Sometimes, all it takes is 20 minutes.. :)

The day had been pretty ordinary. Until 7 pm happened.

After an hour long discussion on VISA formalities at British Council, I was pretty much preparing to take a metro back to my place along with the others.. and blog as soon as I reached home !! But, that wasn't to be and I stayed back while the others carried on.

I was meeting her after almost a month! Within an hour's time, she came and it just couldn't get any better!! No, it wasn't a CCD this time, nor was it another movie! It was a simple foot path and we had just the 20 minutes to ourselves; 20 minutes before we said goodbye again...

But, sometimes.. all it takes is 20 minutes.

I wish there were words to express but at some levels, certain emotions and feelings are simply, inexpressible. I had no idea at the start of the day, that it would end so beautifully.

My army of words is what I humbly live for, and live by. But, my battalions are mere mortals.
Love isn't.

चलो चलें एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे...

Poetry happens once a while.. and then happens Hindi.. :)

Here's a work I came up with while I was talking to somebody.. The work was initially smaller, which I extended and so, here's what came up :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


चलो चलते हैं ...
एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे,
जहाँ आवाज़ हो तो पंछियों की...
जहाँ खुशबू हो तो सिर्फ बहारों की
जहाँ... कोई और हो... तो बस तुम
एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे...

जहाँ ज़िन्दगी हो जीने का
जहाँ प्यार हो पीने का...
जहाँ मैं हूँ... और तुम हो
एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे...

जहाँ रौशनी हो तुम्हारे आँखों की
जहाँ नज़ारा हो तुम्हारे चेहरे का...
जहाँ घटायें हो तुम्हारे जुल्फों से घने ...
जहाँ फिजायें, लहरों को छुमती
हमारे मन को कर जाए बावला...

एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे...

एक वोह समंदर, वोह हमारा प्यार,
हर एक बूँद में लिखा हो जो तुम्हारा नाम...
एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे
जहाँ खुशियाँ ही खुशियाँ हो,
जहाँ बस एक मैं, और एक तुम हो...

एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे ॥

Under the shadows of the sun..

Under the shadows of the sun,
Bereaved of the one;
We lie in the masquerade called life.

In the ocean of despair,
where drenched eyes stare;
We dwell in the realm of strife.

When miles separate..
When roads aren't straight;
We crave for the fire to alight.

When situations don't truce,
Where ties are loose;
We grasp the courage to fight.

When things go wrong,
and persistence prolong..
We look up to the inspiration; divine..

When rivers divide,
Where emotions don't abide..
Its time to start a new line.

When moments go bleak,
the ones we seek;
We await their rolling to crust..

When haze defies..
The stroke of our eyes;
Its time to believe in trust.

P.S. I will always love you...

A foreword: This story happens to be real.. a story of a friend of mine. And since I was asked to maintain anonymity.. I'm forced to edit some parts along with the names... :)

--------------------------------------------------

She looked away from her laptop.. in anticipation of something she had desired for all these days, so badly..

A call from him..

She could feel the butterflies in her stomach as the seconds of anticipation passed by.. It would be after such a long time.. she thought to herself.. Leaning against the wall at the end of her bed, she took the cell in her hands and clutched it tightly.. It was, after all, Rahul..

A few more seconds passed by and the cell started vibrating in her hands.. She looked at the screen to see Rahul's picture as the cell notified who was calling. She gulped.. and with trembling hands.. picked up the phone..

She could feel her hands sweating the moment she pressed her cell against her ear.. "Hey".. She managed to keep herself composed..

"Tamanna?" his voice cried out. She could feel her insides swell.. She had longed to hear his voice cry out her name for so many days.. so many months.. and now it was him.. only him and her.. and everything else seemed to just evaporate..

"Rahul.." She muttered.. tears rolling down her cheeks as she thought of all the memories of them.. being with each other.. being together.. and all those days that they spent.. days which seemed to have never come back.. but now, he had called.. she never doubted the strength of her love.. and strong indeed, their love had been..

"I miss you.." Rahul could feel for her.. his insides.. forcing him to forget everything. He had always known he could love no one more..

"I know... I miss you too Rahul.." she let out her breath..

"Listen na.."

"Say na.."

"I saw that video.. yeah.. I miss Sentosa.." he said..

"Oh.. I told u.." clearing her mind, she asked him "How are you?"

"I'm fine.. and, what else?" He asked.. trying to have the conversation move on..

"Uh-huh.. like always.. you talk.. and I'll listen".. It was getting more normal now.. she was getting back to being her-self..

"Oh..okay.. what plans for the holidays?"

"I might go visit Sentosa again.. will miss you.."

"How did your exams go?" he asked trying to change the subject..

"Pretty well.. and yours?"

"Off the top.. ! Life has become so much difficult after the boards.. Never imagined myself so occupied before.."

"yeah.. to be honest, I love being occupied actually.. otherwise.. you know.. I keep thinking about us.."

