Posted:
okay, so this is my first try at writing something,
like ever.. so plz bear wid me...
Love
The sun rose calmly over d placid sea, casting
streaks of gold nd orange across the pale dawn.
I slowed my brisk trot down to a slow walk,
admiring the riot of colours, nd taking in deep
lungfuls of d fresh, salty air. A free luxury,
courtesy d Bay of bengal. I've been jogging at the
break of dawn at chennai's Elliot's beach for d past
5 years, ever since my four yr old daughter made a
candid remark about "Daddy's pot belly" at a birthday
party. Bt what kept me going every day was d calm of
d morning at d beach. I have struggled to know peace
since my divorce, but these morning sojourns were
like a soothing balm to my restless soul.
I walked towards the water, kicked my shoes off, nd
let the waves wash over my sweaty ankles. I stood
there for a few minutes, enjoying the gentle watery
massage, when a female voice remarked "Some things
aren't always as they seem. " A woman in white, roughly
my age, was standing a little distance away, looking
tentatively at me. she was familiar.
"Can i help u? " i asked.
"Jalal, tune mujhe nahi pehchana? "(don't u remember me)
the woman asked wid a soft smile. "i'm jodha, bakshi's
friend from mice univeraity"
then it hit me. my sister' s best frnd Jodha, a silent
sort, used to hang out at our house all d tym after clg.
they were literally inseparable, at least until Bakshi left
india to persue her MS at UC denver. i'd only seen Jodha
once since, at bakshi s wedding, 10 yrs ago. she looked
thinner than i remembered.
"Ofcoz, hi how r u? "
we started walking and giving each other recaps of
the past 10 yrs. i learnt dat until recently she had been
lecturing at IIT madras.
"why did u quit? "i asked her.
"circumstances, "she sighed, letting it hang. i didn't
press further.
"How s ur family? " i asked vaguely remembering that she
had been engaged to somebody before bakshi left.
"oh i never got married"she said simply.
"well you didn't go wrong there, "i mumbled.
"i was in love once, " she said. "but i never got around
to telling him. eventually he got married. "
i looked at my watch nd told her dat i had to rush home
to get ready for work.
"oh all right" she said,. "l'll start my walk then. maybe
we"ll see each other tomorrow"
"i haven't seen you around before" i told her. "is dis ur
first time jogging here? you must be living nearby"
"Yes"she said a little curtly
waving good bye, i jogged the stretch home. the nwxt
day i saw her almost as soon as i reached d beach. i
caught up wid her nd we jogged silently together for
some tym. after a while she was out of breath, holding
d stitches at her side.
"you'll get the hang of it in a few days" i told her
we began to jog together evryda. Jodha was always
terse about her private life but discussed my issues
passionately. she became a gud friend nd i began to
look forward to meeting her each day.
septmember become oct nd by nov d monsoons were
in full swing. storm systems emerged putting frustrating
dents in d morning run schedule that allowed me to
meet Jodha. on a particularly rainy morning after a week
of incessant rains, i realised dat i missed her incredibly
i was in LOVE wid her. i decided to ask her to marry me
d next day.
i felt elated to see her at d beach d next morning. the
previous days storm clouds had dissipated nd the
sun rose imperiously. she stood facing the sea nd her
face had a golden hue from d gentle sunlight for sore
eyes. that minute i lost my resolve to prospose. i realised
dat i was afraid of scaring her away, nd losing d opportunity
to see her everyday.
she turned to me nd smiled. i opened my mouth, bt
no words came out.
"cat got ur tongue? " she teased. i laughed nd relaxed.
Late in november, i started noticing subtle changes
in Jodhas demeanour. she appeared tense nd even sad
at times. another intriguing thing was dat i began to
dream abut her, nd not in a pleasant, romantic way.
in my drems she was dressed in white nd stood as a pale
lonely figure on d beach front. staring at me sadly nd
longingly. i wanted to reach out to her, hold her hand
nd assure her that i'd be dere for her, bt she was always
out of reach.
on a chilly decembet morning the day after christimas
to br precise i dreamt abut jodha again. this time the
sky was dark nd formidable nd the sea was choppy.
jodha stood on d shore as usual looking forlorn
nd helpless. suddenly d ground began to shake.
behind her the horizan had disappeared replaced by
a monstrous wall of water. i gaped in horror as a massive
tidal wave roared forward to engulf Jodha. she looked
frightenedly at me, opened her mouth, nd shrieked, "leave"
i woke up sweating in spite of d cool winter weather
i checked d clock on d bedroom wall. 6-05 am. i was due
at the beach. jodha would be waiting. suddenly
the phone ring. i grabbed the receiver.
