Addi

Love- A word that has been an inspiration for all the philosophers and poets, a journey that everyone voyages and everyone’s voyage has a different route, experience and destination. One such voyage is of mine
The first time I met Addi was at our college bus stop. She wasn't ‘love at first sight’ kind of girl but there was something magnetic in her which did attract me. May be it was her innocence, may be it was her smile. Since we were in the same college it was obvious for us to be friends. My friendship with her did not click from the word go. For me she was just another girl in my friend’s list but we used to call each other very frequently. Got to know that she was originally from Delhi and had come to Mumbai at her aunt’s place for studies. Kept on meeting her in college kept on chatting with her on the phone. She was an introvert and used to speak very less. Over the years our friendship grew and I was completely mesmerized by her. She was such a great company to be with. She helped me to identify my strengths, my talents and because of her the spark in me was always remarkable. She was the girl respected, honoured and adored not only by me but by everyone who knew her. She was well organised, well planned and a great implementer. It was indeed a great honour for me to be her friend. I loved everything about her. Couldn’t imagine a single day without her. She was a great friend to be with and one fine day I realised that love had come between our friendship. The following day I went up to her to share my feelings. It took time for her to answer me but luckily the answer was positive.
I was never so dead serious about anything as I was with my relationship with her. It was such a lovely feeling to be in love and that to with a girl of your choice. She had clearly mentioned that she was not going make commitments for the future and I was ok with it. Nobody in the college knew about our relationship except few of our close friends. It was completely her decision to do so and I had to obey her order. I liked the way she dominated me. She always used to remind me of my good old school days, just as my teachers used to scold me to complete my work. I was enjoying every part of my relationship. But life is not always a cradle of joy.
Addi was done with her last year of exams and the time had come to return to her family. I knew this was coming but was afraid of facing it. What really made me tensed was that she was not going to comeback since her family needed her more than me. I couldn’t force her. I clearly remember it was 2nd of June, her last day with me and I wanted to make best use of it. With my hard earned money I bought a gold ring for her. I wanted to make her most memorable day. We went to a coffee shop where I decided to gift her. Since it was Sunday, the whole shop was crowded. I was nervous. As we were about to leave I went down my knees and asked her can I wait for you? Tears started to roll down her cheeks. She did not speak since I had put her in an awkward situation. She had declined my ring. I kept on asking her why but the only answer I got was her tears. The next day I went to the station to drop her. She did not speak a word, neither did I feel comfortable though my silence kept on asking many questions. The train gave its final horn and for the last time I hugged her. I wanted to remain in her arms all my life but it was time to say goodbye. She promised to call me and got into the train. I waited till the train disappeared from my sight. The first few days she did not call me. I tried calling her but her phone was switched off. Day by day I was getting restless. I was dying to speak to her. Days turned into months, months turned into years. Today It’s been three years and I am still waiting only for the fact that I know she loves me, loves me a lot.

A THING CALLED ' LOVE '

My father always used to tell me that if you really need something give away your everything behind it. I never knew that something would be a girl in my college. I first saw her walking with a bunch of girls in the college campus. My eyes caught Riddhima and were not ready to move until she disappeared. I knew this is the girl I wanted to be with. The next day I caught her in front of the whole college and asked her to be my friend. She ignored me. I bent down on my knees in front of the whole college and sang a song for her. She again ignored me. I tried gifting a portrait of hers on Valentine’s Day in front of the whole college. She did not accept it. I went to her classroom and asked the permission of the professor to speak to her. She was not ready to speak. I did all the possible things in front of the whole college to woo her. Being an extrovert these things were easy for me to do. For my every action there was only one reaction from her ‘ignorance’. This made me think hard. I was looking out for some reason but couldn’t find one. I then decided to join her group. Her group was a bunch of sweet girls. They happily accepted me as their friend. I asked them about Riddhima but they themselves were confused by her behavior towards me. She was not ready to speak about me with anybody. She was an introvert and was very reserved by nature. She would talk only what is necessary. I was fallen for her superb attitude. Even though she ignored me I adored her. Don’t know why? Riddhima never had any problems with her friend speaking to me. I bonded well with everyone in her group. I kept on trying but she was not interested. One day Jenny, a group friend told me that she will never ever talk to me. I asked for a reason. She told me that my first impression did not go well with Riddhima. She hated me to extreme for whatever I did with her in front of the whole college. She was not used to this kind of publicity and wanted to be with her selective group of friends. When I heard Jenny telling these things I knew that even before getting her in my life I’d lost her. I thought I had done some very romantic things to impress her but she thought otherwise. I myself had spoiled my image in front of Riddhima. I felt bad and wanted to apologize. I wanted to tell her that everything I did was unintentional and would just happen whenever I used to see her. Everything I did was very immature and was really sorry for my behavior but she was not ready to speak to me. I decided to change my image. I started helping everybody in the group in their class projects. I kept all my close friends aside only to spend time with her group. Her friends were impressed but she wasn’t. Days passed, nothing changed between me and Riddhima. I wanted her very badly. But that seemed impossible. Everyone asked me to stop chasing her because she was not even interested to be my friend leave alone having a relationship. I had tears in my eyes. The girl whom I wanted to give my everything was not ready to talk to me. I couldn’t take this. There wasn’t anything I could do to impress her. Our college life ended. She was on her way and I was on my way. I had tried my best.
One quality I like about myself is that I never give up. Whatever it may be. Today 12 years have passed since my last day of college. Life has changed and so am I but the words said by my father has not changed. They still remain the same. Today I am proud to say that Riddhima is with me. I have finally got her in my life. I proudly call my daughter “Riddhima”. I am happy to get what I wanted.
Love you Riddhima.

KUNAL PRASAD.