"Hmm... I never thought I could call you again.. after all that happened.."

"Same here.. but, I'm so glad to hear you again.. It feels.. feels.. nice.."

"I so wish.. it stays this way.. I dont want to lose you.."

"I know.. neither do I.."

He felt himself losing his composure.. "Umm.. Tamanna.. I can't live without staying in touch with you.. It is just impossible.. you are my life.." he let out.. what he had in himself..

"I know.. It will be very difficult.."

"If we go out of touch totally, you would probably hesitate to talk to me in some months.. and then, you would visit my profile once a month and type those three words and then delete them.. " he sounded too rational to be ignored..

"I don't want that to happen.. I can't do that.. I can't live without you.." she cried out meaning every word..

"I want to be there for you.. with you.. always.." he felt for her.. more than he had ever had..

"I will be there for you too.. " she replied.. she fell in love with him all over again..

"Okay, I have to hang up.. I don't have much time.."

"Yeah.. all right.. bye and take care.." she wanted to talk more.. but she had learnt to cope with circumstances..

"You too... P.S. I love you.." he said.. and hung up..

The last words resonated in her mind.. she had never doubted it.. she knew he loved her too.. She kept her cell pressed to her ears... even though she knew he had hung up..

She closed her eyes.. and thought about him.. his face.. his voice.. still echoing in her mind.. and then collecting herself, she let go "P.S. I will always love you.." ...

The Mysterious Girl.. continued

I was in love..

As the realization struck me, I hesitated but... it was too late..

I turned around.. staring in shock.. and more of disbelief. I had always been too busy in life to think about being in love. The rational part of me debated that it must be just an illusion, I cannot possible fall in love for heaven's sake!!

My heart, however, did a double take.. She was the most beautiful girl I met..

Her tender eyes had done the trick. I had been staring at her for six minutes??? I couldn't believe myself..! Not once in my sixteen years of life did I experience 'six minutes' which came even remotely close to the ones which I had just spent. And then it happened. If I had any doubts whether I had indeed fallen in love, they were cleared beyond all possibilities.

I could hear myself breathing.. No it was not asphyxiation, she was standing right next to me..!

In sheer bewilderment, I did not even as much move an inch.. I had stood at the same place, lost in my thoughts, when she did what I had least expected.

"Are you all right?" she asked in what I could process as the sweetest voice that could exist.

"Yeah.. I think I am.." I mustered. Not even close, to be honest, I thought.

"Sure?" God.. she was so beautiful..!

"Hmm.. yeah.. I am perfectly okay.." I tried to gather myself. I told myself I had to act normal, even though I wasn't. Don't lose it even before it begins.

"I need to go.. I guess we can find a time to talk later.." She said.. and it took me about 2 seconds to process every word.

"Yeah.. okay.." I replied.

She turned to go. I didn't want it, though. I thought not to look back at her. But, something told me she hadn't moved. She was still there. I looked up and found her eyes again. Gosh.. not again! This time, it was her staring at me. And I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. I looked elsewhere. Almost everyone around us were busy with themselves. I kind of liked the privacy.

She took a step back.

It, apparently, was enough to get my attention back. I looked at her. Her lips broadened into a smile. I couldn't resist myself doing the same. For the first time in life, I felt I was not listening to myself, like something else had control over me and my mind..

She took another step back.

Her smile broadened.

Bye.. she said, mutely. I lipread her. I did the same.

Yes, I told myself. I am in love.

The Mysterious Girl.

I was gazing.

The reflection was frivolous. And blinding. And passionate.

It was the reflection in her eyes.

Glittering against a backdrop of inhuman anxiety, her eyes became the only thing I could see. My senses went into temporary hibernation mode as I realized I was transfixed. Her mesmerizing fragrance took me to a world I never knew existed, a world far away from the complexities we dwell in. I felt a chill. Thoughts stopped to pour into my mind.

What is happening to me?

In the minutest of movements, her eyes moved. Ever so slowly, shifting her gaze from my left eye to my right. They seemed to become moistened with every passing second. The moisture made her eyes shine even more vigorously. I reasoned myself. I was hallucinating. This can not be happening!!

I was wrong.

Against my wishes, my eyes wont shut.

Let me see her!

Her eyes were beautiful. Much more than the word could possibly express.Much... Much... more! This was no delusion. She was there, right in front of me. And I had been staring into her eyes for the last five minutes now. Five minutes!!!

But I want to keep looking at her.. My heart argued against my mind. Experience told me in such cases, its always better to listen to what your heart says.

I did precisely that.

And it paid off.

In a matter of seconds, our gaze broke. And it took me some time to let the feeling finally settle in. This had never happened with me before. I was gazing at her for the last six minutes! The very thought sent another series of shock waves through my body.

I backed off. I had to. I turned back, still almost asphyxiating with the thought.

All I knew was that the job was done.

"Target down".

I was in love.