"Jalal? Hi i need ur help urgently" it was jodha nd she
sounded panicky.
"wat is it? "i demanded, concerned.
"it's my father. He fell down the stairway at home. i ve called
the ambulance. i m afraid.. " her voice faltered nd she
fell silent.
i asked her for d hospital address it was far away from
my place on d northwest side of d city. i was curious as to
why her father was taken to a hospital for away from
our homes in beachside besant nagar.
thankfully that it was a sunday nd that there wouldnt
be traffic, i quickly got dressed nd drove to the hospital.
i reached d hospital around 7-45 as i entered i passed
a bunch of people discussing how they'd felt tremors
earlier in d morning. i frowned nd wondered if my area
had experienced anything of that sort.
i asked the receptionist for d room number of MrBharmal singh,
jodhas father.
"nobody under dat name was admitted today"the
receptionist said checking her system.
'That's odd, ' i thought.
"He fell from the stairs nd hit his head" i insisted
"His daughter Jodha admitted him" the recep.. shook
her head "we havent had any such case come in today"
i was confused i decided to wait near d reception
for some time in case Jodha appeared. i sat down nd
blankly looked at the tv in d waiting area.
suddenly d broadcast caught my attention. a massive
earthquake had occured in indo that morning, causing
tremors in chennai. a quarter of an hour back an
unprecedented tidal wave or tsunami had hit d coast
of tamil nadu, destroying property nd claiming lives.
d beach i jogged at everyday was now a scene of
calamity. and that i could have easily been one of those
unfortunate people swept away by d tsunami had i gone
to d beach as usual. Jodha's father had suffered a
misfortune dat turned out to be my life saver. I wondered
at d state of my house nd decided to return home.
As i drove out, i got a call from my sister in a while
nd i parked d car at d side of d road to speak.
"i m fine bakshi" i reassured her "Dunno abut d houae
through. by d way remember ur friend Jodha? she called
me dis mor about her father being hositalised. only
he hasnt been admitted to d hospital she specified. give
me her house address i'll check up on them"
"what r u talking about bhai? " she said bemused
"My friend Jodha from clg? The one who head over
heels in love wid YOU? "
my haert leaped. A memory leaped to mind a vision
of Jodha telling me, "I was in love once. But never got
around to telling him. Eventually he got married. "
"Don't kid around Bakshi" i said trying to muster a
casual tone.
" she did but by d tym she decided to open out to
you had decided to marry that woman from your
office"
i mentally kicked myself for marrying my ex-wife.
"But you cnt possibly be talking abut Jodha"
bakshi continued. "She died this september"
i was pretty sure i misheared my sister, so i made her
repeat her stmt
"it's true", she said sadly. "she was working at IIT as a
lecture. she was diagonosed wid a brain tumour. she
went in for surgery to have it removed, bt the operation
failed. there were slim chances. "
The rest of my sisters words went unheard. The cell
phone fell from my hand. An eerie cold sent shivers down
my spine.
i felt numb. My morning dream played on a loop in my
dazed mind.
At d dawn of a spring dau soon after, i was at d beach again.
i stood, eyes closed letting the warmth of d rising
sun wash over me, as i murmured a silent prayer for d
angel who LOVED me, nd who had saved my life.
when i open my eyes, she was a few yards away in front of me.
I was a bit taken aback, but i wasnt afraid. in fact, i had
never felt safer. Her form was ethereal, nd her face
registered complete serenity. she looked At me wid
an affection that made my eyes well up wid emotion.
I blinked the tears away, nd she was gone.
A breeze blew by, and i could swear that i heard her voice,
"FAREWELL... "
"True love doesn't have a Happy Ending, bcoz True love
never ends".
so how was it?
thankyou for reading... hope this wasn't a waste of your time..
sorry for d spelling nd other mistakes...
wish u all a very happy dusshera...
like ever.. so plz bear wid me...
