A typical college setting. A girl clad in green salwar-khameez with matching earrings and bangles, hair tied in a plait and a 'damsel in distress' look on her face and scarf walks in through the gate. A boy in blue jeans and yellow T-Shirt, sports shoes and the 'just-out-of-the-bed' look standing in a group of similar looking guys and talking on this latest mobile, laughing. The guy and the girl bump and she is flustered and he excited. Repeat scene for the next couple of shots. Love blossoms. Guy and girl meet everyday at restaurants, riverside, movies, coffee shops..... go around hand in hand, for long drives on the bike with girl hanging like a sack to his back.
One year later.............
Soft dimmed lights in a room decorated with marigold flowers. Girl in ‘ghungat’ sitting on the bed. Guy enters all excited for the upcoming ‘event’. He sits down next to her. She lowers her head in shame (sharam/lajja/laaj?). He takes her hand and kisses it. Goosebumps. Sweet nothings and lots of coaxing later girl agrees to 'mooh-dikhai'. Guy lifts the ghungat and (freeze frame on guy's face).......
Guy: Who are you? (Repeate thrice for that startled effect.)
Girl: Why? Its me of course. (Girl looking lost and damsel-in-distress as usual.)
Guy: No that cannot be! It can't be you!
Girl: What's wrong with you? Are you drunk? Its me, your love, your darling, your sweetheart!
Guy: No. You are an imposter mimicking her voice, taking advantage of the dim lights. I am putting on the big ones. (Switches on the two tubelights and the room is brightly lit.) I have been duped. (Sob! Sob!). You are not my sweetheart. You cannot be. She had these wonderful black eyes (looks into her eyes)....... you are wearing black lenses to fool me! Oh God! My love, she had these wonderful black eyes that I have been in love with for the last one year. She was my 'sharmilie', never once did she go around without her scarf covering her head and her face. Such sanskar! And you........ you are sitting here smiling at me without anything to cover your face with............. you are not my love! (cries)
Girl: But I......
Guy: Shut up! Oh God! Why are you punishing me? We had such wonderful times at the coffeeshop, sitting hand in hand, legs brushing one another....... we had only one coffee everytime (flashback to coffeeshop, the two sitting in the said position. Girl wearing her scarf and looking around with scared eyes of a deer once in a while.) I was so much in love with her as we walked along the riverside (flashback. Camera from behind. Walking, Guy's hand around her waist, close enough to not let an ant pass through between them.) And from the riverside to the bridge on bike, to that dark corner on the bridge, crowded yet so secluded! (Flashback. Guy parks bike and they sit behind it. Girl wearing scarf.) I remember the trembling of her hands, her scared eyes, her husky scarfed voice........... (Flashback. Guy holding hand, girl looking around. Guy holding her close and moving his hands closer to strategic places. Girl looking around scared and searching.)
Girl: And that trip to Sinhagad. It was so romantic!! Sigh!
Guy: What? How do you know? You must have read her diary! You cheat, you *****!!!! What have you done with her? (Sob. Sob.) It was such a wonderful day. We rode on my bike, she was holding on to me tightly. Then we went behind that little temple and............. Ohhhhhhhhhhh the warmth of her body, her softness ..............
Next morning. Guy still dazed. Girl all in tears. Enter ‘sasuma’.
Sasuma: Aren’t you people supposed to go over to her place? Come on leave now. (Calls out to ‘bahurani.’ Girl enters in a green sari, managalsutra, matching bangles, hair tied in a plait and tying her scarf.)
Guy: (Looks up) What you? Oh where have you been? I missed you so much. You know there was some other girl trying to fool me into believing it was you. She even knew our little secrets! (Girl lowers her head. Blushes inside her scarf covering her face!)
Ok now don’t think I have lost my mind to be writing that story. I was just wondering how it would be for those innumerable couples who love to court and roam around hand in hand. But at the same time they lack the guts to be brave enough and face the world and not hide their face behind some stupid scarf tied as “protection from the pollution.” If you look around you will come across numerous such couples where the girl covers her face and at the same time they are coochi-cooing in full public view. You must have seen ‘these’ couples during your treks as you stop for snacks at the ‘restaurant and permit room’ at the foothills. Darting you scared and ‘thank-god-I-don’t-now-you’ looks.
What infuriates me and what I really fail to understand is that if ‘these’ people are so scared of being found out and spotted, why go and attract public attention by being ‘physical’ with your lover in public? These same people, especially girls will carry the ‘holier-than-thou’ look and at the same time cover their faces and let their lover touch them ‘so far’ sitting on a bridge, a park and go to dicey hotel rooms with them and step out with their faces covered! If you are a Marathi speaking person you will understand my feelings when I say “chyala jaraka himmat nahi tar prema tari kashala karat hindatat!”
