Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

The sun rose like every other day, its rays orange and warm kissed her awake; the coffee her mom made was sweet; the bouquet of roses that came in still had thorns one of which pricked her; birds were singing but sounded nowhere close to violins playing; why then did they call this love? Asha smiled as she went on with her daily chores. Today was a big day for her, beyond doubts, but she knew it would be a bigger day for Milan – the day his dreams would start coming true, the day she would officially walk into his life, as his fiancé. 

Milan checked his reflection in the mirror worried that the fact that he had not been sleeping would be obvious. Thankfully for him, his face was always the same, irrespective of whether he slept or not. He called up the band of violinists to ensure that they would reach the venue on time, he knew his girl was one who was hopelessly in love with love, and he would leave no stone unturned till the day he swept her off her feet.
It was going to be a turning point in her life. It would be an end as well as a start. Every moment henceforth, she would be aware that every action she takes, every finger she moves, there is another soul connected to her, that everything related to her would now be shared by him – her life, her dreams, her family. A few months back, these thoughts would have tied her down, but today, Asha herself was surprised how liberated she felt; she could soar above the clouds, as high as she wanted without the fear of her wings being clipped down, for she had found her soul mate who would in all sense, be the wind beneath her wings.

She was not too sure if what she was feeling was love; all she knew, he was the second thing on her mind in the morning, the first was always her prayer to her Lord, and Milan was the last thing on her mind before sleep came calling for her. She was happy it was Milan she would one day wedded to, and not some guy with high and lofty Malayalee ideals who would either want her to be a teacher, or want her to be a wife without any job outside the house.

Her life had taken quite a few zig zag turns, she had been given the right to make the choices at all the right junctures and she was happy with the way her life was heading. It was crazy, she did not want to get married for a long while to come, and here she was, all ready to tie the knot and begin a new life with the first guy she had met.

Asha was grateful that she had decided to choose life, between life and career. She would convey to Milan that she felt she was lucky to have him in her life, she might even consider telling him that she thought she was falling for him, boy would that make him happy, she laughed out loud while still toweling her hair.

Time was short, there was so much to do. There was an important function she needed to attend – an engagement – her engagement. 

 For those of my readers who do not comprehend Hindi, the title means Life Comes Only Once.