finally,
we landed up in the Mayanagri yesterday and today I was off to work. Since
morning, many people have asked me how did I find the place. I look at them for
a second, then explain that it is too early to comment as I landed up yesterday
only!
To
a pakka Dilliwalla, Mumbai appears like a totally different place. Picture this
–
1.Everytime
we are out, we are struggling with finding either the Eastern express highway
or the western express highway, and I am still trying to figure how to memorize
the easts and wests of the same locality.
2.The
wide, well marked, concrete roads of Lutyens Delhi are replaced by slightly
narrow roads which contributes to traffic jams. The shahi Dilliwalla in me,
still likes to drive though friends tell me, soon I will start preferring local
trains than dealing with traffic jams.
3.The
city is always on the go. This morning, mom in law went for a walk around and
all she saw was people rushing for their work. Young and old, everyone was in a
hurry. MIL has been terribly missing her Dilliwalli gossip neighbour since
then.
4.People
really mind their own business. In Delhi one cannot imaging moving to a flat
and not having a welcome tea and introduction session at the neighbour’s place;
while other Padosans hop in to know the new lady in their colony. Out here, people
have a lot of their own business to mind. Good for us though, coz I never liked
the ever peeping Verm aunty in the Delhi neighbourhood.
5.If you
are coming to Mumbai for the first time, get an understanding of some basic
Gujrati/Marathi words, if not atleast the accent. I have to often ask routes
from passersby and it takes me a minute to replay in my mind and understand
what exactly s/he said!
6.Sweetness
flows…I ate Dosa last night and for the first time in my life, I had sweet
sambhar. In Delhi, women can be often seen scolding subziwallas for selling
them potatoes that are sweet in taste, but here, since yesterday every potato
dish I had was sweet. I truly madly deeply loved the Vada Pao though!
7.BEST
buses are a treat to the eye…I even love their Bhopu and red colour! Since childhood, its in Mumbai that I have spotted a double decker bus again and I am
looking forward to a ride.
8.I
still haven’t bought grocery so yet to see if the vegetable vendor understands veggie names I know or will I have to take a crash course in veggie
nomenclature.
9.Thanks
to space issues, all balconies are covered and there are no pre built almirahs
in houses
And now the icing on the cake...
Yesterday I went to eat Dosa. After
preparing the Dosa, the vendor asks me, “madam, eat here or parcel?”. Parcel? I
wondered and for a second post office, inland letters and stamps floated in my
mind. Then I told him “no parcel, eat here”. After 2 seconds, a kid came and
asked the vendor “Uncle, gimme a parcel”. I wondered if he would actually take
out a parcel from some shelf. All he took out was a polythene bag! So that’s the
parcel! I got it!
They say change is the only thing permanent
in life. These are the first impressions I have. Do let me know your
impressions. And keep looking for more posts in the series “Dilli to Bombay”…
Life is a constant journey of learning. We learn, we evolve and we learn some more...
It has been few months since Mr. Hubby and I have been taking French lessons. What started as a mere hobby has now transformed into a passion. Also, we have discovered a rather new and romantic way of communication. It’s a pleasure to the tongue when words in French roll out of our mouths and friends and relatives regard in appreciation, often amused by our newly acquired skill.
The journey so far has been far from easy – taking time out of our busy schedules, sacrificing our precious weekend getaways, going back to the classroom, answering a swarm of questions from friends and relatives (why do u people have this endless craving to learn something new?), and most importantly, facing the exams…we have braved it all…and all I can say, so far it has been a soul enriching experience.
Well, more about the journey later. For today, I want to extend my French affair to my blog. I discovered a new passion when I began blogging and today, my knowledge of French has given new wings to my blog-experience.
It’s time to spread the wings and take a flight…and connect with friends of a new language and various cultures…
I introduce the new tab on my blog –
Je t’aime
Je t’aime means I love you. When I closed my eyes and thought about my love for French, these are the only words my heart shouted; for its not just the language I have fallen in love with….various hues of the culture have also charmed me. So, on this tab, I intend to write in French, about French and for my friends who share my passion for French language….
For Pia, regular life is a thing
of the past. She is now an Army wife. In the mysterious and grand world of Army
wives, Pia learns that walking in high heels is okay as long as you don’t trip
on combat boots. She learns that “civil” is also a noun, that JCO and GOC are
very different, that snacks are shown and WTF is better explained as Whiskey
Tango Foxtrot. Yes, it really is a new world!
