Spell of L-O-V-E

Love1

 Ravi was a breezy and flighty young guy, cherished being called an alpha-man. Displaying pleasing appearance and a sort of machismo, he got many girls ‘killed’. He was smart, had always thought life a rainbow that would stay put in his horizon forever. A go-ahead young bloke, his domain of friends was well spread through the college. He had a knack of organizing college functions with aplomb and that indeed made him the cynosure of all girls’ eyes.

 Meena too was vivacious and flippant. She became crazy about Ravi’s appearance and popularity. She had her heart pounding and adrenaline rushing whenever she looked into his eyes. They got married though her orthodox family opposed it and cursed the lovers.

 They had now two new stars in their horizon… two school going children. Life was a bed of roses for Meena until when Ravi disclosed her that he was in love with one of his office colleagues and wanted to marry her. And there arose fracas between them… sudden storms without warning. For, Ravi had fallen down from Meena’s esteem- a macho man now becoming a Machiavellian- constantly demanding her assent for his second marriage.

 “You braggart, did you ever love me,” she asked him helplessly with tear-filled eyes.

 Love2

 Rita, a college girl, with streaks of feminism, was called a retro-cutie since she had a strange flair for watching Rajini Kanth’s flicks released during 1980s. She was one of his die-hard fans, allowing her to be swept away by the actor’s film antics like, throwing knife from one hand to another, back and forth, lighting cigarettes in style and spewing out some punch dialogues. She liked his performance in antagonistic roles. Though Rajini was a hopeless, incorrigible villain in those movies, a heroine, like a flash in the pan, would enter his life and reform him a good, pious soul.

 Krish, though looked like a la Rajini, was really a scamp. However, Rita fell for him and married him. She brushed aside all better councils against her marrying Krish. She said: ‘I’m confident of reforming Krish like the heroines in Rajini films did.’ Woefully, that did not happen. Krish was beyond repair. His boozing and flirting with women went to new highs leaving Rita a helpless spectator. What she got from her married-life was beatings and scolding. When reality of life bit her, she had to bear the sting silently, melting her woes through tears.

 I know narrating these stories may strike a discordant note or blur the color of love. But then, what makes me to bring such soup stories to light is to show how the word ‘love’ is mostly misunderstood and how people stretch it to suit to their feelings. Our perception about love is only knee-deep as we believe that love is exclusively based on how we feel. Love in fact is still an elephant to us and we, the rational- blind, touch its single part and boast it represent the elephant. A guy or girl who is bereft of emotional rush of feelings never buy love impulsively.

 Love is not a feeling; it is not floating on clouds like the one in movies, televisions and songs. People in love don’t feel ooey gooey about their love. However, it is quite natural for youngsters to prefer romance to wisdom since they are susceptible to attraction to the opposite gender. They could very well avoid chaos visiting their married life if they realize that attraction is only transient and wanes as time moves on.

 A girl may like a boy because he is sporting a hairstyle like her favorite star or speaks or acts like Rajini, but then such a liking is only an instant thing. Love born out of attractions-physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual- may be anything but love. Pitifully, guys/girls saunter into the realm of marriage believing their attractions to each other as love. But, sooner than later, they find their attractions or likings dissipate and their love gets burned by the hard realities of life… realities sans emotions.

 To get into the spectrum of love and lead a happy married life, it becomes incumbent upon the young to know the intricacies of love and liking. Our attractions are too entangled in our feelings to see the truth.

 What then is love? Love is friendship without influence or dominance. It is not built with layers of attractions or feelings. In true love you have no fetters, can behave as you like. It is your heart where truth only prevails.

 If this being true love, how can one identify it… how can one have ‘dharshan’ of it as the world become more and more pretentious- full of people wearing masks. Since fake, make-believe attitudes and artificial Good Samaritan deportment will not last long, they can be identified if you are a bit patient not allowing your emotions overtakes you.

 My waxing eloquent about what is not love should not be misconstrued that I’m against love, making Cupid my arch enemy. I respect love, honor love since I believe love is the language of the soul.

Images courtesy: Google