Fight, it's good!

There are those love-some, ravishing days that are welcomed by all and then the hideous ones involving meaningless grilling arguments and hours of fights. This pretty much defines almost any relation.  However, lasting are only those that sail through smoothly despite all the turbulence. Conflict is a natural part of having an intimate bond. The bumpy road of heated discussion followed by repair is the route to a deeper connection. As you come back to each other after a fight, with words of contrition and forgiveness, you often strengthen your relation in due course. Fights can be good, they can allow you to discuss problems and resolve issues; however, letting what irritates you simmer until it boils over into a big argument is never healthy. Therefore it is best to speak up and maintain complete transparency, convey what disturbs you and let the other person know what is keeping you low. It is only then that a mutual settlement can be made, keeping in mind the best interests of both and a fresh chapter be unveiled in the book of life.

Irresistibly & Irrevocably! - Part II

She shut the door behind her and with a faint thud, sat on her bed. Sighing deep, Jen tried to relax her perplexed mind. For now it was stuck in a situation more complicated than those complex macromolecular structures in chemistry and she had no reference book to her rescue, this time.

She was puzzled, while on one hand Jeny recollected Sid’s words that spoke highly ill about love and relationship, it pricked her, yet on the other hand she couldn’t deny the intensity of emotions that those three words carried.

While she desired to ignore every disturbing thought that hit her and focus only on the better blissful part, her brain had this disobliging habit of forcibly getting her to reason out things she didn’t want to.

Relationship is nothing that I can deal with. To add to it, this is the board year. I barely get time to even flip through a novel, how on Earth will I manage a commitment,’ Jen spoke to herself.

Her school bag reminded Jennifer of school next day. She couldn’t let the things be as weird as they had been ten minutes back.

After around two long hours of debate, finally her heart took over as her brain surrendered to rationale out any further. ( Yes, that is another symptom of love fever) the only problem that now popped up before her was how would she let Sid know about it. A tete-a tete confession would be too audacious a plunge for our shy Jennifer.

“ Maybe a call or a simple short text would be a finer option”, she wondered.

Rummaging through her handbag, she quickly took out her cellphone

and while she planned out things in her mind, her phone rang. Needless to say, it was Sid.

I still marvel how miraculous things as such begin to occur as soon as you’re in love.

“Hey Jen”

“Hi, was about to call you.”

“Okay. Any specific reason?” he questioned, hinting at the obvious.

“No, just like that.”

None of them could think of something reasonable to talk about. After talking for another two minutes, the two of them decided to hang up.

“Bye,” greeted Sid in a weary voice.

“ I don’t hate you either, Bye.” came from a shaky, nervous voice on the other end.

Before any further questions could be raised, Jeny disconnected the call, leaving Sid with a brainstorming session in his head.

“Now, how am I supposed to decipher what Miss Magdalene’s I don’t hate you either hints”, he fumed.

Does that mean she loves me? Or is it one one of her silly ways to sophisticatedly refuse my proposal? Did Jen mean she likes me as a friend? Why did she have to be a typical girl when it came to responding to a proposal?

Just then Siddhanth received a text message that cut out all the confusion,

“I Love You too, Sid.”

[ This is a joint effort by Pratidhi Chowdhury (yes, that's me!) and Megha Gupta ]

Irresistibly & Irrevocably! - Part I

Jennifer had all eyes fixed on her as she walked down the carpeted floor at the venue, she could read the awestruck expressions of the guests present there. Spotting Miss Jennifer Magdalene ( the girl whose comfort zone was supposed to be restricted to the library ) at a party was in itself a surprise package.

Alisha spotted girls from their group as she pulled Jen and went on to join them, but Jeny was restless, her eyes hunted for the reason that had brought her here, Siddhanth. After quite long, she could lastly see Sid descending down the steps with a glass of soft drink and surrounded by what you call a ‘gang’, laughing away on jokes private to them. Their eyes met. His eyes halted on her for a while. That pretty peach colour of her tunic that perfectly blended with her complexion, her glossy black long hair that carelessly fell on her face however hard she endeavoured to tuck them behind her ear, her flawless figure, everything about her was so striking.

“B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l”, he whispered to himself, he didn’t move an inch further, attracting unwanted attention from his friends.

“She’ll be easy to get, a week max, and she’ll be in”, the cool-dude casanova Harsh chanted out his expert opinion as he winked.

“Brother fresh choice haan, Not bad,” mocked another.

If you’ve ever had even the smallest of crush on absolutely any XYZ-on the road, in school, in your neighbourhood or anywhere, you’d know for sure how just a prolonged gaze of yours can invite hundreds of brainless comments and how hyped it can be turned into in just a matter of days by your friends.

“Oh no no, dude, you know I don’t involve myself into all this,” Sid protested. Now he regretted staring at Jeny for so long, but then, it was inevitable at the moment, he thought.

“There’s always a first time, bro”, Harsh insisted,” And I know for sure, she’ll be trapped pretty quick”

Sid was tempted to give it a try, but then he backed off. He somehow could neither call off his friends nor walk to Jeny and get her ‘trapped’. He was in an actual fix. A little more insisting from his friends and he was completely convinced that it was worth a try.

