NENJE EZHU ! - Never Give Up !

INTRODUCTION :

Yes, its the latest sensational song. I felt the song's lyrics to be very much in line with my story and so i kept that name. Hope you too feel it !

And nothing to introduce . Just a heads up, am prone to make spelling and grammatical mistakes. If u find any feel free to tell me (personally ;) ) so that i can correct them ! 

Begins..

“Salem, Coimbatore, Kochi...Salem, Coimbatore, Kochi” shouted the conductor of the KALLADA travels in a very high pace. One by one got into the bus and I, yet another passenger boarded along with them switching my mp3 player on since it was annoying to hear the conductor shouting on everyone to board the bus. The bus was almost full except few seats which included my adjacent seat too. I looked at all those coming into the bus to see who will be my fellow passenger, to know if am going to have a pleasant travel or a horrible one.  A beautiful, hot gal in a 3/4^th and t shirt stepped inside the bus. If I were a teenager or a college student, I would have prayed to GOD to make her sit next to me. But now, I was looking on people coming behind her to know if one among them will be THE ONE to decide my journey’s fate.

My adjacent seat remained empty till the bus started. So I pressed the button beneath the seat for the PUSHBACK and resumed the song I was hearing. The bus started to move really slow due to the heavy traffic. 25 minutes passed and the bus halted at SILK BOARD to fill the missing seats. A guy, probably of 23 to 25 yrs got into the bus. He looked like a typical TAMIL youth who got carried away by the Bangalore’s style and fashion, with a hairstyle which said “Vanakkam”. Yea the MowHak or Mow-‘HACK’ to be exact, along with a funky chest print tee. Still it kinda suited him that he looked smart. He sat next to that HOT gal who was sitting in front of me. A FAT LADY was coming behind him and the seat next to me was the only one unfilled. I felt, If I had made a PRAYER to GOD, then he would have indeed performed a BIG YAGA. I felt so because that AUNTY was VERY BIG, in fact very HUGE that she was not able to walk STRAIGHT in the pathway as the seats were hitting her. So she had to walk SIDEWAYS to make her way to her seat. Her journey from the footboard to her seat took more time than the time taken by the bus to travel from Madiwala to Silk Board in busy traffic. I am sure that the single seat was not sufficient for her. She would definitely need a big part of my seat too to fit her ass. I was regular at gym from my college days and so I had broad shoulders .Thus 2 seats were not sufficient for 3 people. Oops, Sorry 2 people :P. She shouted something in TELUGU to that boy that he looked puzzled and so was I. The conductor came to the scene and spoke with that Lady. He asked the guy to change the seat and sit next to me since his seat was booked by that lady online. Glad that online bus booking does not allow a guy to book a seat next to a seat booked by a gal. That guy stood up with frustration and sat next to me.

Dear God, you are fairand unbiased! ;)

“Cha.. Inda online booking sites eh ellam first ban pannanum. IRCTC is far better, though it takes half an hour to load the login page.“ hesaid. I laughed at his act and he turned to me and said

“Guess you are so happy. Is that because you too wished to sit next to her? “

“No. But I wished that the LADY should not sit next to me .You or that gal does not make any difference to me. I just need a pleasant journey.“I replied

“Hahaha. True that. Captain America and Lady HULK cannot be accommodated in 2 seats “ he said looking at my physique.

“Exactly, but Captain America and IRON MAN can be accommodated for sure. But the journey will be horrible if they have an argument like they usually do. “

“Not in this case Captain.” he replied

“Fine.. Coimbatore? “ I asked. Before he replied he got amissed call. He called back and said

“Amma, Bus eritan.. Eve 5 30 to 6 Coimbatore vandhurvan ..”

“No No, Dad vara vendam. I will pick the town bus and I ll come home.”

“Aparam onnum illa Amma. Bus started. I ll call you after I reach cbe.”

“Ya morning Saaptan. Lunch naan pathukaran. I ll somehowadjust. Night Veetla daan “

“Ok. Bye.”  He said and cut the call and again turned to me and said

“Ya..Coimbatore..You ?”

“Yea..Same.. Missed call kudutha udanae mom ku call panreenga ! Good to see the MOM-SON relationship .” I added  

“It was my LOVER who gave the missed cal :P.“ he said and by the time he received one more missed call.

“One Sec “ he said and called back.

“Hey darling, Sorry I was speaking with my mom.”

“Hey ,it was really my mom .”

“Yea.. Bus started. Guess I ll be reaching around 5 30 or 6“

“No..Dad will not come. I have to go alone in town bus dear:( “

“Hmmm Ya.. Can u come to bus stand. If I see you, I will bereally happy .”

“Hmmm k.. I ll go alone..: (”

“Ya I had my breakfast. No idea about lunch. Guess I ll be skipping it :(“

“Hey wat to do. Have to adjust. No other way. That’s why I don’t prefer Morning travel.“

“Don’t worry. I ll be fine. Once I see you after coming there, all my hunger will be lost. I will be FULL. And if u give something, I don’t need to eat for dinner too“ he blushed. Then I heard her kissing him.

“Haa…This will be enough for lunch. :D”

“Am in bus ryt now. I ll give my share when I come there ,that too not in phone ;) “ he again blushed and the call got disconnected due to signal loss. He opened the window immediately and let his hand outside holding his mobile. Somehow he was lucky and he got back the signal. So he quickly called again.

“Hey signal problem and this will persist for a long time, so I ll call later.”

“Hmmm ok .Love you Shruthi “

“Ok tata.” and he cut the call again.

“What’s ur name ??” I asked gently

“Sathya..Sathya Narayanan “ he said

“Mr.Sathya , Can I ask u something?” I asked

“Yea but am just Sathya and not MR.SATHYA.”

“You said it was your lover who gave the missed cal. But it doesn’t look so. It looked as if you were talking with a GAL FRIEND. Hope you know the difference between the two.”

“Am very much aware of the difference and she is indeed my LOVER, in fact my soul- mate. That’s her nature and I abide with it. So don’t mistake me. And also I love my mom so much that I loved Shruthi because I felt so happy with her just like I would feel with my mom :)“ he said and that gave me a very good impression on him . He continued again

“If you love someone or have loved someone, may be you can understand what I said. Else, am sorry I cant help! Or even if you love someone,please be updated. Things have changed. People have changed. The LOVE which people did in your college days, that’s outdated Sir “he said with a considerable amount of anger which he covered with his smile.

