In Vacant or in Pensive Mood

After three years of getting to know each other, we had just started dating. I had graduated and joined an NGO. He still had a year to go. I worked in Adyar. He lived in Tambaram, close to college. I signed off at around 6:00 pm every day. He finished college by noon, went home and worked on his assignments till 4:00 pm. I would take the side exit on to a quiet lane outside my office. He would be waiting there, under the blooming tree, for me. Holding hands, we would walk to the nearest bus stop and sit there until a fairly empty bus arrived. We would then sit next to each other in the bus, and just be... ...till we had to get off and board a share auto, where we'd do the same. Sometimes, we'd take a quick detour; a stopover to grab a coffee or ice-cream. On other days, it was just the simple commute. Reaching the stop closest to where I took my last connecting auto home (phew, yes), we would bid goodbye. A smile, a knowing nod, and a hug that says "I don't want to lea...

My professor would often say, "Saying 'I love you' is easy, but staying in love requires hard work." He would also say, "Don't fall in love. Try to rise in love." I've heard these words more than once during my years of study at MCCSWD (the Social Work department at MCC), and the truth in them continues to reverberate in my heart ever so loudly even today. I have a special attachment to these words, perhaps because it is in the very place where these words were spoken that I also met the person I chose to fall, rise and stay in love with. " Rising in Love", shot by Deepu Da Yes, we've fallen. And oh yes, we've risen! And we continue to stay in love today, as promised to each other in our wedding vows. There are times when loving each other is easy, but there are also times when it is hard work. There are times when I've smiled and thought to myself, "Yes - This is why I fell in love with him", and also times when I...