Love in the time of Facebook.

50 years ago it was easier to define Love without tagging the “it’s complicated” status. Love meant secret courtships, clandestine meetings, long letters, even longer melancholic periods, and of course every reason to be together. Phrases like “breakup” and move on” would not have found any takers. It was love, it was true, and it was forever.

Fast forward the time and here we are. In words of Megan Fox, “we live in the times where losing our phone is more dramatic than losing our virginity”. No raising the eyebrows please. It is certainly true. We meet, we sleep and we forget. What happens to Love in this vicious circle of sleeping and forgetting? Well, it happens but it has happened before, and before and before. And we let it go. But believe me it will haunt you back. And it doesn’t matter how many times you have laughed and shrugged the mills and boons romance, called Danielle Steel boring, mocked Yash Chopra for making yet another romantic tale, the whole world will croon to violins when you will fall in love. It’s just that you have to keep the earphones off.

But what after the violins? We date, we romance, it gets complicated, careers take over love and we decide to move on. We will unfriend each other on Facebook, delete each other’s phone numbers unfollow on Twitter and will vow never to meet again. Has it become that simple?

No it hasn’t. Love and cannot be unloved. We all know but never admit it. We take refuge under the neon lights of Pubs, Bloody Mary and a reloaded Ipod full of old classic melancholic numbers. But do we have to it?

Not really. 50 years later when we will be too old for sex and too old to update our Facebook status. All we would require is someone you have loved all your life and want to live more to love that person more and more and more.

You can also read this article here!

Letter to Yourself

So you turned 21 this year. Though I know you don’t feel a day older than 12. you still imagine yourself dancing with Tom Cruise in some Mission Impossible x, you still want to take every stranded puppy home, you still dream of wearing the Miss Universe crown, you are still Blossom of the Power Puff Girls, you still make notes and keeps journals and of course you are simply awesome.

But I know you don’t feel the awesomeness in you all the time. You get bogged down; feel defeated, purposeless and useless. The 21 years weigh on your shoulders like they were 40. You feel sad that you still don’t have written a book, people are not running into you to get autographed, there are countries left to travelled, books left to be read and written, coffees to be smelled and life to be lived.

Relax girl! You were good, you did well and you will do better.

Think about the time when you first stood on the stage, cried and ran back. You were three at that time. Did you think about it again? Did the thoughts of quitting flood your mind? No. you just went on it again only to capture it for the rest of your years. How proud it was for your parents to see you command the attention of everyone in the opening sentence itself.

Think about the time you fumbled in maths and algebra refused to form a way with your understanding. You hated mathematics for five years of your school life. Still you managed o score a 93 in your board examination and fought the phobia making maths a dear subject too.

Think about the days when you were going to start a new life away from the safe cocoon of home. You spent days and nights crying yourself to sleep. But that did not let you sway away. You worked hard and proved everyone of your worth within a few days.

Think about the time when you won your first national prize and followed the legacy with two more within a year. Remember you and your friend were up against the whole world and you guys won. You guys even started your publication “Skyline”. Though I agree it died a silent death. But you tried and created!

Think about the time when you edited a national magazine and unveiled it in front of more than 3000 students from all over the country. Aren’t you proud of it?

Think about the time when you handed your grandmother her first flight ticket from your own salary.

Think about the time when your father proudly tells his friends, “my daughter has my genes. She will never give up. She is a tigress.

And do remember what your grandfather once told your father when they were going through bad times.

“ Falak ko chaah jahaan bijliyan girane ki,

Humein bhi zidd wahin hai aashiyan banane ki.”

There is so much more to you girl that you yourself can measure let alone fill this letter with it. All I have to say in the end is

Embrace life with open arms, live every moment, love every soul, believe in your worth. Be you. Because you know what?

You are Bhawna Jaimini;-).

.This post is part of the competition on writeupcafe!

Jigsaw Puzzle

Three years old Iru woke up to a misty morning with a broad grin on his face. He was completely oblivious to the world around him. The world which was tattering away in pieces and innocent Iru was still trying to join the pieces together as he did with his animal puzzle set. For him life was just about making and breaking the puzzle. He spent hours juggling the pieces and joining them correctly. With each piece into its place, Iru would elate with happiness.

But that morning was different. He was not able to find his puzzle set and was petrified to see his house full of people. People he could not recognize. People who were sighing looking at Iru. Some embraced him, some began to sob and some handed him notes rupee 10 and 20. Iru felt perturbed. His eyes were restlessly moving through the crowd to find his father but he was nowhere to be found. He felt his heartbeats hard and feared not seeing his father again. A moment later he saw his father coming through the crowd towards him.

Iru said,”I thought you went away with mother”

His father gave him a smile and said,” I can’t. Not till you want me to go.”

“I would never want you to go.”

“Do you love me?”

“Yes”

“More than baba?”

Iru didn’t answer and Adil felt his heart in his mouth.

Adil was a man in his early 30s. Leaving his native village where he lived since he was born was more than just difficult. He had made a conscious decision of leaving the village after his wife passed away due to a prolonged illness. There was no hospital in the vicinity of the village and the dispensary doctors kept asking Adil to take his wife to the city. But he had no money. He never had. He worked for the village Sarpanch and was dependent on his charity which was just not enough to keep his wife alive.

Sarpanch was the richest man of the village and lived with his wife in the haveli which was big enough to accommodate more 30 people. But he had no children. He once asked Adil to give him his son but Adil refused vehemently and threatened to leave the job to which Sarpanch pacified him and said it was all in humour.

But it was not in humour.Whole of the village talked between the sheets of the Sarpanch’s desire to adopt Iru. He was always buying gifts for him asked Adil to get Iru along with him to work.

After Adil’s wife died, Sarpanch started visiting Iru more and more and the deep down desire was coming out loud and clear. Adil was always sceptical of his visits and tried to keep Iru away from him but the effort was futile. Iru developed a liking for Sarpanch and would ask for him on days he could not visit. Iru’s inclination towards the old man was becoming more and more profound which made Adil anxious and one day he decided to end it all.

He bid farewell to his village mates of 30 years and put Iru on his shoulders. It was 5 AM in the morning but he decided against waiting and set out. He had spent only an hour packing his home of 30 years and was taking only few meagre things with him. He started to walk towards the bus stop in a fast pace so that Iru would not notice sarpanch’s house. He had not allowed Iru to take any of the presents Sarpanch has given him including his favourite jigsaw puzzle. Iru spotted the house and pointed at the balcony where he and Sarpanch sat for hours and played.

“Can I play with Baba one last time? I promise I would not love him more than you”

A tear fell from Adil’s eyes and he continued to walk but not to the bus stop. He has now solved his own jigsaw puzzle. 

Contest entry for "A picture can say a thousand words" on www.writeupcafe.com