I was in search of love, true love to be more precise. I tried few, tested many and shelved most. Reasons were just fingertips away; physically taxing for one, economically risky for other and a mix of both for the rest. 'It’s life man,' I said to myself whenever I have to let go of my true love. Ex-love it became. 'No. No. Infatuation it was, not love,' I reasoned.
Then she came. Dressed to perfection and made to enchant. She was introduced to our class in my 8th standard. I think it was by our Maths teacher, I am not sure. Everyone (boys actually) was excited and it was evident from their faces which were brightly lit. There was lot of confusion that day, with beauty queen title finding a thorough contender; lists needed a shakeup embracing reality. Those with girlfriends were busy finding faults; a pimple there, a mark here; they went on, trying to uphold their honour. It was on the girls side that this confusion, hit large. Should they talk to her? What would others think? What will Neema(queen then) say? And for Neema, I know you guessed it right. It was chaos.
I remember caring about her for exactly 8.5 days. And then something put me off, I don't remember. She failed to excite me. Or maybe she was too hard to get. I have no particular memory of her from then. But things were slowly changing. Now it almost looks like the stage was setting up for me. My buddies were talking about her all the time(or so I felt). Even my best of girl-friends were impressed by her. She looked promising and worthwhile. A bag of surprises I felt. I started to take her seriously in my 10th standard.
But there was stiff resistance. There were geeks and nerds on side; freaks on the other; each trying to grab a bite of her words. I was sort of placed in the middle. Harry Potter magic once, Olympiad problem another time; I was busy trying to get her attention. But I failed. The day's went on and she too. I mentally chalked out my life without her. I was sad but, 'Its life man ...,' I thought.
One day towards the end of the year nothing short of a miracle happened. She asked me to try her. Not that I was dating 3 girls at once. She asked me to give her a shot, to think about her. That was enough for me. She is thinking about me! Plans were shelved; ideas, dropped; hopes, ignited and happiness, its back. I blindly followed her to Hyderabad, her mother's place, where she will be spending time till her parents find a match.
It seemed too early. 'Shit!' I said to myself. 'I have very less time to win her,' I thought. I planned furiously. Met many people and took their valuable advice on how to crack the puzzle of women's heart. I was met with terrible failure in the beginning. New class and alien place greeted me with tougher challengers; geekier freaks, funky nerds were also in the league. But my training in school kept guiding me to take time and work on her. Confidence and Patience were the mantra.
Then came the 'Brahmastra'. It was named 'Psychology of Success' and was unputdownable. I read. I re-read and was happy that secrets were finally revealed. I realised that she promised fame, money, respect and most importantly the envy of those who failed. All hidden desires for dahez and saundaryacame out. I was determined more than ever. I gained steady ground in my class and all the tuitions I attended to be with her.
She started sitting beside me. 'Benchmate would be a good start to be a soul mate,' I thought. All the mysticism surrounding her started to fade, as she was within my reaches. As time progressed, I started realising that there is a world outside her, that there are people starting low, dreaming big and achieving high. I realised I can be of use to many people I will never know. Questions, uncomfortable ones started to pop up, for which I had no answers.
On the other hand, she is pushing me to talk to her dad. 'Please', 'Jaldi', 'Bahut log hain', ‘woh ghar bhi aa gaya’, 'Important', 'Life', 'Now or never' were the words that seemed to dominate our conversation. Talking to her uncle made me realise that she was very very rich (obviously beautiful) and was sought out too. There was some sort of waiting list too, put aside for later consideration. I had to decide, Quick.
And the day did come. It was sometime around mid-April, I went to meet her dad. I had no faintest idea how I fared that day. My mom and dad getting to know about the girl and hoping that their 'beta, settle ho jayega', were waiting expectantly outside. I came out expressionless. It was the most sucked up chat I had with anyone. Not even my principal was so demanding, when I was caught stealing certificates.
After this long, ardent journey ... today I am married and in Bombay. For the other half of the story, you all should wait for another day. I have some issues to sort out with my wife. Forgot to tell you, we had our honeymoon in forests of Madras. It was enticing!
P.S: After writing this I received innumerable messages either congratulating me or asking for a treat. I am not even 21 yet, so I request you all to read again and try to guess who the girl is. If still confused message me ... I shall give away. No spoils please.