My entry for the Get Published contest- That feeling called love!

‘Raj, mujhe yahan se le chalo. Mere Bauji kabhi nahi manenge.’ said Simran. Who can forget the evergreen romance of Raj and Simran in the iconic blockbuster movie DDLJ? If you are an Indian born in the late eighties or the early nineties, DDLJ even after seventeen years of its release, serves as a guide to the idea of perfect romance. Films and television play a pivotal role in shaping our expectations about love. Usually, the twists and turn in the story often make us ponder if we’ll have such an extraordinary story. Real life love stories come in different shapes and sizes. Some come in the family size pack filled with family drama, while others come in economy size pack where everyone readily agrees, and then there are few that remain in the heart forever.  Natasha and Siddhartha’s story falls in the third category. 

Born into one of the illustrious business families of modern- day Punjab, Natasha’s life was easy. She went to the best school of the town and was one of the most promising students. With hectic school life, she never actually had the time to think about ‘love and its complications’. Her mind was focused , but her heart ached for that someone’s care and attention. After graduating from one of the best colleges of Delhi University, a management degree was an obvious choice. On the orientation day, when the dean was busy promoting 

B-School to the new students, she got distracted and started noticing her future competitors. It was then, she noticed a boy wearing stark red color shirt with mohawk hair style, and a goatee. Natasha thought ‘who'd come to a management school with such a casual attitude....’ Even though, secretly, she admired this guy’s style because he was defying the so-called norms.

When she formally met Siddhartha, during one of the class projects, she couldn’t help gushing. He was one of the brightest minds in the class and professor’s favorite, but, his eccentricity attracted her the most. Natasha knew she liked this Mumbai boy but refused to accept it. Maybe it was the fear of rejection or the fear of breaking her parent’s trust. Meanwhile, when she was contemplating on these possibilities and suppressing her feelings for him, Siddhartha comes and asks her out. She was stunned at this revelation. She liked Siddhartha but was worried if this relationship would work in the long run. She always knew that she’d get married as per her parent’s choice, like everyone else in her family ; but Siddhartha  didn’t fulfill the essential ‘Punju’ standards of three M’s – Money, Mercedes, and Mansion. He was from a humble background, settled in one of the modest localities of Mumbai, and total misfit, according to her family standards.

Despite this, material information, what mattered to Natasha was that, he had the guts to live his life on his own terms. Suddenly, she was caught in the classic debate of love v/s family. She never wanted to defy her parents, but she couldn’t  let go off her love. She was confused, depressed, irritated,and angry, but one thing was for sure, she was in love!

Note: This is my entry for the HarperCollins- IndiBlogger Get Published Contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.