Musings of a Delhi Boy

Love is in the air,

It is a double whammy this year,

With Basant and Valentine’s Day just a few days away,

On the same date, ready to embrace each other…

The landscape is under a carpet, of yellow mustard bloom,

Flowers galore,

Birds and hearts aflutter,

Cupid shoots an arrow,

St. Valentine waves a magic wand,

Embedded with roses, red and fresh,

Lo and behold!!! I am afloat a carpet,

Through clouds, pink and fluffy…

Moving in time, at times more than four decades ago,

With the blush of first teen crush,

Palpitating through my heart,

Purposely missing the stop of E-13, my school bus,

Betaab, going down the route,

Cycling in the evening,

For many a week, from Nagar to Enclave,

Hoping to catch an elusive glimpse…

QSQT came, and I move down the road,

Through the angst and the turmoil,

The restlessness of the late teens, gawky and awkward,

Each day, standing at strategic corners of the University Special,

To try and catch a glimpse of many a sweetheart,

Chatting, watching movies, exchanging cards, shifting glances,

Eating street food, idling, gossiping, trying to follow the fashion,

A swag, an attitude in place…

When Maine Pyaar Kiya released,

I was swept off my feet,

Swamped under the tides of youth,

As we wandered, hand in hand, lost in love,

Through the trees, nooks, and corners of the Ridge Forest,

I, submerged in her eyes,

Mesmerized, by the contours of her smile, her body,

Her breath, soft and fragrant,

Our kisses, hot and passionate,

Her sheer physicality, often temperamental,

Strong, and throbbing, making me lightheaded,

My throat, parched and dry,

Quenched by the spring of nectar,

As it flowed from her mouth, into mine,

Making me dizzy, as if the ground under my feet was shifting…

I asked her Hum Aapke Hain Kaun,

She smiled coyly, maintained a silence,

I said, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,

The match, made in Heaven,

Arranged, solemnized on Earth,

Stumbling through many a twist and turn,

Before finding its feet, steady as a rock,

A few thorns along the way,

Flowers blooming throughout,

In the journey of more than 11000 days, still counting,

Mujhe Tujh mein Rab Dikhta Hai…

Finally, the carpet drops me in the present,

A present of peace and tranquility,

Respect and gratitude,

For the decades spent together,

Optimism for the future, as it unfolds,

With the tick-Tok of the clock,

Hoping to spend the days, and weeks,

The months, and the years to come,

With you, for you, forever, Meri Jaan…

With you, for you, forever, Meri Jaan…