"It was
the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was
the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was
the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us,
we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going
direct the other way”
Charles Dickens
Tale of
Two Cities
Charles Dickens may be a
century too old to be really relevant today but some things never change. The story
of love between two cities. My story is somewhat the same, not in the violence
and intrigue of the French Revolution but in the heartbreak and the joy, in the
tensions and the anticipations. But the story can wait for another day. Let me
just share with you one small but mesmerizing snippet.
We met in Delhi, doing our
MBA together. Me, from the backwaters of Kerala; she, from the hills of Uttar Pradesh.
Why and when I fell in love can barely be put in words, let me tell you all how
I proposed. Here goes.
We had just arrived in
Bangalore for our internships, a place where I grew up and the place I consider
home base. All my good friends live there and we have been together a long
time. I had been there for two days now and they were already fully briefed and
very shocked that I had finally taken a girl seriously enough to put in any
sort of effort. She was in Bangalore for the first time and had not yet met my
friends. They were dying to meet her too.
It was Valentines Day in
two days and I was worried about creating an impression. There is this
amazingly beautiful hilltop called Skandagiri, a one hour ride from Bangalore
and easily Bangalore’s best spot to watch the sun rise. On a beautiful day, one
can see the sun rise up through the clouds forming a carpet below the hilltop. For some
beautiful minutes, the clouds are no longer in the sky but form an endless
ocean of white below our eye-level. We can see the sun pop out through these
clouds as the sky slowly begins to light up in shades of orange and red. A
sight worth the two hour trek in the dark through narrow steep paths needed to
get there.
So we made a plan for my
first real Valentines Day proposal. Our key USPs as we saw it was that Bangalore
was a new experience for her. Also the fact that she does not recognize my
friends would make the plan much easier to execute. I promised to take her to
the most beautiful place in Bangalore to watch the sunrise. I told her that my
friends would not be able to make it and would join us later. I did, in passing
mention the 6km climb but didn’t really push the point. I did tell her to wear
trekking shoes though. She never says no.
The day before was spent in
shopping and putting the plan in place. All credit to my sweetheart girl
friends who hand held me through the process of selecting the right weapons to
take to this battle of life. Gifts and fancy items seem Greek and Latin to me.
It was a normal cold
Bangalore night when I picked her up for the ride to Skandagiri. My friends had
planned to leave a little after us and overtake our bike along the way. We did
consider some light hearted banter when they crossed us to spice up the
occasion but we decided on playing it safe unless we give the game away. It was
a long cold but adrenalin filled ride in the cold, covered from head to toe in
wool. Falling ill would really not do. When my friends passed us halfway
through the ride without even a backward glance, I knew the plan would work.
We reached the base of the
hill at around 3.30 AM and had two hours to get up the hill in time for
sunrise. It is a steep and somewhat dangerous climb using flashlights but we
were not the only ones there. The narrow pathways had numerous groups, gangs
like my friends as well as couples like us. Almost two hours later, we were at
the top, all tired and warmed up in the chilly air. Like so many others we were
now waiting for sunrise with hot tea, steaming Maggi and my sometimes terrible
jokes for company. She was pretty tired already. I was counting on her being
tired so as not to recognize any of my friends by mistake from their photos. I
felt she almost looked like a lamb going to slaughter. Not the best analogy I know.
While she was resting, I was
texting and coordinating with my friends. The whole plan had to be set in
motion as soon as the sun rises. It helped that we had been here numerous times
and knew the place well.
Soon the sky started
showing the first rays of light. It was indeed a beautiful day, one as
beautiful as any I had seen. I led her to the most beautiful spot on the hill,
one from where the clouds could be seen in three directions stretching out to
the horizon. Rays of light were shining through from the east reflecting off
the clouds in myriad shades of gold. She was already mesmerized and could not
stop staring except for the odd photograph. I led her to another spot, a kind
of secluded corner of the hill with just as good a view. Here there were huge
concrete slabs, kept there like some modern day Stonehenge where groups could
pose and click awesome pictures with the amazing sunrise as the background. In
the middle was one huge flat slab, kind of like a table at the corner of the
hill. I slowly led her to it, distracting her with the view and inane chit
chat. On it was kept her Valentines Day presents, a small shining ring
decorated with bouquets and chocolates and a small note with her name and three
words on it. I had spent some real effort on the calligraphy. Taking her right
next to it, I showed it to her and she was shocked. She literally started
competing with the sun on who could be redder.
And the timing was perfect.
The day had begun to shine bright as she checked out her surprise smiling and
blushing like a kid. I was waiting for her to finish thinking “Damn, I love her”
and “Wow, I actually managed to get this done”. As she came back to me giving
me a long hug, with a huge grin and moist eyes, I knew it had all worked out.
But I was not done yet. I asked
her to come with me and check out the place further. On every pole was painted
a heart with her name in it and a rose stuck on it. I had some good artists
among my friends. She once again was really impressed but this time she asked
the right question.
“Who did all this?”
That was my cue to shout “Guys!!”
and all my friends who were roaming about pretending to be nobody came bounding
in. They were just as pleased as I was with the success of the whole plan. She
really was floored and could barely utter a word when all my friends started
congratulating and pestering her. She did manage to say “No more surprises
please”.
It was an unforgettable
day. She will vouch for it. Long lens cameras had ensured that every moment was
captured for the future. We spent the rest of the day clicking photos and
roaming around as she came to know my friends.
We did not speak much that
day, but then we had decided we have our whole lives in front of us to do that.
And we knew that life
would be so much less fun without some real good friends in it.Written for Close-Up Cupid Games 2015
http://cupidgames.closeup.in/.
