Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Most Important Day of my Life

Cold winter rains splash outside in Delhi, the glass is covered with fog, marking the area of warmth and cold very clearly. Inside the Barista I and Ashish are trying to make sense of the chaos that has brought us together. I look outside...people huddled in groups to defy cold or rush to their cars to escape the cold winds which can chill you to bones. It has been cold and wet winter in Delhi and yet seeing Ashish in front of me for a reason which we both are trying to justify filled me with warmth. He has been my friend for almost 9 years.

We met at NIIT in 1998. I was a girl from St. Mary's School...convent school only for girls. He was from St. Paul’s School...convent school for boys. The simple Hi's and Hello's followed into the knowledge that he is also in the same college where I was studying. Rather he was in the same class as me. It filled me with so much relief that here is a guy from same school of thoughts as I am...in those days, which school one belonged to was as important as one's caste. The meetings in NIIT expanded to meetings in college. We formed a group of like minded people. The class rooms shifted from college to Fatehsagar. I found KANVAS - that was the name we gave to our group. It was really like a canvas where different people filled my life with different colors of life. I found new meaning to life...I found comfort of friendship in Ashish. Then, like different breeds of birds gathered together in a lake for winters fly to their homes in summer...we like those flocks of birds flew away to different cities to find our dreams. I went to Mumbai and Ashish went to Pune.

We met at go-karting ground in Hiranandani in Mumbai in 2003. We were not in touch for 2 years. We both got busy with our lives. That evening when the slight drizzle filled the empty space between me and Ashish, we caught back on life that we weren’t together. The past, where we were best friends...brought us together again. It was new beginning for us again. A pack of popcorn followed by a coffee...followed by star gazing watching the stars of sky coming down to city of Mumbai when we saw lights turning night into day. It was kind of symbolic for me. I had found the most cherished person back in my life. We started meeting once a while. The meeting from Hiranandani followed into meetings with friends on Marine Drive and going together for plays and going for treks. With him the conversation flowed even if we both were not talking. Then, I came to know he is shifting Bangalore. Time to fly again. I remember the treat in Pizza hut and sitting with Udaipur friends after that in another restaurant. My past and present where leaving me again and I had let it slip out of my hand like sand. Ashish from Bangalore went to USA and we lost touch again.

We met at Cafe Coffee Day at Hiranandani in 2006. Ashish just got back from USA. I had just got through Accenture. I was fed up of meeting guys from Shaadi.com. He was a regular visitor of Shaadi.com. We discussed the pains of getting married to unknown and the beautiful dreams of being in marriage. We talked of our past which we both cherished like sweetest dream. We talked of our present which was making us look like adults refusing to grow up. But at the same time we both had changed a lot. We both had seen so much in life that the facts and practicality stared us point blank at our face. However much we refused, life was forcing us to grow up and take notice of things that were shaping around us like the expectations of our parents to see us married...like the loneliness that enveloped us because slowly all our friends were settling into married life...like people leaving us and we couldn’t do anything about it. Yet again I started looking forward to meeting him and he again formed a part of my life. Then, once again he left for USA.

We met at Pizza hut at Hiranandani. I met him after meeting a shaadi.com guy. While talking to the guy I realized that he is again from the same lot. At the age of 31, he was wondering whether to get married or not. He was planning to go to USA and not sure when he would be coming back again. I was standing and talking to him but hardly paying attention to him. All this while, I was looking forward to meet Ashish who was standing right in front of me noticing the irritation on my face. When I met Ashish that day, I looked at him and I realized, I wanted to spend my life with someone like him…then again, why not him? That day while sitting in pizza hut I suddenly felt conscious of him as a guy whom I would love to spend my whole life with. I saw him as a person beyond just as a friend. I saw in him what I was looking for in every guy. I finally realized that I wanted to give him and me a chance. I wanted to know if he was also looking for someone like me. The meeting that day followed into a mail, where I proposed to him.

We met at Barista in Delhi in Feb 2007, on a cold and rainy afternoon. Rest is then a history...On 23rd April 2007, I got engaged to Ashish. It was the most wonderful feeling. Its not about getting married, its not about long phone calls, its not about learning to cook for him, its not about the smiles on the face of my parents and sister and my friends. It’s about knowing that the person whom I'll get married to knows me like he knows his shadow. Its about the love in his eyes for me...its about sharing same interests while being equally different...its about knowing that I’ll be walking the shores of my life while holding hands of my best friend and being in love with him...its about knowing that with Ashish I can be what I am without changing too much about myself and its about all those unsaid feelings that are still finding ways in our lives together.

