....and thereby ends the tale!

“Please aunty, I promise you that I ll keep Tulsi very happy. And I ll take care of her till the last day of my life! Please try to understand.. you are killing two lives!”... pleaded Mihir!

“No, you tell me why did you lie bout your caste!” .. asked her mom

“Have you ever loved someone aunty?? Ever?? And when you love someone so much that you want to spend your entire life with her…. What is it that you fear the most? It’s the fear of losing her! And I knew from the beginning that you guys were caste conscious! Tulsi always said that my mom wants me to marry a fair, rich , well settled Brahmin guy ! And that would scare me off! So I couldn’t tell her the truth, at the first instance.. I was afraid I would lose the only one I loved!! But I didn’t lie aunty. Do you remember the day when I came alone, travelled 200kms just to meet you and tell you that I wanted to marry your daughter! And the same evening when I returned back, Tulsi gave me a call and said that my mom wants to know your caste! And it was then that i told her, and I conveyed the same to you too! I did not hide it.. nor did I lie!”

I still remember how happy Tulsi was on that day! She and her dad both texted me that you went all alone to meet her mom, that too on the eve of your final exams! Boy..we re proud of you!
But sadly with time, things re forgotten! She forgot that with high grade fever I ran in the rain to get her that novel that she wanted to read! And came back drenched but happy! Sat for hours at the bus stop waiting for her , was always there before time lest I miss her! That cute lil gal in blue salwar slowly making her way to the bus stop, and me trying to catch a glance at her for the first time… well that’s how it all started! Mihir had to pinch himself to get back to reality!

Cough.. cough.. and Tulsi s mom was at it again. Our innumerable meets always ended in agony for me. I knew that I was not rich, just had a single room apartment on the outskirts of Mumbai , didn’t ve any household help! But all of it would change with time.. things would get better! But people listen to what they want to hear and say what they want you to understand!
“Look boy, we do not believe in caste and creed! We are not casteists, but all im asking is .. if you guys do get married tomorrow what will the children write when they re asked their caste?”

For someone who claims not to believe, what was the significance of this question? Mihir s head went into a spin
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5 years back mihir had joined the hospital of his dreams. night or day,you would always find Mihir working hard!!! Residency in the heaviest hospital in terms of workload was always going to be tough! But he liked it, the pain and tireless work would help in getting a few hours of sombre sleep every night. Inspite of being coaxed by his roomie that this is the time to flirt and date gals, he would say no to every gal who asked him out! This went on for 5 yrs… all exams were cleared, entrances done in 1st attempts and then one fine day………….

Mihir was returning from the College office when he saw this sweet lil gal in the blue salwar. She was trying her best to face the wind fluttering against her dupatta as she made her way to the bus stop. And something bout her gave him that weird feeling [that flutterwala feeling dumbo! Not the sinking one!] And then when he subtly bumped into her at the bus stop and she glanced at him and said… “Hi , you re the guy in cardiology right??” Well, that’s how it all started! [meeting Robin was always legendary… as the saying goes!haha]

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Tulsi s mom resentment always grew stronger. Mihir s Unit Head went to meet her once to convince her that the guy was good and decent. But she would not budge.. according to her the guy was a liar and a dishonest , abusive guy. Sadly Tulsi stood beside her mom through the whole conversation but did not refute any of her statements. His unit head came back and said.. atleast she could ve supported you, but why didn’t she do it?

Mihir was quite broken that day [understandably so] and texted her at night..

I thing I am fu@#ing my life. Your mom doesn’t want to understand. She s trying every trick in the book. I have apologised to her even for no fault of mine. Met her umpteen times. I cant do this anymore.. im just bugged. I feel let down in this moment when I need you the most..

Cmon dude, don’t you think its affecting me too?

I understand but you are in an easy profession vis a vis mine . I deal with hearts and one mistake can be fatal for the patient. And I almost made one today! Its affecting my work Tulsi!

Oh wow, so now you re demeaning my profession. And making me feel inferior. My mom was so right bout you! And with this she showed these texts to her mom,and the lady replied-he s such an ill mannered abusive guy, didnt i tell you this?

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To cut a long story short…and since Mihir would not want me to write more on it…
Its difficult to get back something at times. All your efforts can go in vain. You may be the best person to the world , but for that special one… rather let me rephrase it as..
For that person who is the most special and closest to you, you may be a villain in her eyes[ or her mom s eyes]. You cannot achieve a relationship single handedly. Two hands make a clap! And once someone is brainwashed into believing that you re bad , no matter how much you try.. sometimes you just cant do it! And Mihir realised it eventually that if there s no trust between two partners, it doesn’t work out!

And that’s how it ended…………

But as they say life doesnt end ...

If life can remove someone
you never dreamed of losing,

It can replace them with someone
you never dreamt of having!!!

and what happened next ...will definately bring a smile on your faces! but thats another story... you gotta wait for that....