Let this quirky, hilarious story
of the first year of Pia’s Army wife life show you that the spice to a
soldier’s life is most definitely his better, very strong, extremely elegant,
never-cussing, witty, warm and passionate half, his Army wife.
My
view
What would be your reaction if
you receive a parcel from Kargil? I came home one evening to find a somewhat
concerned mom in law looking at a parcel on dining table. “Are you expecting a
gift from some friend of yours in Army? I got this courier from Kargil and I
didn’t open it wondering…” her unusual reaction somewhat concerned me, for I
have no friends in the Army. The mystery was soon resolved when the wrapping
gave way to a pretty book inside. “Soldier and Spice..hmmm”, the title seemed
promising and my mind began to come up with all sorts of preconceived notions I
have about Fauji life.
No matter how much glamorous the
Army life looks from a distance, one only has to get closer to understand the
difficulties an Army wife faces. For Pia too, the Army life is like a
fantasy world of parties, flaunting designer dresses, making new friends and
having someone to help you with housework, until she marries Arjun, a Captain
in Indian Army. She sees a trailer of the movie, when she asks her husband the
time on their drive to Pathankot “We’ll be there by eighteen hundred hours”, he
says, much to her surprise.
Once at the cantt it seems her
dream life has come true. Dinners, ladies meet, welfare activities…she is
excited about it all. But as the story unwraps, she figures out that Army life
is not a bed of roses. Discipline, commitment, courage, leadership, perfection
are some of the words we all prefer to confine to books. But her maiden year as
the Army wife teaches Pia the true sense of these words, and transforms a
carefree civilian into a responsible Army memsaab!
Pia is not alone in this journey
– various characters in the story help her in her metamorphosis in some way or
the other. There is Arjun’s sahayak Ganga Bhaiyya, who transforms from the “one
Pia is jealous of” to “the one who comes of help when she needs it the most”;
Naina, Pia’s friend and confidante who gives her the first lessons on Do’s and Don’t’s;
Mrs James, who keeps transforming from a friend to foe and back to a friend;
Mrs Sengupta and Mrs Singh who are never short of their gossip supply; Mrs Nair, the queen bee who ends up having her way; Mrs Bhandari the second in
command; a certain Mrs Nose hair and many others.
Then there are these various
rules of the game Pia learns throughout the book, many of which left me
laughing out loud. I mean, snacks are served, not “shown?” Hehe…and so thinks
Pia!
Every page has this drawing of
Army boots, perhaps a sign that to fit in Army boots, it requires a lot of hard
work.
Although her debut, Adti has got
the flavor of the book right, for once you start the book, the story keeps you
hooked on till you haven’t flipped the next page. I write this usually for
thrillers, but sometimes simple stories weaved to perfection make an instant
bond with readers.
Strongly recommended from me
whether you are well versed with the Army culture or not. For if you are not,
the book will open you to a whole new world; and if you are, then the book will
definitely remind you of some of your own experiences and smile.
About
the author
Aditi Mathur Kumar is an ex
advertising girl, one upon a time blogger, a fanatical Army wife and a real
life social person. With this debut, she has taken up writing for good. May we
get many more interesting reads from her!
Things had become bad to worse over the last few months. She had been under house arrest by her own family. Loving a boy of another religion was the worst gift she had given her orthodox parents. Her only hope - the housemaid, who could pass on the message to her lover.
The decision was made, to escape the land where love holds no meaning. She convinced the maid to deliver that letter to her lover, and in exchange parted with the stilettos her brother had got her from London.
On the fateful night, she fled home as the maid bid her a silent goodbye. “So far so good”, she thought as she crossed the first hurdle – getting out of the house secretly. The enthusiasm of being with her beloved surpassed the pain of leaving home without saying the final goodbye. But all was fair in love and war.
With dreams of a better life, she paced ahead on the foggy night towards her destination. She rechecked her watch. It was about time he would come there on his black Yamaha. She reached 10min ahead and saw a black bike waiting to zoom her away to eternal happiness. She was elated. “He kept his promise, he is the best”, she thought as she quickly sat on the bike and hugged him from behind. “Let’s run away from the land of hatred and honour killings to the land of love and peace”, she said.
The foggy night and the helmet didn’t show his face, but the hug had familiar warmth. As the ignition started and the lights of a car following them fell on the side mirror, her worst fear came true…It was her brother riding the bike, not him.
Ours was an arranged marriage.
