A Letter to the Sweetheart

My Dear Amruta,

I write this letter to you with a heavy feeling, remembering the time we spent together. During last two years after we separated, my love for you hasn’t reduced by an ounce and I’m sure you feel the same for me even now.

I had just completed a year in my second job and was too loaded with customer projects to find time for socialization. In that, Vinod, a friend of mine, forcefully took me one evening to attend ‘Sangeet’ for wedding of Mayur, our common friend. Someone announced your name and you performed a solo dance on the Hindi song “Piya Tose Naina Lage Re”. This is when I saw you the first time and I realized what it is like losing a sense of balance.

The next entire week I was not able to concentrate on my work. I didn’t understand what happened to me. Finally I confessed myself, I was in love with you and approached my friend who took me to the wedding. “Arey Jay, don’t go after her, she is a Punjabi spice, daughter of a rich man. Her father has many businesses. We are middle-class people. Leave her thought from your mind.” I listened to him timidly, but my mind was in a rebelling mode. My eyes were craving to have at least a glimpse of you.

Finally I directly went to Mayur in whose wedding I had seen you. He too, tried to discourage me initially but seeing my firmness and sincere intention, gave me your details. You were doing a post graduation in Mass Media that time.

I took a day off to meet you at your college. The extrovert that you appeared in Mayur’s wedding, didn’t look so in our personal meeting. I tried hard to open my mind before you, but couldn’t gather courage to express my feelings. I just ended up introducing myself and informing you about my job. I remember, you asked me to show my company identity card to confirm what I told you.

Our first meeting might have created some positive impression in your mind. Maybe that’s why you sent me a facebook request and we became friends.

After a few days, it was your birthday. I wished you on facebook and whatsapp. You didn’t reply to my wishes. When I asked you if you didn’t see my wishes, you reply was, you didn’t care for people who didn’t care to call a friend or visit the friend personally on her birthday. That day I realized for the first time that the education I had received from my childhood till that day, was incomplete. I didn’t want to lose you, so I apologized for this. But you wouldn’t agree. You insisted on I visiting you at the college. We met the next day and had a decent party at a restaurant nearby.

I thought that was the right time to express my mind before you, but you were in a different mood. You were discussing about your family, friends, your dreams about career and so on. You spoke about documentary filmmaking that you were interested in. So I didn’t feel it right to divert you from those thoughts.

Days were passing. My work pressure at office had increased and I didn’t get time to meet you or talk to you over the phone so often. During that time, our Australian customer demanded that the team leader handling their project should visit their site for a couple of months. I was the team leader and our company decided to send me to Melbourne. I informed my friends about this. You asked me about my flight details and my reporting time at the airport.

I reached the Delhi International Airport before the scheduled reporting time. Suddenly, you called my mobile. “Hi Jay, where are you; on the way to airport?” “No Amruta, already reached the airport.” “But you told me you had to reach by 9 pm. It’s just 8:10 now. What will you do till that time?” “Let me see, there are a lot of things to spend time on.” “I wish I had come to see you off;” “No, no, it’s okay, Amruta; I’ll manage myself.” “What will you manage; there should be someone to appreciate how handsome you look in the dark blue jersey and light colour trouser … And I would have helped you carry at least the red handbad you are holding so that you could have focused on the large cargo bag you have with you;” “Are you around, Amruta?” “Just look behind, I am standing near gate No. 5.” “Oh, Amruta, what a pleasant surprise, but why did you come all the way here? Now will you go home alone in the darkness?” “Don’t worry, I drive the car myself and I am born and brought up in Delhi; I know how to live here.”

You gave me some snacks you had bought for me. “Why Amruta, why are you doing so much for me?” “You won’t understand, I do it only for the most stupid friends” you tried to hide tears in your eyes from me. “Amruta, I am in love with you. Will you marry me?” I held your hand. “I am daughter of a businessman and am expert in reading people’s minds. The thing that you took so many days to express before me…I had read on the first day itself when you introduced yourself to me. I was just judging you so many days.” “So what is your reply?” You hugged me intensely. “What are you doing Amruta? People will see.” “Let anyone see. The best privacy is at a place where there is a lot of rush.” “Who said this?” “My cousin sister’s mother-in-law,” you started laughing and said, “but you have to let me complete my post graduation and pursue my career in documentary filmmaking.” you looked at me for response. I nodded in agreement.

The same time, Parvinder, my team member and companion on the tour, also arrived there. Then I bade you adieu.

My stay in Melbourne was memorable as well as stressful. Memorable because I got to see a new city, work with people with a different culture; stressful because we had a hard target to complete within 2 months for which the customer constantly needed our support. We had to work late night every day and I was severely missing you, remembering your hug at the airport.

I informed you about date of my arrival back in Delhi. Actually, we accomplished our target four days in advance and got to come back earlier. I didn’t inform you about that. I took a day off the next day and came to the restaurant near your college. I met one of your friends and asked her to call you there. You got surprised to see me there as I was to come after four days. “Couldn’t you have called me instead of asking Divya to make a call?” you said with annoyance. “Why, you think only you can play a prank? I wanted to give you a surprise.” I opened a topic of meeting your parents to talk about our wedding. But you wanted to wait until your post graduation was completed. “It’s difficult for me to wait, Amru. Can we at least fix our marriage now and solemnize it after your post graduation?” I think, you shared the same feeling, so you agreed to my suggestion.