“So how do I say it to her?”, he wilfully questioned Love guru, Harsh Chopra.

“C;mon Sid! It isn’t any rocket science, just go and say it to her straightaway, afterall its just three words, be a man,” he casually advised.

“Okay brother, As soon as I find Jen alone, I’ll say it to her without any further delay,” Sid postponed the event, he avoided the idea of letting out those what you call ‘three magical words’ in front of Jennifer’s entire girl gang; He could almost hear shrill giggles at the mere thought of doing so.

“It’ll be far better when she’s all by herself, maybe when the party’s done,” he muttered to himself in a volume only audible to his own self as he went to the cocktail counter to fetch himself another drink, it’d provide him with the much required punch, he thought.

It was sharp 9:40 p.m. by the large clock that hung on the mantelpiece, the party had almost wrapped up by now.

“Time for some action,” Siddhant said as he whistled around in the parking lot hunting for Jennifer (his supposedly new found love). He didn’t have to sweat much as Jen’s peach attire instantly caught his eye, she was probably waiting for Ayushi to come up with her car as she was supposed to be dropped home by her. Siddhant headed towards her in a trying-to-be-cool fashion and stopped right behind where she stood.

“Jeny”, he spoke in a tone that wasn’t at all characteristic of him and then mustering up all the courage in him, Sid took a deep breath as Jennifer turned to face him.

“I Love You”, he resumed in one breath.

Both of them stood silently before each other. Jeny regained her senses only when the Scorpio driver pressed against the  shriek horn for almost ten seconds. She then uttered in a meek voice, ”I gotta go.”

To be continued...

[ This is a joint effort by Pratidhi Chowdhury (yes, that's me!) and Megha Gupta ]

What is LOVE?

What is LOVE?

Is it the sharing of an ice-cream on a cold winter night?
Or is it dancing to a soft music as you hold your partner tight?
Or the second effort when you can't get your first kiss right?
Or the grooving of two souls in dim psychedelic light?
Or patching up as you wind up your prolonged stupid fight?
Or the skipping of a heartbeat at his/her sight?

Or the passionate hug with all your might?
Or after a breakdown, saying "I'm alright"?

No matter how hard you try, you can never figure out right,
whether it is the sharing of an ice-cream on a cold winter night
Or dancing to a soft music as you hold your partner tight.

Anguish Of The Heart!

I often fly to the past, 

a sweet picture runs before my eyes,

Gradually the picture blurs, fades away,

And silently my heart cries.

I ponder I've traversed a long way

From that lovely past to the lonely present

& without those hands firmly gripping mine

I feel like a full moon reduced to crescent.

Its ironical how life has its own story

of joining paths and a million heartbreaks

Insane is the heart that loves,

Despite the heartaches.

-Pratidhi Chowdhury

Two People. An Acquaintance.

As he sat fidgeting with the crystal paper holder in his luxurious 
cabin, an elegant teak wood frame hung on the wall caught his 
eye, one that probably outshone all others in its row for it held the 
glossy white piece of paper that defined his worth, the certificate of 
the ‘Young Business achiever- 2011’. He kept gazing at it for a while 
and as if the years rolled back, he could almost see those sparkling, 
innocent eyes, full of belief & hear those confident words-“You can 
do it.” Then it had seemed absolutely impossible even in the wildest 
of dreams but there was some kind of passion in those eyes, some 
unfathomable depth in those words that had brought him this far.



Thick framed glasses right on her nose, her shiny black hair tied 
into a small bun, she paced up and down the room gazing at the 
article she wrote last night, then crumbled it up and aimed a shot 
at the dustbin. To her dismay, it landed inches away from the 
bin. Provided it was her twenty ninth unsuccessful attempt, she 
wondered if the day was unusually hard on her. Just then her eyes 
lit up. ‘Love’, she thought. Yes, it would be the perfect topic for her 
weekly column in the ‘Daily Pioneer’, given it was February, all the 
more apt.
She grabbed her notepad from her study and enthusiastically set 
writing. Writing provided some strange inexpressible joy to her, the 
inarticulate contentment in penning down her heart, she thought, 
was irreplaceable. But rewind back in time, and you would find her 
struggling to derive Einstein’s theory of relativity; then, anything 
beyond engineering was never on her list, until those gentle hands 
held hers and showed her through life, the way she had never 
visualized it. His soothing words, ‘Do what your Heart says’ taught 
her to live life, not just breathe through it.

Love.

Immortal it is & shall last forever,

Till eternity shall it sustain,

'coz from antiquity to eons thereafter,

'Tis what makes us not machine but humane.

"Goodbyes"

When those I admire or love leave me, or I leave them, goodbye isn't what I want to say. I want to tell them that their gentle touch on my cheek, which caught my desperate tears, made me feel whole once again. I want to tell them without their quick giggle and tender words, my life can feel lonely, that their warm embraces make me stand up to life's challenges once again. I want to let them know that they take with themselves a part of me I can never incorporate into myself & that the jigsaw of my life would always be incomplete without them. But no-instead I tell them, "I love you", give them a hug, and say goodbye. I didn't want to say goodbye. I didn't!