Having been married for quite some time now, I can say that surviving an
arranged marriage is like preparing kheer – tastes best when cooked with
patience on slow flame. Try rushing into things and you will get a kheer with
burnt smell that just doesn’t go away.
Love, has its own language. While
some people go all mushy to express their feelings for their beloved, there are
few like Mr. Hubby and I, who discover a new shade of love by sharing small
joys and sorrows of our everyday life.
Shortly after our marriage, Mr.
Hubby and I planned a trek to the valley of flowers in Uttarakhand. Mr. Hubby
being a perfect fitness freak was oozing with enthusiasm that matched my fear
for intense physical activities. For the lazy me who has grown up on aloo
paranthas smeared with butter and never befriended a workout, any physical
activity that makes me wake up early or get that sweat dripping is a complete
no. So, workouts and I often prefer separate paths. But when Mr. Hubby proposed
the trek, the excitement in his eyes prompted me to play the supportive wife in
our newly started married life.
Everything was rosy till the time
we reached the base camp. However, the moment we began the trek, the thorns
began to surface from the rosy picture. Like a typical newly married lady, I
was all style and vanity and preferred to carry a small sling bag rather than
carrying a heavy rucksack with essential items. I was scared at the thought of
trekking and thought it better to carry minimal weight; and in that effort, I
even missed the bare essential – a bottle of water. We thought once we complete
the trek, we would get some water. But few passersby told us there was no shop
up there and we had been foolish enough to miss something as important as
water!
For someone who had never even
participated in a race in school, walking uphill on the high altitude (approx
3600 meters above the sea level) without food or water was becoming torturous.
I would stop and start panting after every ten steps due to lack of Oxygen at
high altitude. My knees and chest cried with pain and the heartbeat was like a
high decibel drum thumping fast. For almost half the trek, Mr. Hubby was at his
supportive best and even kept me busy in conversations to divert my mind.
However, once he realised we were way behind our schedule, his patience began
to give up. We could see many people on their way back after spotting some
beautiful and exotic flowers the valley offers. To add fuel to the fire, they
told we better hurry up as the park closes by 5.30pm and it was already noon.
My oh so patient hubby slowly
began to lose patience. I tried my best to brace up, but the lungs wouldn’t
just support. Finally I decided the trek was beyond me and I better give up. I
asked Mr. Hubby to complete the trek and return while I would wait at the same
place.
As if I had blown the whistle of
a pressure cooker, Mr. Hubby became furious. “You have spoiled my holiday. If
you didn’t have the stamina or the courage you should have told me!” I stood
there stiff and silent with my eyes closed as he walked away.
Sometimes anger prompts us to do
things that simple motivation cant. Mr. Hubby’s words pierced me and after
sometime, I too decided I would complete the trek and would prove him wrong.
I had begun walking for five
minutes when a man from the opposite side stopped me. “Are you Shaivi?” he
asked. “Y..Yeah...” I said, surprised. “Your hubby met me on the way and has
left a message for you. He has asked me to tell you the trek isn’t tough, you
will be able to manage, just keep walking. He is waiting for you ahead. Come
on”. He said with a smile and went away.
“Oh after all that drama, someone
is pretending to be romantic and caring?” I said to myself.
As I walked, I was in for even
more pleasant surprises. Apparently, Mr. Hubby had asked every person he met on
the way to tell me not to give up; that he believed in me and was waiting for
me ahead. So every person on his way back was smiling and passing on the
message to me. Some girls even told me “how cute, he is so caring”.
My fatigue evaporated with every
message I got and I continued to walk. With every person telling me I was just
near completion and Mr. Hubby was waiting ahead, the trek no longer seemed like
a tough task. The energy of Love kept me going. I was beginning to feel sorry
for Mr. Hubby. I had disappointed him and here he was trying to motivate me by
asking every single person he met to pass on the message to me.
After a kilometre, I found myself
surrounded by a beautiful landscape filed with beautiful flowers. I could see
Mr. Hubby waiting at a distance. As he saw me, his face brightened up with a
smile and he stretched his arms true Bollywood style. My steps became faster and
soon I was in his arms – a perfect scene from those Yash Chopra movies.
“I am sorry I got angry baby” he
said. “No dear, I am sorry, you tried so much to motivate me, I should have
stretched myself more.”, I said. “Hey, did you get my message? I asked few
people” he said. “Few?” I interrupted him. “Every single person on his way back
was like, are you Shaivi? Your hubby is waiting for you ahead. The trek isn’t
tough and you are just there…” Mr. Hubby was now blushing. “Oh I wondered if
they would pass on the message, so I told every person I met…I wanted to be
together with you in this beauty. It would have been incomplete without me
holding my wife’s hands” he said.