“Relax Relax Bro. I dint mistake you. I just asked a simple quest. Relax and sorry if my quest has kindled your nerve.” I extended my hand for a compromise,

“Fine.” he replied and extended his hand, not fully compromised though

“Vinod.“ I said and shook his hand.

I started making conversations with him. At few instances and few of his characters reminded myself in college days. Especially when he made efforts continuously to speak with his lover whenever he got signal in his mobile. He indeed loved her so much than what I thought. He called her as THE ONE who changed his life, and changed himself completely.

The bus was halted at Krishnagiri for a while where there were lots of bakeries , hotels and restrooms for people to refresh .Most of them in the bus had already slept and the conductor told all the passengers to have lunch here since the bus will be next halted for break only in Coimbatore.

A Malayali couple were sleeping at the back that they dint hear the conductor. So he went near them and found the gal sleeping in the guy’s lap and the guy slept leaning against the window. He asked them to get down, but they did not wish to get down. Some kind of argument developed and the conductor again fired back at them with harsh words and spoke ill about their relationship.  Now that’s when I intervened.

“What’s going on here?“ I asked the guy.

“This person here, ask him to control his tongue. His words are too rude . Teach him how to speak in front of ladies.“ He said

“Sir, I just told them to get down and have some refreshment. Bus won’t stop in between for anyone Sir“ the conductor told me.

“This is unfair. You cannot control others. If it is an emergency, its your DUTY to stop , and when you have LADIES in the bus. Only when they feel like getting down, they can do so. You leave them here and have some tea or coffee. Guess you need it now badly. Go“  I said and tried to move the conductor from that place. He moved slowly with disgust and murmured,

“They are doing indecent things in bus. These people simply come for pleasure and claim themselves to be lovers..“

Before he continued further I caught hold of his shirt and dragged him back.

“One more word about them and you are dead “I said in supreme anger. Now the passengers in the bus gathered around us. After knowing what happened till now, they too were in my side that the conductor could do nothing.

“U cannot move an inch unless you ask for an apology to them“ I still held his shirt .

“Sirrrrr…. “he started to tremble

“Sorry” he said to the guy and turned back to leave. Igrabbed him back and said

“To the gal “

“Sorry madam.” And I let him off. I got down from the bus tohave a tea, but Sathya bought me a cup of tea

“Sir.. What a show inside the bus. Please have the tea “

I wondered from where all of the respect came from.

“Thank you .But why too much of respect all of a sudden, which I don’t think I deserve? “

“You were amazing. One more word by the conductor and he would have been thrashed! .right? “

“Huhhh.. I don’t think so. I wouldn’t have hit him for sure.I just want him to know that he was wrong. You don’t have to hit anyone to make them be afraid of you. Its enough if you just shout and show your anger through your voice and attitude. “

“But to have such courage, one must have a good physique like you. Indha body vechi ennala fight ellam pana mudiadhu sir.. Oangi adicha Ondra ton weightuu nuungala madri aalunga sollalam .But avanga Oangi adicha naan orae second la out.Ennala ungala madri ellam iruka mudiadhu Sir.. :D “

“Hahaha.. Good one! That’s not a prob, and by the way,thanks for the tea “ I said raisin my cup for a cheers.

“Cheers. But what if the couples were just like what the conductor murmured? Just for pleasure.”

“I don’t think so .They looked genuine. ’Just for fun ‘couples have much better place to have fun. Inside a bus, on a bright sunny day, hmmmm,I don’t think so :), and did u look at the way they were lying? I could see only the 

care they had on each other. “ I said sipping the tea.

“Look who is speaking. Some LOVE GURU or what? :D“ he asked me

“Haha No. May be experience “I replied.

“What The…” he said,

“hmmmm ? “ I looked at him

“I mean Wowwww.. :D . You love or loved? Come on. Tel me Sir“

“Sir sounds a lil awkward to me. Calling me ‘Vinod’ would be sufficient. But if u really want to show your respect, you can call me ‘Bro’ :)”

“Sure Shot bro. Now begin. Where did you meet her? How it all happened? Who proposed first? Did she accept immediately or dragged for along time like others? “

“Relax Relax. She was my class mate in college, Chennai.That was a big advantage and the biggest disadvantage too ;). I saw her on the 1^st day of class. It was not love at first sight. She was not very beautiful that one would fall in love the very moment when one sees her. I did not have any feelings for her initially. She used to sit in the last row on the girl’s side. There would be one more row behind that where 3 guys used to sit,and I was one among them along with Sasi and Arun. So I used to see her daily,every class, every minute. We both travelled by electric train back home, and on one such journey was the first time we spoke. And it all began from there :).Boy, that was one good damn memorable day “I said sipping the tea and continued my story thereby re living those days yet again!

“Machi  namakaagave seat free eh iruku pola. Vaa da “ said Sasi and we both of them sat in the 3 seater.

The opposite 3 seater was occupied by 2 Men, around 40 yrs of age. She was standing near the seat carrying her big single side shoulder bag.I told my friend to move a little, and I moved a little to give her some place to sit next to me.

“No its ok“she said and looked at me as if I told her to sit on my lap .

“Romba daan “ I murmured. She saw the empty seat opposite to us and sat next to the grey haired man.

I gave a VERY-WELL-THAT’S GREAT smile and she still gave an annoying look.

Gosh these gals, how can one person possibly show off this much!

I kept my head down as I was really tired. I heard some sound and looked up a little and saw her feet. She wore a very simple slipper with a low quality nail polish, which still looked pretty on her toes.Her foot were dancing a little by turning left, coming forward, going back etc.Though it seemed pretty to see the movements for a while , I later realized that she was not comfortable and hence the movement. I noticed another dirty feet, wearing a torn bata slipper near her feet . That dirty feet followed this pretty feet wherever it went .Once the pretty went deep inside the seat that even then this dirt followed it and was searching for her feet.

