@ Cafe Coffee Day

I looked around at all the "couples" who sat around me.Holding hands.Shy smiles.Loud giggles.People in "love" maybe.

Love. As in , the "boy-girl" love.

You would have heard this word."Love"
It is as overused a word.For a bollywood director , "love" must be the greatest invention ever .

My friend says he is in "love" with the girl who works at the second floor of his office.I am told the punjabi girl in my class is in "love" with the hairy south indian guy in the next class.The other day , I saw the boy who hands out the food in my office canteen , with the girl who does the dishes.Maybe , they are in "love" too.
Even the cyber world is bustling with desperate flirts who hope to find "love".

And then this boyfriend-girlfriend thing.Its like a toothbrush.You got to have one.

" Hi , I have brain cancer."

Thats ok , we all gotta die anyways.

"Hello , I got limphoosirkoma of the intestine."

Chill , Rajesh Khanna in "anand" had it too.

"Namaste , my house burned down last night."

Arre tension nahi yaar , these things happen.

"Hey , I dont have a girlfriend."

What ! Why did not you tell me about this ? Oh poor boy , everything will be fine.God can be real cruel sometimes...

So love is like the neighbourhood gossip .Everybody knows about love.Talks about love.

And the way this "love" word is used , leaves me feeling strange.

I feel there are two different aspects.To love someone.And to be loved.It is said "to be loved" is a natural need.And for me , its a need and not love.As long as you want this person or need this person , you dont love him , you love yourself and want "to be loved".Love is not meant to be a selfish thing.Love is much harder and selfless than that.To love is not to wish for someone to be with oneself , but to give up oneself for that someone.Love is not in sharing coconut water on some beach, but in staying thirsty if it helps him.Love is not in him coming to you , but to care for him when you know he would not come to you.

For me , true love is not about the scene with your boy , where white clouds float around your ankles , and a cool breeze flows across the screen , well fed european guys play violins in the background , and you do a salsa with him and kiss him.For me , love's beauty is in being so consumed with it , that you forget your pains and smile , just because he smiled somewhere , aware of your existence no longer.

Love is not about wanting him , but wanting him happiness , with you or without you.

See,I am no authority.I am no love guru .I am no headmaster of the "Institute of Love Matters" ( ILM..doesnt sound bad ).But the way love is seen as some "coochie-coochie-valentines-gift-holding hands" concept leaves me feeling funny.Love is hard.Love is not a punishment which leaves you restless.But it is something which makes you feel a bliss in a punishment , just because he is happy.

I am not looking at any roses placed between yellowed pages.And I do not wish to insult anyone's feelings.Just that I feel, that to love someone is supposed to be something very deep and heartfelt, that when you say "I love you" to a boy, realise the responsibility and commitment it stands for. Its not about you anymore.Its about him.And I am not trying to preach anything here , please. Just that I felt something and wrote it.

Posted in: Blog,bollywood,Journey,Love