Cupid Strikes

Yes, I’m in love, I feel it now,

And Celia has undone me.

And yet I’ll swear, I can’t tell how

The pleasing plague stole on me.

W. Whitehead

This is exactly how I felt when I fell in love with Jaya. Jaya studied in the same school as I did, only that I had somehow never met her till we were in the ninth class. The moment I saw the fair maiden (she was very fair), I lost my head. You will agree that at the age of fourteen you are barely mature to understand anything, let alone the very complex emotion of love. This is the age where your parents expect you to focus on your studies. Now it is 10+2. At my time it was 9+2, meaning that I had to appear for the board exams when I reached 11th standard. 

To give you a bit of background to my first love affair, we studied in a school where gender discrimination was rampant. Boys and girls were segregated (even though it was a co-ed facility) and encouraged not to interact with each other much. This meant that boys communicated with girls to the barest minimum. The communication itself was weird when it had to happen. The boy would very respectfully (using aap in Hindi instead of tum) approach the girl and submit his enquiry to which the girl would reply with equal respect. The words exchanged would be minimal and functional. Beyond this, boys and girls would never mingle.

But what does Cupid care about gender discrimination? The moment I saw Jaya, I knew somehow that I was in love with her. The challenge was to communicate this to her. During the classes (boys sat on one side while girls on the other) I would constantly keep looking towards her hoping to catch her eyes and glean something. During breaks, I would sing romantic songs ( Oh meri Sharmilee, aao naa tarsao naa.) using my male friends as my partner! May I remind you that we did not have the facility of mobile phone, SMS or WhatsApp during the era I am talking about. 

How would you expect love to grow under such circumstances? But I did not lose heart and kept at the songs and glances, till one day it paid off. Girls too have intuition and intelligence; enough to understand that a boy is following her like a dog. Jaya began to exchanges glances with me which was a signal that she recognized me. I redoubled my song and dance efforts for her benefit, sending romantic messages through my songs.

A bit more information for you. I was not at all desirable, physically. I was thin and dark as compared to many other handsome boys in our class and school. But I never allowed these negative thoughts to enter my mind while wooing Jaya. She was made for me, I was somehow convinced.

I had other skills to exhibit. My ranking in exams was always good, amongst the top three students in the class. I participated in every sport that my school allowed (football, volleyball, and some cricket). I ran races (100,400 and 800 meters), threw the Javelin and Short Put, jumped over bars (high jump) and across the sandpit (long jump). I participated in the school’s sports events and bagged cups and medals in every discipline possible. I also undertook the tough sports tests conducted by the Government and won three stars. I was popular in the class and friends with all. In short, barring my physique and colour I was a hero of sorts in the school. This must have impressed Jaya, I am sure.

I planned and plotted for ways to meet her beyond the school confines. I borrowed my friend’s bicycle and followed her after school hours. This was done in absolute discretion and honourably so that I did not appear to be a loafer.

Finally, I decided that I must act decisively. She was waiting for something from my side and I should not procrastinate. One day, I wrote her a letter, my first love letter, put it in the economics book and surreptitiously managed to pass it on to her. In less than 24 hours my book came back to me with a reply. We were officially in love!

Now that love was confirmed, what was I to do? I discussed the matter with a few close friends of mine. None of us could come up with a plan. We were in general agreement that I should take her out to the movies, but how? Firstly, finance was a problem as I was not in possession of any kind of pocket money. My parents could ill afford such luxuries. Secondly, even if I had the money, how could I spirit her away from school and home without being noticed? Finally, would she be ok with it?

As I said earlier, communication within the school was bare minimum and matters such as these were certainly out of bounds here. Outside school, she would always have friends with her while walking back home and it was very difficult to get to her privately. Letters were the only means of communication, but I was soon getting tired of this. This affair had to move to the next level, and soon; or it will die a natural letter induced death.

My dearest friend Narayan Rao came to my rescue. His father, it transpired worked in the same department as my beloved’s father and they were good friends. Narayan Rao, therefore, had access to her house and family. He also happened to be the only child in his family and was therefore spoilt. His father gave him a handsome allowance, which, he generously offered to contribute towards my date with Jaya. He also had a bicycle (which I used to borrow frequently to chase my beloved) which could come in handy, if needed.

With Rao’s help, a date was set for a movie outing with Jaya. It had to be on holiday. It had to be a morning show (9 am to 12 pm). She cannot come alone and hence one of her close confidants would be with her. It was decided that Rao, Jaya, her friend Sheela and I would go to Chanakya theatre in Chanakyapuri Delhi for a Sunday morning show. The movie on offer was based on “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens. Who cared what the movie was!

Narayan Rao was essential to my plans because he was funding the entire project. As planned, we all met at the theatre with Rao buying the tickets in advance. I sat next to Jaya and we were flanked on her side by Sheela and my side by Rao. Rao was thoughtful enough to buy a packet of potato chips, which he placed in my hands. A lot of small talks were happening between me and Jaya all the while. My mind was framing romantic dialogues while my mouth was uttering inane stuff. How to tell her my feelings, I did not know. Was something similar happening with her? I knew not. I wanted to hug and kiss her, but I dared not. 