Now I looked up completely and saw that man slowly took his left hand placed it on the seat’s top behind her head. She dint have any option so she tried to get up from that place. I again moved a little with a sarcastic smile and gave her some space again. She got from that seat and continued to stand for a while. I moved my legs little away so that it won’t be near to her if she sits next to me. She gave a very very small smile and slowly sat next tome. I continued to give her the sarcastic smile. I felt like a very happy peppy beats being played in my heart.

Her station arrived and I sat in my seat and saw her walking till she reached the footboard to get down. When she got down, I quickly ran to the footboard

“Hello..” I shouted raising my hand. She immediately turned back and stopped. I ran to her quickly.

“Not all black hairs are crooked and not all grey hairs are genuine. Am your class mate and we have to see each other daily. You won’t get spoiled by sitting next to me.” I said and walked back to get into the train.

She looked stunned and spoke nothing. The train started to move and I got into the train and stood near the footstep to see her go. She continued to stand in that place and slowly turned back to move.

“Hello” I again called her and she turned back.

“My name is Vinod, See you tom .Bye “I said it with a big smile, waving my hands.

“Stop it right there” interrupted Sathya .

“What? “ I asked him.

“You said this was the first day you both spoke. But there are no dialogues from her side yet”

“Don’t be in a hurry bro. “ I said and continued from that place.

By the time I was waving my hand the train stopped suddenly for some reason. She looked left and right and started walking towards me. I had mixed feelings that moment among which FEAR was one. I thot I made a blunder by speaking to her in that place that she is going to fire on me with her words or her slipper. I actually took 2 steps back and got into the train a little with my head peeped out to look at her.

She came close to the footboard and I stepped out of the train.

“Am sorry for what happened in train and please don’t call me like this in public here onwards.” She said and walked back. Now I stood stunned and speechless. I didn’t know what to reply for that. I stood there and watched her walking back .She slowly turned back and continued to walk looking at me. With much hesitation and fear she slowly raised her hand, not very much though, may be only till her shoulder and waved. The peppy beats started tobeat again and I started to smile very much :). She again turned back walked away fast. I continued to look at her as she walked away and I got into the train again. The beats continued throughout the day :).

Next day in college, I sat as usual in my seat behind her and waited for her arrival to class. She gracefully entered, and parked her big bag near the seat and sat down. I was thinking how to start a conversation or rather whether to start a conversation. Math class started and I was almost fainting. I couldn’t bare more that I lied down on the desk and slept.

A soft hand woke me up and when I slowly opened my eyes I saw a blur image of a beautiful gal. I was so convinced that it was her and when my retina adjusted the focal length for a proper vision I thought I saw a red traffic signal. No, it was my math teacher with her BIG RED kumkum which took my breath away for a moment.

“Mam “ I fumbled and got up .

“OUtttttt…“ She screamed. I stood still for a while doing nothing..

“I said GET OUTTTTTTTT…“she screamed even more that I started walking out of the class. She called me again and said
“Hey you ! “

I stopped and looked at her expecting she would tell me to write an apology letter and will warn me saying not to repeat it again. She said

“Wipe your mouth and go man! Disgusting “and continued her lullaby for the rest.

Before I walked out I had a small look on her face and she held a cute face with a super cute smile..

“Ennaavooo iruku machi ava kitta“I told my friend Sasi while we were having a chat in canteen during lunch.

“Yaaru da ? “ he asked

“Adaan da..The one who sits just in front of us in our class. She also sat opp to us in the train that day.“

“Oh avala… yea..i remember “

“Yea . Ennavooo iruku macha ava kitta “

“Ava kittaya.. Ava kitta onnum perusa illayaee da :D “ Sasi said wit his big smile .

“Daai… I mean, ava ennavo panra da enna.. ! ennavoo iruku machi ava kitta ! “

“I don’t think she is that attractive. Come on.. Look at Sultana! She is damn beautiful. Guys are going behind like sheep. But in case her father comes to know abt that, Nammala Biriyani potruvan ! :D “

“Hahaha.. I dint mean that. This gal, she might not be beautiful compared to others, but there is something in her that makes me to think about her a lot. “

“Love? and please don’t tell ‘Don’t know’ to my quest . That again means d same“

“Machi, seriously I don’t know. I know nothing abt her. So right now am not in love. But, she is kinda disturbing me a lot. Look how she made me to talk about her right now. Why am I talking about her? What’s the connection between us and her? So there is some wave between us, right? “

“Well, am not sure of the connection between us and her. But am sure that soon our connection will be lost due to her :P “ 

“Poda loose..Nowadays I feel like I should see her, else the day will be incomplete. Thank god, she is in our class.”
“Shaabbba.. Ippo ena da solla vara?”

“I don’t love her now. Bt am not sure of the future. If things goes well, you might see us a happy couple“ I said and winked at him.

“Very well, Start the mission soon. Looks like a normal girl.Super figure eh irunda unaku kashtam. Avala, I think you can win her soon! “

“Lets see that too “I said and we both started walking out of the canteen .

Next day at the same Math hour. I tried hard to focus on the class. I even caught hold of my eye lids and kept my eyes wide open that it should not even close. I told my friends to pinch me even if I am about to sleep .But 10 minutes from the beginning of the class, Sasi and Arun fell on the desk and lied like encountered dead bodies. I tried hard to stay awake but I couldn’t and I slept again .

I was again woken up by a soft hand. Now, when I slowly got a clear vision I saw a cute snake shaped bindhi . Yes, it was her :). By the time I realized that, I quickly woke up and adjusted my hair style and wiped off my mouth. There was nobody in the class except both of us. Before I could say a hi, I heard a huge snoring sound. I looked down and saw both Sasi and Arun sleeping still. I tried to wake them up and but they were much worse than me.So I gave up and looked up to her.

“Hi“ she said .

“Hey hi. Thank you so much. But where are the others? Why is the class empty? “I asked.

“Next 3 hrs is computer lab. So everyone went to the lab “she said with lot of struggle

“Oh…Why are u still here then? “I asked her.

“To wake you up. Mam tried to wake all the 3 of you. But none responded. She thought its better to keep you like this rather than waking you guys since you all will be disturbing her. “

“Whattt.. the…“

“That day you helped me. So I thot it’s bad to leave you as such.” she said and held a poker face.

“Oh, so you are trying to compensate for what I did eh? “

“No.. not like that.. but … “

“That’s ok .. Fine.. Thanks anyways..”

