Lalita, the quintessential south Indian – long, thick tresses, braided neatly; the big, expressive eyes, kohl-ed to perfection; the wheatish complexion that hid some broken blood vessels beneath a layer of thin, delicate, skin; slender arms that were almost always adorned with bangles; small, perfect ears that played host to some beautiful earrings and a grace that came so naturally to her. She was so shy that her lips almost always stopped short of giving a complete smile; yet she was an epitome of sensuality that lay concealed behind her innocence. May be that’s where her attractiveness lay! What it was that drew her to Abhay, and him to her, could be anyone’s guess!
Abhay had fist laid his eyes on her at a college social where she was performing a dance recital. While otherwise a shy girl, it was hard to believe how she was such an extrovert on the stage, creating the most beautiful interplay of grace and expression. Almost in an instant, he was mesmerised; almost in an instant, he was in love with her! And once he decided he was in love with her, it took no great effort on his part to win her affections.
They were different in almost all ways – culturally, socially and economically, with personalities that were directly opposite that of the other’s. Probably the adage that ‘opposites attract’ was proven here. Yet when love happened, well, it just happened. There was no logical rhyme or reason to it and so deep in love, they never ever counted their differences. While it was there for everyone else to see, they simply loved, oblivious to what the others thought or felt. Most bystanders predicted that it “wouldn’t last”, that it was mere “infatuation”; some would even lay wagers on their blossoming relationship.
For Abhay and Lalita it was the most beautiful phase of their life – discovering each other, discovering love and, above all, discovering themselves. As their hearts raced, keeping pace with their emotions, everything seemed so surreal. For the shy Lalita love was an emotion that simply enveloped her; an experience that she simply surrendered to, unquestioningly. Her heart began to bloom and the mind just galloped away in thoughts of love.
Love was in the air, sure enough. It never ceased, finding itself in every moment of the day, including those when they were drawn apart from each other. Expressions were gentle and so was their acceptance. And the surrender became complete - divine and worshipful, exciting and restrained, all at once. Drifts of the air brought with it love and the soul drenched in its cascading emotions. Yet, somewhere the unlikeliness of this love lingered and puzzled them. What was it, really? Love…?
After all, the superficial social ‘walls’ were impregnable and, somewhere, their dreams seemed to move at a tangent. While she revelled in being accepted by him, he had other plans for life and all through, she secretly thanked him for finding her worthy of his love.
Lalita nurtured no dream but to love, completely and truly. And her love grew boundlessly as she, on her part, made no attempt to stem it. But suddenly an uncertainty crept into their love; love and youth can make for a very potent combination. Words of expression don’t seem enough and love finds other ways into the heart. She was beautiful, and he, crazy! And one rainy evening, they gave in to the desires of the moment…
As their days in college were coming to a close and the world outside was waiting with open arms, he gave wings to his ambitions, and she stood by him, supporting him in writing the script of his life, letting him know at all times that she was by his side. It came as no surprise to anyone when he topped the final exams. And then, he was all set to leave. She was overjoyed; after all, his dreams were now hers, weren’t they?
Until the day he realised that she was actually never a part of his plans. His heart was heavy, but he left without tying up the lose ends and she saw nothing amiss about that. In her mind, she had faith, complete faith that left no room for an doubt.
She wrote to him about her life and he wrote to her about his - at first a letter a day, and then a week and slowly a month. The letters become few and far between; yet, she had no word of complaint. Abhay was busy drawing out plans for his own future, a future where Lalita had no space. She waited patiently and uncomplainingly until the day he sent her his last letter.
It seemed like all those who had foreseen the outcome of their love were proven right and her love, wrong. The thoughts of love in her mind gave way to questions on its fragility as she silently grieved the love that she had lost.
The passing years saw her cling on to her love as she picked up the ropes of a life that she had left behind. But it almost seemed like tragedy and Lalita were tied together in some sort of unfathomable relationship - she lost her family in an accident. The fear of being alone seemed almost insurmountable! She waited to hear from Abhay - some word of comfort to help her through the hard times but her wait turned out to be as long as her life…
(to be concluded...)
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