I have no problems with people falling in love. I am human enough to understand that when in love you feel a need to get ‘close’ to your lover. My problem is if you are not prepared to face the consequences of being in love, of being spotted with him/her, why go around attracting public attention? What will attract more attention a couple where the girl sits wearing a scarf or a couple sitting chatting in a carefree manner? And whoever said you cannot be identified with a scarf around your face? Any person who knows you for sometime will identify you even with a scarf. I really fail to understand the entire funda behind such behavior. It is extremely irritating and foolish to say the least. Really “jarka himmat nahi tar prema tari kashala karat hindatat!”
One year later.............
Soft dimmed lights in a room decorated with marigold flowers. Girl in ‘ghungat’ sitting on the bed. Guy enters all excited for the upcoming ‘event’. He sits down next to her. She lowers her head in shame (sharam/lajja/laaj?). He takes her hand and kisses it. Goosebumps. Sweet nothings and lots of coaxing later girl agrees to 'mooh-dikhai'. Guy lifts the ghungat and (freeze frame on guy's face).......
Guy: Who are you? (Repeate thrice for that startled effect.)
Girl: Why? Its me of course. (Girl looking lost and damsel-in-distress as usual.)
Guy: No that cannot be! It can't be you!
Girl: What's wrong with you? Are you drunk? Its me, your love, your darling, your sweetheart!
Guy: No. You are an imposter mimicking her voice, taking advantage of the dim lights. I am putting on the big ones. (Switches on the two tubelights and the room is brightly lit.) I have been duped. (Sob! Sob!). You are not my sweetheart. You cannot be. She had these wonderful black eyes (looks into her eyes)....... you are wearing black lenses to fool me! Oh God! My love, she had these wonderful black eyes that I have been in love with for the last one year. She was my 'sharmilie', never once did she go around without her scarf covering her head and her face. Such sanskar! And you........ you are sitting here smiling at me without anything to cover your face with............. you are not my love! (cries)
Girl: But I......
Guy: Shut up! Oh God! Why are you punishing me? We had such wonderful times at the coffeeshop, sitting hand in hand, legs brushing one another....... we had only one coffee everytime (flashback to coffeeshop, the two sitting in the said position. Girl wearing her scarf and looking around with scared eyes of a deer once in a while.) I was so much in love with her as we walked along the riverside (flashback. Camera from behind. Walking, Guy's hand around her waist, close enough to not let an ant pass through between them.) And from the riverside to the bridge on bike, to that dark corner on the bridge, crowded yet so secluded! (Flashback. Guy parks bike and they sit behind it. Girl wearing scarf.) I remember the trembling of her hands, her scared eyes, her husky scarfed voice........... (Flashback. Guy holding hand, girl looking around. Guy holding her close and moving his hands closer to strategic places. Girl looking around scared and searching.)
Girl: And that trip to Sinhagad. It was so romantic!! Sigh!
Guy: What? How do you know? You must have read her diary! You cheat, you *****!!!! What have you done with her? (Sob. Sob.) It was such a wonderful day. We rode on my bike, she was holding on to me tightly. Then we went behind that little temple and............. Ohhhhhhhhhhh the warmth of her body, her softness ..............
Next morning. Guy still dazed. Girl all in tears. Enter ‘sasuma’.
Sasuma: Aren’t you people supposed to go over to her place? Come on leave now. (Calls out to ‘bahurani.’ Girl enters in a green sari, managalsutra, matching bangles, hair tied in a plait and tying her scarf.)
Guy: (Looks up) What you? Oh where have you been? I missed you so much. You know there was some other girl trying to fool me into believing it was you. She even knew our little secrets! (Girl lowers her head. Blushes inside her scarf covering her face!)
Ok now don’t think I have lost my mind to be writing that story. I was just wondering how it would be for those innumerable couples who love to court and roam around hand in hand. But at the same time they lack the guts to be brave enough and face the world and not hide their face behind some stupid scarf tied as “protection from the pollution.” If you look around you will come across numerous such couples where the girl covers her face and at the same time they are coochi-cooing in full public view. You must have seen ‘these’ couples during your treks as you stop for snacks at the ‘restaurant and permit room’ at the foothills. Darting you scared and ‘thank-god-I-don’t-now-you’ looks.