Two days later, you called me to inform that your Dad wanted to meet not just me, but my parents as well and had invited us to your house on forthcoming Sunday.

On Sunday evening, I with my parents, visited your villa in the plush locality of Vasant Vihar. It was a pleasant meeting, getting introduced to your parents and younger brother doing his engineering. Your father inquired about our family background, my education and job, my parents’ occupation, etc. Your mother was quietly observing me.

My parents liked you and gave their approval. A couple of days later, you called me excitedly and told me that your parents were happy with me and my family and gave approval for our wedding. I too, was excited with this. The same day, your Dad called my father to convey his consent and talk about our wedding.

How speedily the days of happiness pass just to leave behind the memories as we find ourselves in solitude…

The next Sunday, I was sitting in your car next to you as you were driving. “Let’s celebrate this, Jay. We are going to be life partners.” Suddenly you took the car to a different direction. “Where are you taking the car, Amru? There’s nothing this side.” “When you are with me, everything is here and this side.” Suddenly you stopped the car on the roadside and kissed me fervently. In my arms, looking into my eyes, you said, “I can’t wait for another six months, Jay. Let’s get married now. I will complete my post graduation afterwards. I don’t feel like pursuing any career when I am with you.” “Not that way, Amru. You have to control your mind and do your duties first. Wedding will happen as per the schedule.”

I encouraged you in your studies and you completed your post graduation with a Distinction. You also got a job in a Delhi based News Channel. Preparations for our wedding which was just a month away, were in advanced stage.

Our wedding was a grand ceremony celebrated like never before. A complete five days’ celebration with various rites and rituals took place in Punjabi manner. A few rites were also solemnized in our Bengali manner. When both of us entered our home after the wedding, you looked like a full night moon adorned with ornaments.

Our honeymoon in Scotland was the most memorable one and we had heavenly joy in company of each other.

You were from a rich family whereas we were middle class people. My parents had an impression that you would be a pampered girl, showing your superiority in everything. They even suggested me to leave separately with you. But you unconditionally accepted me and my family. It is very easy to fall in love, but very difficult to take its responsibility and accomplish it. You not only stayed happily in the joint family, but became a thread binding each of us with love and care.

As I was getting busier in my job and had frequent foreign tours, it was incredible how you took care of everyone in the family apart from handling your job.

To omit to mention your parents and brother will be a crime. They showered all their love on us and provided helping hands whenever we needed but never interfered in our married life.

Our love bore the first fruit in the form of Kavya, the beautiful doll you gave me. Kavya was an absolutely your reflection and everyone became fond of her. Two and half years later, our team had one more addition in the form of Aarush, our naughty prince.

So happily we were staying together that it’s hard to believe what happened all of a sudden that we are now separated forever…

It was joyful to observe both the kids growing and their progress. My parents too, used to look after them happily when you had to go out for any news coverage. Your parents and brother used to visit frequently to meet us and also invite us to their house.

Both, Kavya and Aarush showed spark of brilliance at very early age. Aarush used to call Kavya “Didi” but behave mischievously with her and she used to complain about him with you. She used to scold him for his naughtiness. Everyone used to see the same dashing nature and dynamism in her as you had. Kavya became seven years old and Aarush, four and half.

How are Kavya and Aarush now? Do they miss me? I remember them very much. Kavya must be nine and Aarush must be six and half now. How are my father and mother? How is their condition after I left you all? I miss them. And how are you? I miss you forever.

How can anyone forget that dreadful incident? It was a holiday and I went outside to bring some household items. I was riding my two wheeler. Suddenly, a truck driver broke the signal and knocked me heavily. I was tossed in the air. Some of the onlookers took me to hospital, took your number from my handphone and informed you. The doctor could not save me and I didn’t return home alive.

The way you kept the spark of our love ignited during our married life, I’m sure, you must have taken very good care of my parents even afterwards. You have a very profound responsibility of looking after our children in my absence and you will certainly make them very capable human beings. However, I think you must not ignore your own happiness. Get married, Amruta, get married again. You can still look after my parents intermittently.

Finally, I have to say something to road drivers. Please drive your vehicles carefully and follow all the traffic rules. Your rashness can cost someone his or her life as happened in my case.

Yours,

Jay.

Author Notes: Glad to inform you about my new fiction book 'Beautiful Relationships' available in paperback version as well as E-book version on Amazon web sites in your countries.

Though a fiction book, Beautiful Relationships conveys a positive message and aims to create emotional positivity by bringing out beauty in various relationships in our lives such as parents-child, brother-sister, etc. It assumes a simpler and purer form of life and human nature and you will certainly feel this simplicity and purity while reading this book.

Beautiful Relationships reinforces us to do what we have forgotten over the years - trust others, be trustworthy ourselves and also, love others.

By buying Beautiful Relationships, you are not buying a book; you are taking home a loving and lovely companion for many future years. Author - Milind Kulkarni

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