At times, when I look back, I laugh at my own life and feel amazed at how it brought me to Ashish. My life has been like a game which we used to play as kids in birthday parties. There is a parcel passed around in circle. When the music stops, one layer of packing comes off and the holder gets a small gift. The process is repeated until the all the layers come off and the last person gets the biggest and brightest gift. At various instances of life, I got a small gift, a small hint of what is going to come, only to start the game all over again. The last gift in the parcel game is always what you expect the least yet it always manages to make you happy and thrilled. That gift for me which my life had in store for me was - Ashish.

THE question never seems to fade away. The answer to the question - So, when am I getting married...27th Jan 2008. :-) Everyone’s Invited - Kritika & Ashish

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautifully penned down , to say the least!
Congratulations once again to the both of you and to the families!!
Warmest Wishes,
Nidhi

Savy said...

Well when it comes to one's own life, it is never easier to write down... there have been so many things, so many magical moments :)
You have penned it down as beautifully as I could have thought of. Took me back to memory lane of 9 long years and the beautiful moments spent with you... Looking forward to an amazing future together...
Luv you... :)
Ashish

Unknown said...

Can you please for record sake please provide the mail in which you propose to Ashish

TroolyMadlyDeepali said...

simply beautiful .. almost surreal .......


lady hats off to you for 3 reasons

1. for not being swayed away like others and noticing the baeutiful ppl around u who u most easily temd to overlook and discovering your love in time .

2. for your style of writing ...
i will tell u my fav parts :

part n parce lof life
cold winter nite descriptio of delhi ....
marking the area of warmth and cold very clearly

3. let ting me know the hot spots for one finding love ...
1st - Pizza hut
if aint lucky enuf ..
2ndly try the coffee shops . CCD / barista ....

and if u do find love there ...
beleive me u d have ashi and krit to bless u .... SWAHA !!!!

Technocrat said...

As again Very well & nicely put :)

Heartiest Congratulations to You & Ashish :)

Kedar

soma said...

hey kitten ,
needless to say that u write very emotionally and actually someone can live those moments with you .As i am also a lover of creative writing all i can say is that u better take up writing as career because you give so much personal touch ,ur writing is so much you that anybody can relate to you as a person even if they don't know you ...

Naresh said...

Way to go blogger!
It was so sweet to know about you two!
Best of luck . Wish you a happy married life. I am in Delhi, so will surely crash in, Mamu ki shaadi types! :-)

Naresh Mani.

Aakriti Tandon said...

It was a beautiful description and answered all our curious questions about you two getting together...:)-- After reading your narration we can all only hope to discover love and life in an equally interesting fashion--- Wish u 2 a Happy Married Life... hope u stay always as u now are...:)--- and yes you do write beautifully Kritika:)

Cheers,
Aakriti

vishnoi said...

have a great time ahead! that was really penned down so well! amazing! it does give that feeling down the spine that marriages are a "made in heaven" affair!

Kg said...

Hey Congrats Kritika! I do get so many spam mails from Carmel convent School group but never paid attention to any of them. i saw this"most imp day of life" subject mail of yours and it intrigued me to visit ur blog.

Very well written. Infact most of your blogs are penned down with a clarity of thoughts which is rare in this email world.. having a best friend your soulmate for life is again a rare gift in this era and hope u cherish it always.

Warm Regards,
Kushagra

Anonymous said...

"A true story narrated in a simple and sober language". Thats what I would like to term this blog of yours. And I would like to congratulate u and Ashish for finally deciding to stay together. And pray for your successful married life.

Well, I came across this blog of urs through a forward. Anyways, a well wisher. And good luck :)

Sujit

Anonymous said...

wow!!
Beautifully presented..
wow!!!

Anonymous said...

Kritika that was a beautiful post. Superb writing.
Ur love story was xplained so well and the ending was the icing on the cake. I wish al of us had love stories like that :)

MOst of us fail to see whats right in front of us..