“Ya ok..” she said and the poker face changed a little .

“So.. now we have to go to lab right ?“I asked her

“Yes..”

“Soooo.. Shall we move?“ I asked her and took the only note I brought to college. She stood there silent for some time and finally said yes after giving a huge thought.

“What about your friends? Aren’t they coming for lab? “

“Them? They are currently in coma. Guess they will wake up only in the evening. That’s not a prob. You need not worry about them. We will go “I said and started to walk. She too followed carrying her big bag. We have to walk quite a distance to go the lab. So I thought this was a perfect time for knowing more about her.

“Why do you carry such a big bag to college? And why do you carry it now? You could have simply carried the observation note alone right?“I asked her .

“I have all the books.. That’s why it’s so heavy. “

“Books? You have books? and you carry them to college ?Interesting.“  I said and laughed at her.

“You think this is school, to cover your note with brown paper, put a label on it, and bring all the books? Grow up gal.“ I continued to laugh at her.

“Haha..Alright..But where is your bag? I mean your books? Or atleast an observation note? I dint find them in the class too . “

“Because I don’t have them .Just this single note. “ I said rotating that note on my index finger.

“Why don’t you have separate notes. It will be easy during exam na “ She asked..

I brought both my hands together in the “Vanakkam” position and said

“Madam.Thank you. But please, just now I woke up. Don’t make me to sleep on the road “ I said and laughed

“Ok” she said and turned her face. I knew she did not find that funny..

“Seri. You give your bag. You feel so uncomfortable with it and I extended my hand to get it.

“That’s ok. Leave it. I will take care “she said and walked faster.

“Hey, am really sorry. But pls give your bag. I feel bad to see u carrying such a load. Or may be take like this .I don’t have the opportunity to bring books or a bag to college so that I can be a good student,so why don’t u give me yours. Atleast un bag eh thooki aachu naan senja paavathuku parigaram thedikaranae..”

Surprisingly she found that funny and gave her bag. Goddamn, that was too heavy. For a moment I thought I should have stayed silent.

“Your name is Vidhya right? I heard it when they took the attendance.”

“Yes Vidhya.”

“That’s it? That’s your full name ?”

“Yes, just Vidhya !“ she said and extended her hand. I thought she was offering a hand shake. But soon she extended her other hand too. ‘Oh a HUG :D She looks like a very orthodox gal .But now a hug. Paravaalayaeee :D ’ I thought and so I too opened my arms to hug her. The bag on my shoulder dropped off and came to my arms. She quickly caught the bag and said

“Hey careful.” and took the bag and started walking inside the lab.

Oh shit, All these forgetting her bag?? Thank god she dint think bad about me.

I slowly walked to my seat and all I could think of was the matching of Vidhya and Vinod. So I opened my note and took the last page of it.I wrote VINOD and VIDHYA one below the other and then wrote FLAMES below them .And by the rules of FLAMES , V,I,D got chopped and thus N,O,H,Y and A remained which meant the count is 5. So FLAMES became F L A M and S. Now we have to start counting from S and thus M got eliminated. Then F L A S became F L A. I was quite happy with the intermediate result . So I continued further and finally it ended as A. Though it was not the result I expected, I still got convinced with A. But my brain told to do it once more with a slight change in the approach. For the 1^st round E got eliminated as usual .Now instead of going by the rules and starting with S, I again started from F. Thus F L A M S became F L A M. This looked even more beautiful .So I continued starting from the 1^st letter and thus it became L A M , L M and finally M. I drew a heart symbol around M piercing an arrow.

Oh ‘M’, you are beautifull!!

From then on, we started talking more in college. I was one of the very few friends she had in college, and the only guy with whom she shares her personal matters. She was basically from Erode and stayed at her aunt’s home since her dad felt hostel life would spoil her. She loved her dad so much that she would go home on almost every weekend. Myself, Sasi and Vidhya would spend quality time mostly during the lunch hour in the canteen .She would bring lunch for all the 3 of us. Sometime I would deliberately leave Sasi so that I could spend some time with her alone, and he too dint mind that.

“What’s special today. “ I asked and opened the tiffin box “Wowww…Biriyani . Great “ I said and tasted a sample.

“Hey it tastes great. Tel your aunt that I ll come home one day specially to eat her biryani .”

“In that case, she would be pissed off. Coz I prepared the biryani today “

“Really?? I love this. Make it often then “

“Huh? Marry someone who makes awesome biryani then“ she said and started to eat.

“Why would I need a Photocopy when I have the Original copy“ I said and continued to eat.

“What do you mean? “ She asked . She did not understand what I meant .

“Adaan nee irukala. Aparam edhuku innorthi nu sonnan? “ Now she understood what I meant. She stopped eating and looked at me seriously fora moment. Few seconds of serious face and then a gradual smile, is what I expected. But she continued to give a serious look.

“Enna solra Vinod “

“Idhuku mela enna sollanum..I love you “ I said and continued to eat so that it will look casual.

“You can’t see a girl as a friend right? I thought you were different from others. But you proved that even you are a typical guy who takes advantage when a gal speaks with him fluently.”

“Hey can you stop it right there. What do you think of me? Some rogue following a gal day and night? Well, I am not. Hey look, I don’t know when it happened to me, or what made me to love you, but I really meant what I said.” Her expression never changed.

“Seriously, I don’t know when I fell in love with you.Definitely not the day I met you first in college. But from the day I spoke to you in that station, I always had a special feeling for you. It may be during the day when you woke me up from my sleep, or when we were walking towards the lab and in and around college all these days, or it can be even right now, when I tasted your biriyani. We have been friends for a year or so and we know each other a little. Most of all, you like me. Or else why would you be sitting in canteen with me right here, right now. This is love Vidhya. We have a fantastic chemistry which I have felt all these days and which you will feel one day soon.You made biriyani for me right ? Do one more thing. Think about what I said tonight.I don’t want to miss this biriyani“ I said and continued to eat . But she got up and went in a hurry without saying anything.

“Anna..Enna Biryani kaarama iruku nu soldra madri I love you nu solliteenga . Romantic eh oru spot ku kutitu poi, poetic eh solirkanum .Enda ponnu eh irundalum accept panirpa” said Sathya.

