Love is not what we think it is.

I do not want to hear anyone preach me about love anymore. I abhor the articles that stack up shallow reasons about why that cute guy may be crazy about me. I am not letting dumb lovey-dovey videos on social sites sway me into fancying a Disney ending for myself. I can now see clearly through the flawless clicks of smiling couples and spot the glaring void between them. I have also begun to shy away from novels that let a man compare a woman's body parts to a backyard orchard. No, I bluntly refuse to pin all my hopes on how every day will be dangerously romantic if you are in love. Seriously, never again! Tripping into these dreamy clouds is not a risk worth taking. You know why? Because, that is not what love is.

When we fall for a person, we imagine, get excited and even fret about how loving that person will introduce a series of ups and downs in the relationship graph. We begin looking forward to the first kiss, fluttery feels, candlelit dinners, heartfelt talks, those long strolls down a meadow. We also set our minds to handle different career choices, mismatch in perspectives, emotional turbulences, the transformation from a couple to a family, financial troubles. Weaving and tackling our way slowly through all this side by side, we think we have what it takes.

But, if truth be told, the highest highs and the lowest lows are only exceptions. It is not the amazing experiences or the rough waters that make or break the belief we put in a relationship. It is the day-to-day life that ultimately puts 'us' through a test. And that is what love is all about - traversing the straight lines after living through the bumps.

In reality, love is mundane. There is no other perfect word for it.

Love is indeed an adventure, but not on all days. Over time, the excitement slowly wears off. Uneventful routines kick in. Fairytale moments suddenly turn plain vanilla. Days become predictable and there is nothing new to experience. The lack of variety begins to drain our minds and eventually, introduces a strain on love itself. Before we realize, a wall of distance and awkward silences creep in between the relaxed evenings spent together. The world of 'us' that was lovingly built slowly becomes two separate islands. We stop reaching out to each other; pass on sharing how our day went; get hurt on the smallest comments; at last, give in to the melancholy.

That is when love dies. It chokes itself on the air of mundanity and withers.

P.S: If you have already realized how different love is from our expectations, then do not give up. Ignore the distractions and keep fighting the occasional distances that butt in. Love is a package with its own odds. Don't opt for just the best stuff. Love each other even in the midst of the mundane :) Enjoy the beauty of being with each other till the end. It may not be as fancy as we wanted it to be, but it will still be the most profound experience of our lifetime.

This post drew inspiration from the age-old thought - "Falling in love is easy; staying in love is not." While this is just one of my takes on love and passion, opinions can definitely differ. Share yours here!

Shantaram - Afterthoughts

SHANTARAM 

by Gregory David Roberts 

One more amazing read!! Initially, the 1000-page dismay kept me from taking up the book for a long time. Then, it just happened and I was reading it. Now, I am glad I did :) In the journey that I have taken up with books, this is the FIRST book that made my hands shiver and set my teeth chattering. No other literary work has made this effect on me - because, Roberts, the author has written every page of Shantaram with death traversing along. After all, the book is centered around a mafia group. 

Set in Bombay, Shantaram is a gripping tale of an Australian convict who escapes a maximum-security prison and enters the Indian city with a fake passport. The slum that he puts up in, the woman whom he falls for, and the mafia don he works for influence the rest of the story.

Breathtaking quotes showcasing denied truths, the dangerous abyss that love and trust hold, the turmoil of existence, thin line of hopes that feed fire to our will, the wrong that we do for the right reasons, redemption that a heart seeks at the end of day, the rotten smell of trait and deceit, the glaringly evident death that every human has to face eventually, the charm of rare luck and instinct bestowed upon a handful, the realization that nothing never really lasts except the soul-deep love for land and women, and the ultimate destination of mankind - the book has it all. 

Go ahead, give it a read!

“The choice you make, between hating and forgiving, can become the story of your life.”