I was all melting now. I just
blushed and hugged him tight as he whispered into my ears, “you make this all
seem so perfect!”
Amidst the hesitation and the
shyness of an arranged marriage, we had discovered our bond of love…for us,
this day was our Platinum Day of Love!
With each sweet n sour moment we
have shared in this togetherness called Love, I can say our Love is just like
Platinum – precious, pure and everlasting!
The Guardian Angels is the epic and tumultuous story of two star-crossed lovers who weren’t just soulmates but were also each other’s protectors.
…he is the son of a billionaire,
…she is the daughter of a socialist
…he is quiet and unassuming,
…she is a firebrand and spirited.
My view
Somewhere in life, we all encounter that special someone who understands the hidden us, can read the unexplained in our eyes, can decipher the things unsaid from our silence and gets the telepathy right from miles away. S/he might be a friend, a lover, or even a sibling…a true soul mate. That’s what The Guardian Angels is all about, the story of two soul mates, who as the title aptly explains, are each other’s guardian angels.
The story revolves around the lives of Aditya Mehta and Radha Deodhar. Aditya is the bright future of the Mehta group, while Radha is the grounded daughter of a former trade union leader. Adi and Radha’s paths cross early in life when the bold and blunt Radha saves the nervous and lonely Adi from a bunch of buffoons near the school. Her presence of mind and bold attitude has Adi impressed in the first interaction itself, for the simple and sweet looking girl has the brains to utter a lie that drives the buffoons away.
Radha too, is charmed by the shy Adi, and pens down every bit of her feelings in her journal. She is impressed by his sudden show of courage when he takes on the buffoons all by himself when they try to harm Radha in revenge. From then on, begins a relationship of a lifetime, sans a definition or a name.
The book alternates between extracts from Radha’s journal and incidents from her and Adi’s life. Adi grows up to be a bright cricketer and is perceived the future of Mehta empire. He values his family, empire, passion for the game and the friendship of Radha. As Adi’s mother once points out to him, Radha keeps him grounded amidst the glitz and glamour of his high profile life.
The next several chapters see Adi and Radha grow up and choose their respective fields. But no matter how far or how different they are, they never fail to be there when either one of them is in trouble. Radha is a responsible girl who stands like a rock by Adi in every moment of crisis – be it his mission to rescue his sister from a bad boyfriend, the one moment that destroys his shining career in cricket, or even taking upon himself to prevent his family from falling apart.
Adi and Radha are life the tracks of a train. Apart but always for each other, and whenever needed, they cross to give that required support.
With growing up also comes confusion, for distance creates the obvious disagreements and misconceptions. Adi moves abroad for higher studies and Radha immerses herself into social activism. The two always know the affection deep inside, and it’s fun to see them struggling to admit it to their own self. Like buddies loyal to some vow, they never stop sharing the minutest of details, be it their interactions with the opposite sex. And the dash of jealousy midst the concern and hidden love for the soul mate makes for an interesting read.
Just when life begins to lose the complexity and love is in the air, a cruel tragedy shadows their happiness. Radha has a rare Huntington’s disease gene in her father’s family. Initially she laughs it away at the pretext of the famous Deodhar forgetfulness. But later, when the disease takes away her father and also engulfs her, Radha takes a practical decision – not to ruin Adi’s life with her diseased self. She doesn’t want to leave the Adi she loves with lifelong loneliness and grief after she is gone. Her decision seems to be getting right when Nicole and Adi get engaged and Radha moves away to leave them in peace.
But Adi has been Radha’s guardian angel whenever she has been in trouble – from saving her from the bullies in school, to secretly arranging for her father’s treatment without hurting Radha’s self respect. When Radha is on the verge of being raped and killed, Adi fights to save her life as if it were his own.
Does Adi accept this final goodbye from Radha as their destiny? Or he plays her guardian angel again? To know more, grab your copy now!
The book becomes slow paced in some of the chapters. Owe it to the verbosity of the writer, as I felt some chapters could have been cut short. But overall, a nice emotional read, if you are a fast paced reader like me!
About the author –
Rohit Gore, an engineer and MBA works with the IT industry. A sports aficionado and an avid traveller, his greatest passion is reading and it inspires him to write. He is a frequent contributor to many online writing forums and is also the author of – Circle of three, A Darker dawn and Focus, Sam.
The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve.