“Excuse me, as if you proposed in a 5 star restaurant. You proposed to Shruthi just outside your home right? and you kissed when there was a current power cut  after she accepted your proposal . Nee romantic aana spot la propose panradhu pathi pesria thambi:D “

“Anna, I might not have proposed in a romantic place. But it was poetic. She was melted by my proposal. But look at you, your proposal looks as if you loved her only because the biriyani was tasteful. So if she had brought curd rice that day you wouldn’t have proposed her eh? :P Or if that biriyani was made by her aunt, you would have proposed her aunt eh ?:P “

“Bro, why are you so much into the Biriyani. I loved her and that’s the way I know to propose. I can’t be poetic like you. I just know to speak from my heart.”

“Ok ok relax.. I was just kiddin. I indeed like your proposal .Simple and direct. Guess nothing more was required to make her understand your love. Ok now continue the story” he said and closed the window since the air flowing inside disturbed our conversation.

Next day in college. As usual I came early and was waiting for her arrival to the class. She came slowly and sat in the front row this time. I waited for her in canteen, but she did not come there too. That evening in the train too was a quite journey. She travelled by standing in the train though there was too many unfilled seats opposite to me. When her station arrived, she got down and walked slowly and I looked at her standing near the footboard. Suddenly she stopped walking and came back towards me. The beats slowly started to beat in my mind.

“Vinod, I don’t want to be like this. You really love me so much? “

“Yes. I do. “

“You think about me a lot daily? Please don’t waste your time and life for me .Forget me now itself. I don’t think we can continue as friends too. Don’t wait for me that I will love you someday .No, I wont..Bye..“she said and turned back.

“Hey wait. Say you don’t love me. I will accept. But you have no rights to say not to wait for you. That’s my wish .U don’t bother about that. And don’t think I ll waste my life for you .Yes, I ll wait for you , but not till the end of my life. I will wait may be until you get married, or until you love someone else. But not beyond that. I will wait only till I feel I have a chance on you. I am more practical than what you think. So you rejecting my proposal make no harm to me. Thus you don’t need to feel guilty.”

“Bye” she said and went. I too got into the train and went home.

One full year passed and during that time I tried to stay away from her as much as possible so that neither of us felt bad. At times in college both of us would smile at each other. I so missed the lunch hour in canteen with her.

“So yours is a one side love right. Sad to hear.I don’t know what to say ! All I feel is she is unlucky to miss you ! “ said Sathya to console me.

“Hmmmm it was one side love. But only till that day “ I said and winked at him .

“Man..Again a twist! What happened then? “ he asked me with enthusiasm to hear the happy moment.

As I said one year passed and as usual we were travelling in train standing far apart. We had special class that day that we have to stay back in college late than usual. She got down in her station and started walking and I had a glance on her through the window. I noticed 3 guys following passing weird comments. That day I dint feel that it was common for a gal to be teased and followed by guys. My instinct told me to get down and help her. So I walked behind the guys who were walking behind her. They were passing comments, teasing her personality, etc and things were going usual until one guy went and hit her back and another guy grabbed her hand. I hurried there and pushed all the 3 guys and shouted at her to run away from here soon. She waited for a moment and when I shouted loud again to RUN, she ran faster than anyone could.

Next day me and Sasi came to canteen for lunch and ordered curd rice.

“Machi.. Nee 12^th la cigarette pudichi veetla maatnapo, unga amma unna belt aala adichaangalae, adha vida nethu night sema adi pola :D “ he said and laughed at me.

“Dai..Kalaaikiriya..”

“Then what..Jus like her you should have also ran away .”

“If I had ran away they would have ran behind her. That’s why I stayed there. “

“If she was your lover, then there is some point in getting beaten up. One side love kaaga enda adi vaangureenga “

“Love a gal, you will know that” I told him

“Seeing this, you think one would love a girl :D  ??. I am not bold enough like you “

“Bold enough to love a girl? “

“Bold enough to get beaten up :P” he said and continued tolaugh louder and before he finish trolling me ,Vidhya came to canteen . I keptmy head down and tried myself hard not to look at her. But she came so closeand sat in the opposite chair and called me

“Vinod” she said and I slowly looked up at her.

“I want to talk to you for a moment. “ she said and looked at Sasi. Sasi got up and said “ Seri machi . I ll see you in class..Olunga class vandu seru . Nadula evan kittachu adi vaangitu vandhuraadha :P “

I caught his hand and asked him to sit down .

“He knows everything, and I ll anyway tell him later whatever we speak now. So whatever be the matter, tell now” I said and Sasi sat down .

“Thank you for yesterday.. “ she said

“That’s ok..I helped not bcoz I love you, I would have helped for any other gal too, apdi nu solluvan nu mattum 

nenaikaadha.. I helped only bcoz I Love you. Why would I fight for some other gal “ I said and Sasi interrupted,

“Fight ah :P .. Dai ..” and started to laugh..

“Alright.. Why would I get beaten up for some other gal “ I said and turned to Sasi and asked “Fine now ?? “ and again turned to Vidhya.

“I cant stand and watch when something happen to you immaterial of whether you love me or not. By the way, you know you will be going home late right? You could have called your uncle to come to station to take you home na. “

“I called them .But they said they cant come.”

“Oh..Why ? “

“Nothing..Leave it..”

I stayed silent for sometime since I dint know what to reply to for that.

“So, you came here to thank me ?” I asked her.

“No, not only that” she said and started smiling. She then opened her bag and took out a plastic over and gave it to me. Inside it was a tiffin box. I looked at her wondering what it was,

“Open it” she said with full of smiles. I opened it slowly and I found that it was Chicken Biriyani with leg piece. More than me Sasi went awe seeing it. Now again I looked at her

“Why do you need a photocopy when you have original “ she said. I was full of smiles and I want to shout ‘Yesss….Yess…. Yes…. :D ‘ ..