Love
The sun rose calmly over d placid sea, casting
streaks of gold nd orange across the pale dawn.
I slowed my brisk trot down to a slow walk,
admiring the riot of colours, nd taking in deep
lungfuls of d fresh, salty air. A free luxury,
courtesy d Bay of bengal. I've been jogging at the
break of dawn at chennai's Elliot's beach for d past
5 years, ever since my four yr old daughter made a
candid remark about "Daddy's pot belly" at a birthday
party. Bt what kept me going every day was d calm of
d morning at d beach. I have struggled to know peace
since my divorce, but these morning sojourns were
like a soothing balm to my restless soul.
I walked towards the water, kicked my shoes off, nd
let the waves wash over my sweaty ankles. I stood
there for a few minutes, enjoying the gentle watery
massage, when a female voice remarked "Some things
aren't always as they seem. " A woman in white, roughly
my age, was standing a little distance away, looking
tentatively at me. she was familiar.
"Can i help u? " i asked.
"Jalal, tune mujhe nahi pehchana? "(don't u remember me)
the woman asked wid a soft smile. "i'm jodha, bakshi's
friend from mice univeraity"
then it hit me. my sister' s best frnd Jodha, a silent
sort, used to hang out at our house all d tym after clg.
they were literally inseparable, at least until Bakshi left
india to persue her MS at UC denver. i'd only seen Jodha
once since, at bakshi s wedding, 10 yrs ago. she looked
thinner than i remembered.
"Ofcoz, hi how r u? "
we started walking and giving each other recaps of
the past 10 yrs. i learnt dat until recently she had been
lecturing at IIT madras.
"why did u quit? "i asked her.
"circumstances, "she sighed, letting it hang. i didn't
press further.
"How s ur family? " i asked vaguely remembering that she
had been engaged to somebody before bakshi left.
"oh i never got married"she said simply.
"well you didn't go wrong there, "i mumbled.
"i was in love once, " she said. "but i never got around
to telling him. eventually he got married. "
i looked at my watch nd told her dat i had to rush home
to get ready for work.
"oh all right" she said,. "l'll start my walk then. maybe
we"ll see each other tomorrow"
"i haven't seen you around before" i told her. "is dis ur
first time jogging here? you must be living nearby"
"Yes"she said a little curtly
waving good bye, i jogged the stretch home. the nwxt
day i saw her almost as soon as i reached d beach. i
caught up wid her nd we jogged silently together for
some tym. after a while she was out of breath, holding
d stitches at her side.
"you'll get the hang of it in a few days" i told her
we began to jog together evryda. Jodha was always
terse about her private life but discussed my issues
passionately. she became a gud friend nd i began to
look forward to meeting her each day.
septmember become oct nd by nov d monsoons were
in full swing. storm systems emerged putting frustrating
dents in d morning run schedule that allowed me to
meet Jodha. on a particularly rainy morning after a week
of incessant rains, i realised dat i missed her incredibly
i was in LOVE wid her. i decided to ask her to marry me
d next day.
i felt elated to see her at d beach d next morning. the
previous days storm clouds had dissipated nd the
sun rose imperiously. she stood facing the sea nd her
face had a golden hue from d gentle sunlight for sore
eyes. that minute i lost my resolve to prospose. i realised
dat i was afraid of scaring her away, nd losing d opportunity
to see her everyday.
she turned to me nd smiled. i opened my mouth, bt
no words came out.
"cat got ur tongue? " she teased. i laughed nd relaxed.
Late in november, i started noticing subtle changes
in Jodhas demeanour. she appeared tense nd even sad
at times. another intriguing thing was dat i began to
dream abut her, nd not in a pleasant, romantic way.
in my drems she was dressed in white nd stood as a pale
lonely figure on d beach front. staring at me sadly nd
longingly. i wanted to reach out to her, hold her hand
nd assure her that i'd be dere for her, bt she was always
out of reach.
on a chilly decembet morning the day after christimas
to br precise i dreamt abut jodha again. this time the
sky was dark nd formidable nd the sea was choppy.
jodha stood on d shore as usual looking forlorn
nd helpless. suddenly d ground began to shake.
behind her the horizan had disappeared replaced by
a monstrous wall of water. i gaped in horror as a massive
tidal wave roared forward to engulf Jodha. she looked
frightenedly at me, opened her mouth, nd shrieked, "leave"
i woke up sweating in spite of d cool winter weather
i checked d clock on d bedroom wall. 6-05 am. i was due
at the beach. jodha would be waiting. suddenly
the phone ring. i grabbed the receiver.
