To Love, with Platinum

November 12, 2013 62 Comments

"You say it flowers

or call it something other

it remains the same

It love by any other name"

The friendship that was deemed more like an "arranged friendship" started on a skeptical note, turned magical and soon I can see a sudden kind of attraction churning out. I was confused if this was a genuine reciprocation of someone's friendly gesture towards you or the fact that you have a friend who truly, madly cares about you, writes you beautiful letters of friendship, embellishes your smiles with well-picked cards for you or is it just a fad that will fade away soon in face of the harsh reality of lives. His simple behavior and actions spoke loudly for him and soon we became quite good friends who would often discuss things.

I was an amputee, the fact that he was fully aware of and heartily accepted without asking me many questions about it. I found him a little filmy sometimes. He had seen the Indian version of "An Affair to Remember" and found that girl in me. I was repelled by this notion though :). In brief, I was not keen for a relationship then, and besides I wasn't sure if that was a mere puppy love or whether he was the right person for me.

I went ahead and candidly presented my decision to him and agreed to be his friend with a request to park the "Ishq wala love" emotion till we make progress in our respective careers. He agreed but couldn't help himself from suggesting his feelings at times to me. The more he asserted, the more I diverted myself away and became unsure. NO, I was not playing any games with him.

I love you, I love you not
A lot of my hostel mates and college friends had boyfriends and were pursuing a relationship. They would date outside the hostel, and shower each other with gifts to express their love. This friend of mine too wanted to gift me but I strictly forbade him to waste his father's money to buy me any gift and rather invest time in his education to carve a career for himself. Once he starts earning, he would be free to express his friendship via gifts. We mutually agreed on "no gifts" friendship with an exception for not-so-expensive cards, flowers, small chocolates, or anything worth less than Rs 100 on special occasions only.

We used to meet almost daily during visiting hours at my hostel or sometimes at the gate of a nearby Internet Cafe wherein he would help me to fill out my MBA apps. My hostel juniors were very fond of him and often insinuated me to the "Kaho na pyar hai" situation. They would say- "Didi, he is sooo sweet, handsome, and loves you so much, it is so apparent. Why don't you say yes. He is amazingly good looking". I would discourage them and remain firm on my decision.

Discovering the Platinum Day of Love

One day, he and his engineering friends went to a famous Ganesha temple nearby entailing a day-long trip. I was happy that at least for one day I would not get to hear from him. I know you may find it silly but I really needed all the available time to prepare for my upcoming CAT exam. It was around 7:00 pm I got a call from him on my hostel landline wherein he requested me to come and meet him at the telephone booth nearby. I first refused but he said he wanted to meet urgently and hand me "Prasad" from that temple that he offered especially for my CAT Exam success. I couldn't refuse him and came down to meet him.

The telephone booth was a pebble throw away from my hostel and often serves as a big venue for all hostelites in days of non-mobile phones serving their telecommunication/Fax needs. As soon as I reached there, I found him standing and waiting. He was wearing a white colored shirt and blue jeans and looked absolutely pristine that day. There was a certain grace on his face that day, he looked absolutely spellbinding. I was speechless shy and nervous. He profusely handed me the Prasad and asked me if I trusted him enough to close my eyes for a moment. Hesitantly, I closed my eyes and wondered about his plans. "Oh my God, is he going to kiss me"?  I was a little nervous and when he took my hand in hand, I got scared.



He apparently put his hand in his shirt pocket, took out something from it rested it on my palms, and closed them into a fist. He smiled at my nervousness and asked me to open my eyes. "That's it"? I thought. Amazed at his simplicity and thanking internally for the "no kiss" moment I opened my eyes and palm to see a lovely small crystal statue of lord Shiva [Shivling] resting there. It was beautiful indeed! I was overwhelmed. I looked at the Shivling once and then at him and smiled.

Often people used to gift expensive gifts including statues of Lord Ganesha to each other wherein he went furtively over the hill temple to search for such a unique, beautiful, divine, and precious gift for me. He said that through the lord, he is extending his best wishes for my success and happiness ahead. He also brought a "Tilak" from the temple as the Lord's blessing to help me through my upcoming aptitude tests for management entrance.

At that moment, in that gesture, I found - what you call- "My Platinum day of love". A day that is still the most beautiful in my memory, a day as precious as platinum, a day as beautiful as the beautiful platinum. If love is Gold, diamond, and silver, the day is earmarked in my memory as "Platinum" which is the most beautiful metal, the most precious thing that ornates the hearts and souls of people who wear them. I wear that day as a platinum in my chest of memory, a platinum melody in my ears, and like a platinum ring/ love band that connects directly to my heart. The day, indeed a Platinum Day! A Platinum Day of Love!
__________________________

Preserve your love
like those petals in your book
that fills your heart
with its silken fragrance

Wear your love
like a platinum in your finger
a ring that connects
straight to your heart

Wear your platinum
it is a beautiful gift of love
Divine, mesmerizing and pristine
On your Platinum day of love!



This post is written for Indiblogger & Platinum contest on "platinum Day of love"
To know more click here- http://www.preciousplatinum.in/en/about-platinum/platinum-day-of-love