“Care, Trust and Security are the things a gal need from a guy. I trust my Dad and I Love him so much. He will always do the best for me.If I don’t love and marry you, my dad would have anyway got me a guy of same qualities and I would married him and lived happily. But in that case, I would have loved that guy bcoz he is my husband , and bcoz my dad told he is the best match for me. Now I have you, whom I think I ll love simply bcoz I feel thelove. I feel the love you have on me and am able to feel the love I have on you. Enna kadaisi varaikum love panuvia? Will you prove my dad that my selection is correct? “ she asked me and held my hands. Man, that was one beautiful moment. I held her hand tightly and said

“I will never leave you in any case and I promise that your dad will feel proud of you, and also me.!” She was full of tears and I wiped them. I adjusted her hair that was hanging in front of her forehead, kept my hands on her lower cheeks, brought her closer and kissed on her forehead.That’s the precious moment of my life. I prefer forehead than lips. When you kiss a gal on her forehead, the love you have on her is better conveyed than on lips. That too when you held you hands on her cheeks and kiss, she will love it like anything. We will feel we don’t need anything else except our love. I dint bother about the surroundings or anything else at that time. Love, is all that I felt that time.

Sasi hugged me and shouted “Machan .. Kalakitta da… “ . Hewas happy for both of us too .

“Lets celebrate it machi “ he said and kept his hand on thechicken biriyani . I caught his hand and said

“Sorry machi..This is my biriyani .. Here, have curd rice machi. . Good for health”

“Dai..Idhellam too much da..” he felt sad . Adding to that I went close to him and said

“Machi.. Apdiae konjo kelambria .. Personal eh neraya pesuvoam .. Lovers ku nadula, I don’t think you can do anything..” he stood still for a moment and looked at Vidhya and said

“I should have left when you asked me to..You were much decent..” and left the place. Me and Vidhya spent rest of the day, in fact rest of the year with full of smiles and happiness.

“Hahahahaha… Poor fellow..and bro, it was great.. I could imagine how lovely you would felt . And when you mentioned about the kiss on the forehead, I was speechless. You said you are not poetic like me.. Yes, you are not..Coz you are more poetic than me and your love story is much beautiful and lovelier than mine..

“No..Never think so. I cant be like you..and you cant be like me too..and never compare love stories.. This is real life and notcinema.. Each of our love stories, and every other that exists in this world are beautiful in their own way..Until I loved Vidhya, all gals looked same tome. But after we fell in love with a gal, she will always look special compared to others. Before falling in love, we classify gals in various ways..Like good gals and bad gals or beautiful gals and those are not. But after Vidhya, I could classify only as Vidhya and rest of the gals. So, to you its Shruthi and Others..“

“Agreed. Shruthi is indeed special . Else its difficult to love a gal sincerely for more than 5 years . So what happened next ?  Sathya asked me .

“Well, the real journey began only after that day “ I saidand continued again .

From then on, every evening when going back from college I used to go till her home and would go to my home later. Sometime I would borrow a bike from my friend and used to roam the city. She used to go home on almost every weekend. After we fell in love, she spent some of the weekends with me.Every day was special, everyday was new. We used to come to college in weekends during exam days. As her name suggests, she was quite a brilliant girl in academics. In fact, I became an engineer only with the help of her. She has even passed chits during exams. She looked after me like her son, and I took care of her like my daughter. She would always say that I resemble her dad so much and that’s why she love me. I felt I am so important to her right now. She would always ask me

“Will you be with me forever?” . I would hold her hands together and say

“I don’t want us to be Romeo and Juliet , to love deeply andget separated later and die with pain . I want to be like my grandpa andgrandma who loved, stayed and grew older together !” and I would kiss on herforehead. It consoled and made her feel better! We had lovely time together.

Life went forward day by day and things went fine. Once shewent home for her weekend .

“Hey chella kuttty….Vaa da Vaa da.. “ her dad went to Vidhya to hug her .

“Appaaa.. “ she said and hugged him “ and a phone call interrupted the hug. She quickly came away from her dad and attended the call .

“Hey… Ya.. just now I reached ! “

“Hmmm… no yet to have dinner ! “

“I too love you ! See you Monday . . Text me “ she said and cut the call.

She took a small nap and refreshed herself for dinner .

“How is the college going dear ? “ her dad asked her .

“Ya its fine pa “ she said smiling at the mobile .

“Nalla padikiria ? “ he asked. She was texting and did not respond.

“Nalla padikiria nu kaetan “ .

“Oh ya ya.. nalla padikiran” she said and continued to text. Both the mom and dad gave a dejected look to each other and didn’t talk anything after that. Vidhya went to her room and continued texting and speaking in phone. The weekend came to an end and she was packing things for her return journey. Her dad came to her room and stood near the bed and asked

“Vidhya, can I speak with you for a moment .Do you have time for it? “

“Enna pa ipdi kaekureenga..Sollunga pa .Ena achu? “

“Illa.. U look so busy these days. Munna madri .. Pesaraku time kedaikaradhu illa..That’s why asked if you have time to speak now “

She understood something was wrong. May be a feel of guilt.So with much difficulty she said

“Apdi ellam onnum illa pa.. “

“No, you don’t interact with us much .You seem so much stuck with the phone. I thought I bought you the mobile phone so that it will connect us better. I guess its doing exactly the opposite.  “

She remained silent since she could not reply to those words

“Friends are important. Agreed. But I wish it would be better if you keep them in college itself. Nowadays you come home once or twice a month. At least spend some time with us when you are here. You have any idea how depressed is your mom? She feels you are moving away from us “

She felt like a sphere piercing her heart. She could not bear her dad speaking like that to her since she and her dad had always been in good terms. Even if her mom scolds her for anything, her dad would support her.Her dad had so much special care for her than her younger brother.

“Is there anyone who is important to you than us? Tell to me frankly dear. Speak with me like you do with your friend “. This made her shocked. She was in a perfect dilemma on how to react to that situation. She felt she has already hurt her dad so much and she dint want to hurt more.

“Nothing like that dad. Am always ur daughter forever” she said and hugged her dad tightly .

“I knew it” he said. She dint talk with anyone after that.She left home with fake smiles on her face .She called me next day to meet her.So we met in our college crossroads.

“Hey. How was it in your home ? Enjoyed eh ?” I asked her.She did not react to that. Instead she asked

“How much do you love me “

I smiled and asked “ Idha kaeka daan kooptia ? “

“Please tell me. How much do you love me? “

“Well, I love you more than I love myself. You fill my entire life. I see and feel you in whatever I do , and many more.. I just cant express in words . But why asking all of a sudden ?”