"Jalal? Hi i need ur help urgently" it was jodha nd she
sounded panicky.
"wat is it? "i demanded, concerned.
"it's my father. He fell down the stairway at home. i ve called
the ambulance. i m afraid.. " her voice faltered nd she
fell silent.
i asked her for d hospital address it was far away from
my place on d northwest side of d city. i was curious as to
why her father was taken to a hospital for away from
our homes in beachside besant nagar.
thankfully that it was a sunday nd that there wouldnt
be traffic, i quickly got dressed nd drove to the hospital.
i reached d hospital around 7-45 as i entered i passed
a bunch of people discussing how they'd felt tremors
earlier in d morning. i frowned nd wondered if my area
had experienced anything of that sort.
i asked the receptionist for d room number of MrBharmal singh,
jodhas father.
"nobody under dat name was admitted today"the
receptionist said checking her system.
'That's odd, ' i thought.
"He fell from the stairs nd hit his head" i insisted
"His daughter Jodha admitted him" the recep.. shook
her head "we havent had any such case come in today"
i was confused i decided to wait near d reception
for some time in case Jodha appeared. i sat down nd
blankly looked at the tv in d waiting area.
suddenly d broadcast caught my attention. a massive
earthquake had occured in indo that morning, causing
tremors in chennai. a quarter of an hour back an
unprecedented tidal wave or tsunami had hit d coast
of tamil nadu, destroying property nd claiming lives.
d beach i jogged at everyday was now a scene of
calamity. and that i could have easily been one of those
unfortunate people swept away by d tsunami had i gone
to d beach as usual. Jodha's father had suffered a
misfortune dat turned out to be my life saver. I wondered
at d state of my house nd decided to return home.
As i drove out, i got a call from my sister in a while
nd i parked d car at d side of d road to speak.
"i m fine bakshi" i reassured her "Dunno abut d houae
through. by d way remember ur friend Jodha? she called
me dis mor about her father being hositalised. only
he hasnt been admitted to d hospital she specified. give
me her house address i'll check up on them"
"what r u talking about bhai? " she said bemused
"My friend Jodha from clg? The one who head over
heels in love wid YOU? "
my haert leaped. A memory leaped to mind a vision
of Jodha telling me, "I was in love once. But never got
around to telling him. Eventually he got married. "
"Don't kid around Bakshi" i said trying to muster a
casual tone.
" she did but by d tym she decided to open out to
you had decided to marry that woman from your
office"
i mentally kicked myself for marrying my ex-wife.
"But you cnt possibly be talking abut Jodha"
bakshi continued. "She died this september"
i was pretty sure i misheared my sister, so i made her
repeat her stmt
"it's true", she said sadly. "she was working at IIT as a
lecture. she was diagonosed wid a brain tumour. she
went in for surgery to have it removed, bt the operation
failed. there were slim chances. "
The rest of my sisters words went unheard. The cell
phone fell from my hand. An eerie cold sent shivers down
my spine.
i felt numb. My morning dream played on a loop in my
dazed mind.
At d dawn of a spring dau soon after, i was at d beach again.
i stood, eyes closed letting the warmth of d rising
sun wash over me, as i murmured a silent prayer for d
angel who LOVED me, nd who had saved my life.
when i open my eyes, she was a few yards away in front of me.
I was a bit taken aback, but i wasnt afraid. in fact, i had
never felt safer. Her form was ethereal, nd her face
registered complete serenity. she looked At me wid
an affection that made my eyes well up wid emotion.
I blinked the tears away, nd she was gone.
A breeze blew by, and i could swear that i heard her voice,
"FAREWELL... "
"True love doesn't have a Happy Ending, bcoz True love
never ends".
so how was it?
thankyou for reading... hope this wasn't a waste of your time..
sorry for d spelling nd other mistakes...
wish u all a very happy dusshera...
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
94