What infuriates me and what I really fail to understand is that if ‘these’ people are so scared of being found out and spotted, why go and attract public attention by being ‘physical’ with your lover in public? These same people, especially girls will carry the ‘holier-than-thou’ look and at the same time cover their faces and let their lover touch them ‘so far’ sitting on a bridge, a park and go to dicey hotel rooms with them and step out with their faces covered! If you are a Marathi speaking person you will understand my feelings when I say “chyala jaraka himmat nahi tar prema tari kashala karat hindatat!”
I have no problems with people falling in love. I am human enough to understand that when in love you feel a need to get ‘close’ to your lover. My problem is if you are not prepared to face the consequences of being in love, of being spotted with him/her, why go around attracting public attention? What will attract more attention a couple where the girl sits wearing a scarf or a couple sitting chatting in a carefree manner? And whoever said you cannot be identified with a scarf around your face? Any person who knows you for sometime will identify you even with a scarf. I really fail to understand the entire funda behind such behavior. It is extremely irritating and foolish to say the least. Really “jarka himmat nahi tar prema tari kashala karat hindatat!”
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11 comments:
:) That was a fun sequence! You are right. Covering your face makes no sense. Though I could not understand the Marathi sentence (would help if you provide a rough translation :)), I think I got the drift. But what can the poor people do, instead? ;)
Shruthi: Thanks!
The marathi sentence roughly translated means, "if they dont have the guts why do they roam around falling in love." Now it is a very crude translation and i have tried doing it almost word to word. It is best conveyed in that typical marathi tone and I could find no words better than it to express my irritation.
Though i agree with you on some of the things, i think you are being heartless and a little too cynical. Most of the couples are too scared of the consequences that would affect them and their families on personal and social level.
It is true that you have to be a braveheart to face the world but nowhere does it say that chicken hearted people have no right to love.
Also considering the climatic and the man-made pollution harshities of Pune, maybe they really need to wear a scarf to protect themselves.
I think you are just being mean and wouldnt hurt you to be nice to people in love.
this is what happens when u read too many novels. ppl like those seek more attention bcoz they get attention from ppl like u.
Meera: I understand that they are scared and that's the whole point. You attract more attention by resorting to such tactics and anyone who knows you enough to go around telling it to your family or gossiping about it can idetify you with that scarf. It does not serve your purpose of hiding, it rather attracts more attention.
iyer education: Thanks!
I never thought of Satyam Shivam Sundaram untill you pointed out.
bhupi: What have novels got to dowith all this? Can you please explain yourself.
dimag ke ghode
left right
up down
straight round
dodne lagte hain without realising the realities.
jiyo aur jino do...bechare woh ghugat wale ladke/ladkiyon ne tumhara kya bigada hai. Let them live there lives. Did they trouble you????
Mine, would be some different opinion on this, me being too traditional in approach.
Should we really think of romance before marriage? isn't it a sin? U know why? Because, that is totally based on attraction and attraction is there for a limited period of time and it subsidies as time goes on. Just based on someone's good voice or very beautiful face, one may get attracted in initial stage of teenage, but that is just a small phase which does not last long.
That's why if u see, almost 90 % of arrange marriages pass while 90% of love marriages fail.
But if u see, the kind of people who make the attempts mentioned in ur blog are people who are mostly not interested in studies, work or carrier, so their only option is doing such things. And if u see, people who are really education conscious, carrier conscious will always feel shy of doing such things. I have seen this with my friends and lot of people around. They will not express their feelings unless and until they feel that they have achieved something with which they can go forward in life with somebody.
So, in all, i think, the situation described is more common in places where people are less creative, shy of doing work, and just care to do timepass activities.
The end, as u have also pointed out, neither one is satisfied if they go forward with a relationship as well.
Pankaj: You really need to look around yourself with your eyes wide open. If what you say about love being all about 'non-creative' people and 'timepass' and all is even assumed to be true, the entire history of civilizations will fall flat on its face. How do you think we reached the 21st century, by not 'sinning'? Grow up man! Grow up!!
u did not respond ;)
Bhupi: Hmm.... Well they did not trouble me. I am just thinking of them, they are troubling themselves with having to worry about hiding from prying eyes and not hving enough time and energ left for their 'loved' one ;
First of all let me say that it surely is a very hilarious way of describing the 'scarf scenario' in Pune but then I also agree with Meera. The point which Meera lacked though and that you also would want to consider is that - the old bandwagon of Pune (conservatives) would surely call it a bold and shameless display of emotions even if these gals did not have scarves on their faces. So in any case be it for an ecological reason or an emotional reason they are going to be dammed anyways. Say what?
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