With tears stuck in her eyes she said “Idhu vendam Vinod.Enaku idhu Vendam .Lets stop. Lets stop everythin “ she said .

“What? You gone mad ? You mean we should stop loving each other ? “ I asked her with anger . She nodded her head without speaking anything and kept her head down in order to avoid looking my face.

“You think that is possible? Especially for you ?“

“Please understand da .Its for our own good, in fact for your own good. “

“Enna di understand ! Ippo ena achu nu inda mudivu??Did I do anything wrong,, Unkitta unmaya daana naan irukan,, Ena achu,,”

“Vinod pls.. Un mela oru thappum illa.. U r 100% perfect,,Thappu en mela daan.. Am not d ryt gal for u da.. U deserve a better gal thanme... “

“Jus stop!!.. I shud decide this.. What’s wrong with you ? “

“Nothing da.. Please try to understand,, Thats It.. Ida solraku daan kooptan.. Lets maintain some distance between each other.. Lets not be even friends. Sooner you forget me, better will be your life . ‘I Miss you’  nu solraku kooda kashtama iruku .Vitru Vinod, we will mutually depart “

“But I don’t want to miss you .Why don’t u tell me what happened for god sake ? Did your dad tell something? Tell me, I ll speak with him and solve it.. I love you more than anything else “ I said and now tears were stuck in my eyes too . I never thot I ll cry, coz I haven’t cried for anything till that day .

“Don’t say that Vinod.. But I don’t have a choice. Try to forget what all happened between us so far. I wud be happy if you forget me. I knw its hard. But try for it. I hope you ll forget me in course of time. Enakum idhu kashtam daan. But I ll also try. That’s it Vinod. Take care. I wish you go places in future. Concentrate on academics. I know you can do well. Bye. “ she said and turned back to walk. I caught hold of her hand.

“Don’t you know how much I loved you ? How could you do thisto me?”

“I know you loved me so much. Even I loved u so much. But this is not right. If not now someday in future there will be a similar situation. That time it ll be too hard for us to break up. Both of us would be even closer and affectionate than at present. Apo romba kashtama irukum Vinod.Ippovae break up panikaradhu daan rendu paerkum nalladhu. Idhu naala nee enapathi evalo kevalama nenachaalum paravaala Vinod. I know what I have did iswrong. I will really MISS you Vinod. Bye” she said and took off her hand from mine and walked back. I stood like a kid crying when its parents gets lost somewhere.

Sathya went speechless. He was searching for words to console me. I realized he too went emotional after hearing what happened to me.Luckily the bus was halted for a break in Salem.

“Anna..Romba kashtama iruku..How are you living with so much pain? “ he said and by the time I received a phone call.

“One sec” I said and attended the call. It was my wife.

“In Salem right now. I ll reach in 3 hours, take the car and come to Neelambur KALLADA travels office. They will not come to the city.”

“Yet to have my lunch. In hotel right now. “

“Ya ok.. See you in the evening.” I said and she gave the phone to my daughter who bugged her from back to talk to me.

“Hey darling..Dad will be reaching home very soon to see my princess. “

“Yes I have bought everything you asked me. Just wait for sometime, dad will meet you soon ! “ and I gave a kiss to her.

“Hey we have a super cool uncle with me now. Uncle Sathya..Wanna speak to him ? Say HI to Uncle “ I said and put the phone in loudspeaker.

“Whats her name “ Sathya asked me with smile on his face finally.

“Vidhya” I said and smiled at him. Again his expression changed , but he controlled it as he was about to speak with my daughter.

“Hey Vidhya kutty.. How are you ?”

“Oh so sweet of you dear. Am fine too. Had your lunch? “

“No me and your dad are going to have, and Vidhya I want to tell you something. Am sure you will not understand it. Here it is. You have a awesome dad who loves you so much like anything. You are a lucky girl Vidhya..”he said and my daughter did not respond as expected.

“Ok Vidhya..Bye” he said and I too wished good bye to her and my wife and disconnected the call.

“So what shall we eat now ? “  he asked me to sound that he is fine.

“Chicken biriyani” I said.

“You still love her don’t you ? and does your wife know abt your love? “

“Of course she does. Avaluku teriama eppudi “ I said and smiled at him.

“I could see that! So how did you handle that, after she left you that day ! Sure it must be tough. I too had a temporary break up, but both of us were strong on our love. That’s why we could make it! But that gal was not strong in your case. Else you too would have succeeded in your love”

“Well you are right. Vidhya was not strong enough and that’s why we broke up! But I was not convinced with her gesture. I knew something was wrong, coz I knew Vidhya. She wouldn’t have taken a decision simply. In her last sentence she mentioned if not that day we would be breaking up in future which would lead us to irrecoverable pain. I felt something wrong happened in her home and that’s why she took such a decision. “

“So what did you do after that day ? Same class, so you would have seen her anyway after that, but did you speak with her after that?”

“No, we dint speak after that. I tried to avoid seeing her too. When I proposed her, I spoke like a smart practical person. But I realized who I am after the day we broke up. I was broken down into pieces. I had no clue what to do after that. Sasi suggested for alcohol. I too tried that but nothing worked out. That’s when I started going to GYM. One of my friends told me ‘When nothing goes right, go LIFT’.Working out in the GYM is the best stress buster I have ever experienced. So what you see now is the result of that.”

“Oh so you built up your physique and decided to join Indian Army. Right ? “

“No I got a job only in IT industry. I never had an idea of joining Army. So much addicted to movies?”

“Oh sorry. Is she married now?“

“Yes”

“Did you attend her marriage?”

“Yes. I did. I had no other choice. She and her dad forced me to attend her marriage.”

“Her dad? You met him ? What happened? What did he tell you?

“Despite going to gym I was still wondering why she broke up with me. I knew it was due to her home, but I did not know the exact reason. I spoke with one of her frnd and she told me what all happened. Initially I hated her , but after giving few thoughts, I felt her reason was quite valid. “

“How do you say its valid? She could have fought with her father. Or even could have eloped with you”

“We guys will never understand the relationship between a gal and her dad. To every gal, her dad is a super hero. Their bonding is so much special that breaking that is very difficult and very dangerous too. She had enormous amount of love for her dad. She dint want to hurt him.”