The cinema hall darkened and the movie began. I decided to open the packet of chips but try as I might, it wouldn’t budge. In a rage, I bit into it to tear it open. The jerk sent some of the contents flying across all directions and I felt almost embarrassed. The girls laughed. I smiled sheepishly and Rao pressed my hand to calm my rage.

As darkness enveloped the theatre, I knew it was time to make my move. I became indecisive. What if she did not like it and raised an alarm. It would be so embarrassing. I spent half an hour in this ‘to be or not to be’ situation, before finally extending my left hand towards Jaya. To my surprise, as if she was waiting for me to do this, she grabbed my hand gratefully with her right. Our fingers intertwined and were urgently putting pressure as if to convey our love for each other. With my right hand, I offered her chips. We did not look at each other but felt our emotions strongly.

Well, the date ended and we happily returned home. Our love story was on track.

Meanwhile, unknown to me, a neighbourhood goon called Ravindra was also in love with Jaya. he was, I must admit, taller than me, fairer and stronger. One fine afternoon, he casually accosted me on my way home from school and introduced himself. Without beating the bush, he asked me if I loved Jaya. I confessed that I did. Can I prove it, he asked, that she too was in love with me? I wondered why he wanted such a confirmation from me? He asked me to produce something which proved that she had feelings for me. I took out the photograph, the one which my love had so lovingly given to me. He snatched it from my hand and began to threaten me. He would go to her house and tell her parents. He would tell my parents too. I was scared and pleaded with him not to do anything silly. He then gave me a choice: Stay away from her. She is mine. If I did not heed his advice, he would have me beaten up and exposed. He then left with the photograph.

I was in a fix. Why did I show him the photo? What do I do now? It was then that I remembered my friend Raj. Raj was my immediate neighbour and was one of the well-known thugs in the area. No one dared to go near him. He ran a small gang that quite frequently picked up fights and beat people with cycle chains. But Raj was a friend of mine and I used to teach his little brother English. I was also in his cricket team, as a twelfth man, which meant, I carried stuff for him. Our families were social friends, and he respected my sister ( I think he had a crush on her). With all these favourable indicators, I ran to him for help. He listened to my tale and patted me. He knew the guy Ravindra and he would sort him out.

Three days later Ravindra met me again to hand me back the photograph. He apologized for being rude to me and promised he would not come in my way. My love story, derailed for a while by Ravindra, was back on track.

Two years passed, our romance blossomed. We had many dates but never went beyond the squeezing of hands. Both of us were happy. This newfound feeling raised my spirits. I excelled in studies and sports. I won accolades and medals, all for Jaya. She was happy to have made the right choice. We were in 11th now and the term was coming to an inevitable end. In a few month's time, it would be board exams for us and we will then leave the school. The annual day function threw a surprise for me. I was at home, preparing for my boards when our peon Ram Avatar came home. Our principal wanted to see me. We rode to school on his cycle. I wondered what had happened to make the principal call me on the Annual Day? Did Jaya’s parents complain to the principal? 

It could be possible, for Jaya’s mother had met me a week earlier at the DMS milk booth where I used to go to buy milk. I was surprised to see her there for it was not her area. She saw me and walked up to me. After the greetings, she asked me what I was going to do after school. I told her that I would be pursuing commerce in a good college. She then gave me a sermon:

“Look Beta. I know you are a good boy. You study well, good in sports, good character. You come from a good family. You have a long way ahead to study further and become successful in life. Some day, you will find a good girl and marry her and have a family. This is not the right time. Do you understand? At this age, one does not know what love and marriage are; it's simply a passing emotion, temporary. Do you understand? It is natural for a boy and girl to be attracted to each other, think they are in love. But that is not the truth. Do you understand? Study well and make a career. My blessings to you. I hope you understood what I wanted to tell you.”

I think I understood her message to stay away from her daughter. But I never imagined she would take it seriously and talk to the principal! Anyway, we reached the school and I was ushered into the principal’s room. She looked at me and smiled:

“So Ravi, how are the preparations going on?”

“Good Madam.”

“Remember, you have to make our school proud.”

“Yes Madam”.

“Do you know why I called you especially? I know you would not attend the function today, but you have to be there.”

“Why Madam?”

“Because you are our ‘Best Student of the Year’”.

“What Madam? Really Madam?”

“Yes. All the teachers in your class have voted you as their best student. You have to be at the prize distribution this evening. Now go home, get ready and come in time.”

This was unexpected, just as Jaya’s mother’s meeting. I won at the school but lost the love of my life. That evening, I was searching for Jaya everywhere, hoping I could see her one last time. But she did not come. I scribbled my last letter to her and gave it to Sheela. She told me that her mother somehow got wind of the affair and poor Jaya was scolded like anything for being such a bad girl.

Anyway, my first love ended on a bitter-sweet note. The memory still lingers. Priceless.