“Oh , so she hurt you? “

“No. She hurt herself. You think they don’t have any pain during a break up? We guys get carried away with time a little quicker than girls. Am not saying we forget our love or what we do is wrong. We are more practical and make decisions as per our brain. But they do with their heart.Her dad did not even knew that she is in love with me. He just felt she is moving away a little and felt bad. She was not able to bear even if her dad feels bad a very little. Given a choice between me and her dad, she rightly chose her dad. This is one of the reason why many of the gals are scared to fall in love. There are as many untold love stories as the total number of gals in this world “

“Am not fully convinced on what you have said.”

“So was I. But when my daughter was born and enna “APPA” nu kooptapo kedacha happiness irukae, I cant never express in words. That moment the respect I had on her father increased many folds.”

“May be” said Sathya , still not fully convinced.

“But I felt I should give a try by speaking with her dad once. So I went to her home one weekend when she stayed in Chennai. I told about how we fell in love and how we broke up. He was shocked to hear that his daughter was in love. He pushed me out of his home. I came back hopeless and thought everything was over. Nothing was favorable to me that would make him accept. Different caste, I was only studying, and love marriage was something he has never seen among his relatives.”

“Even being in the same caste, I faced lots of problems to win Shruthi. I just hate when people don’t value True love.”

“Even I hated her father for the same reason, not valuing our love. But he called me one day and asked me to come home. I went and Vidhya was also present there. “

“Sorry for behaving harsh with you last time.” Her dad said.

“That’s ok uncle. You acted like that since you went emotional when I said abt our love. So I dint mind”

“Vidhya told a lot about you. I always felt she was still a little baby, one who doesn’t know the outside world. But after seeing this, I feel am wrong. She is a big girl now. Look, she has chosen a guy to whom she wants to live without my concern or opinion.”

“Uncle, you are right. She is a big girl, but don’t think by loving me she disrespected you. She loves you more than me and that’s why we broke up, and I understand her decision. She is always your daughter and that will never change, even if you get her married with someone of your choice. By breaking up don’t think I loved her for time pass and thus I don’t have any pain. I have lots and lots of pain inside me. “

He thought for a while and asked me. “On what basis I could accept your love. How can I believe that you will take good care of her. Of course you would love her, but life is not just that. If u have a decent job or if you are settled, may be I can give a thought. But now you are nothing. How do you think one could give his daughter to you?”

“Give me some time. I ll complete the course next year. I can easily find a job that will give me enough money to take good care of your daughter. “

“You both are of same age. I want to get her married within 2 years after she completes her degree. At that time you think you have the age to marry? Will your parents accept? You think you will be earning enough to make a living? This is practically impossible.”

“2 years as u said. We will talk about this exactly after 2 years. If you think I am capable enough, we will proceed further, else you can get her married anyone of your choice. Is that fine? But you have to promise me that you will not search for any other guy in that 2 years” I asked with full confidence.

“Fine. You have my word. 2 years is all you have. And Vidhya, you have anything to say?”

“No dad. You are two men who loves me so much. Dad, I trust you even now. I know you would do the best for me. “she said, but I realized that she had trust on me too, that I ll somehow win her. I left the place with high hopes and great determination. People take inspiration from various sources to succeed in love. But I took inspiration from LOVE itself to win it.We started talking in college again, not like lovers though. She helped me while preparing for exam and also while writing it ;) .I completed the degree,but I could not get a job. Campus placement was something we never heard of.With a help of my cousin sister, I got a job in a BPO. I spent one year there and sneaked into a development project with the help of my manager. Vidhya went on to study M.E and she kept so much arrears so that she could extend the course one more year. So I had 2 years time and I did well in that project. I was given an opportunity to go onsite and that’s when I knocked door once again to meet her dad. He was convinced that once I come back from onsite I will be settled very well and thus he had no prob in giving his daughter.

“Wait..Wait..Wait..So you married Vidhya ? “

“Yes.. :D “

“But.. why.. or how.. I mean you are confusing me.. he really accepted you in that 3 years time.. but how?”

“Well, we have certain songs in our playlist which we will always skip when it plays, but wont delete it. But when we go for a long journey, we would not skip any song in our playlist. We would allow it to play and listen to them since we have lot of time, and that’s when we realize the beauty of that song. Life is also the same. We need to give ourselves some time and listen to people to know their value. 3 years gave him the time to understand my worth.

“That’s amazing. So you succeeded. That’s great. I feel so happy to hear. Congrats” he said and hugged me.

“But why did you name your daughter also as Vidhya?”

“Hahaha. I do lot of crazy things and this is one such. When her dad agreed for our marriage I went crazy shouting on road coz I was extremely happy. I loved Vidhya so much from that day. When you get something after so much struggle, you would love it like anything. I was crazy about her.I felt I need nothing else other than her in my life. After marriage, I would go home as early as possible from office just to be with her. We think of our journey very often and feel so happy. That’s when my daughter was born. I couldn’t think of admiring a gal with a name other than Vidhya. I know I sound stupid, but that’s how I felt. Vidhya is the only name that I call with so much love. My wife did not agree to it initially. But I was so stubborn on this issue. “

“This sounds crazy , stupid and sweet as well. Phewww… An happy ending finally..Man you played with my emotions today. Hope there are no more twists in your story.”

“Hahaha. No, nothing. “ I said and we both got into the bus. Sathya was totally happy from then that he called his Shruthi and told about us. He even convinced her to meet him when we reach Coimbatore. When we arrived, his Shruthi ,my wife and my daughter were waiting for us. We introduced them to each other and I found Sathya holding her hand throughout our conversation.We exchanged phone numbers and then I wished them a long life before I left.Just when me and both the Vidhyas got into the car I looked through the window and saw Sathya saying something to Shruthi. Moments later he got hold of her lower cheeks, brought her forward and kissed her on her forehead.

“Looks like he too stopped to mind about the surroundings.”I told my wife and started the car.

“You told him everything eh?”

“Of course, Right from the day you spoke with me in train.”

“You are crazy as always.”

“Yes my dear”. I said and I kissed my wife. “Btw that was the day it all began right? :D “ I said and started to drive.

“Yes it was :)” she said and we relived our journey once again!