When those I am in conflict with leave or I leave them, goodbye isn't what I want to say. I want to talk about pieces of me that are torn, damaged, and fragmented because of our interchanges. I want to tell them that, just maybe, I've learned something new: in how to be, in how to live, in how to grow. I want them to know that I hate them for casting upon their dark influence upon my life but at the same time admire them for their contribution in making me a little wiser, a little mature. I wonder why it got so complicated and sticky. But no- instead we say with fortitude, "Goodbye". I may shake their hand, glad that I won't have to see them again. But there is so much unsaid and goodbye doesn't skim the root of my feelings. I didn't want to say goodbye. I didn't!


When someone I love dies, goodbye isn't what I want to say. I want to tell them the truth about us. I want to set it straight. Get to what was real. That their words could hurt, that I wasn't as strong as they'd hoped, that I still struggle to forgive them. I want to know how shattered I am at their sudden departure. At the same time, I want to tell them that their love made life easier, free, more accessible. That I'm grateful for their presence. I want to tell them I forgive them for being human, that I carry no grudges but sheer love and goodwill for them and that their mention shall always stimulate a trickle of tear from the eye, the one with mixed emotions-happiness, good times, fights, sorrow and the emptiness they've left me with.
But no- instead we say "goodbye" at a memorial service. And I feel captured in a storm of emotions that violently swirl me around. I didn't want to say goodbye.


When life turns to me someday and says, "Say Goodbye," goodbye isn't what I want to say, I've said enough "Goodbyes" my whole life, let me say it right, now. Just let me say it right. But life's hands will close around me, ushering me to something new. It will be the only time where "goodbye" was what I needed to say.

Teen Teen! :D

I love being a teen. Then again, sometimes I hate it. I am often enthused but at times apathetic. Occasionally I have a vision and purpose, but other times I am totally confused. Sometimes I am nice but at times I can be quite selfish, even a real jerk. The first time I had a real crush was in my teenage; It was also the first time I flunked a test. At times I'm confident but then again a lot embarrassed to quite many times. I may jump with exhilaration on knowing I've got a call, while there have also been times when I snore away while my phone vibrates its way to a low battery. I fret over a broken nail but can be absolutely cool about lost class notes. I do a spontaneous jig, get real destructive and evil, hum a tune all day long. I turn red when I blush, green when envious and experience examination blues. I watch a movie umpteen number of times only 'cause it stars my favourite hero, I get goosebumps when I'm all alone and I hear a door shut by itself. I laugh till my stomach aches, cry till my pillow wets. I get bent out of shape by little things I'm irritated. I over react, get stressed out and feel miserable. There are moments when I lose my bearings, have an utterly clouded vision, stumble and get down on myself.
I LIVE. I LOVE. I LAUGH. 
I am a Teen and I love being one. Cheers!

My Man.

He whose eyes sparkle with honesty,

Whose manner is impeccable,

In whom I can confide, 

With no questions, no complaints,

Who could just read my eyes,

Decipher what words fail to convey,

Whose demeanour is gentle,

Whose words are truthful yet polite,

Who could take me in a warm embrace,

And let me pour my heart into his own,

He who could pacify me,

Not by words but mere touch,

Whose heart holds respect, 

Whose deeds display honour,

He, who venerates me 

For my mind, body & soul

Who ensures that my dignity 

Never be compromised, 

Who never forgets that like him, 

I too am an individual,

He who has character, strength 

& an indomitable spirit,

He who is a companion, a friend, a confidant.
He is the man, he is my man.

Cupid's touch!

            "Even if my heart should call out your name, even if these arms should want to embrace you, and even if I'm all cried out and in pain, I’ll never fall in love that way again."

She kept repeating the same in her head over and over again but all in vain. Saying you’ll never fall in love again is synonymous to saying you’ll never smile again. No matter how hard you try not to, someone is going to come along and make you. Stumbling upon love once makes you wise enough to want to stay away from it, yet as they say you don’t fall in love consciously, it just happens.

Love hurts and scars and wounds but no heart is strong enough to take in that lot of pain. She was no different. Being deserted by the cupid's soothing touch often leaves you in excruciating pain or even worse, all numb. She wanted to deviate her mind and concentrate on things other than him. Yet her freethinking brain seemed more adhered to her heart than to her head. A battle she didn't feel worth fighting. She wanted to call him, tell him she was glad he was there, that he cared and pampered her, but words to him no longer fit right in her mouth, silence was the only acceptable state her heart would grant. He would never know for she refused to showcase her emotions in his presence or maybe she was still uncertain about it. All the words he could have had, all the phrases he might have danced to, the smiles which would have been imprinted upon his heart, would never be. And his lips would never be able to reply to the words she could not say.

An Overdose of Love in Indian Fiction.

Here's just an attempt to decipher why the Indian Fiction shelf in book stores overflows with love, girlfriends and boyfriends?

To sketch the dubious origins of the trend, let us look at Mr. Chetan Bhagat and his first release. An IITian, IIM passout, Writer – the kind of profile that, in golden letters, features in an average Indian parent’s dream. Plus, his book is seemingly about the very place their child is studying hard to get into!  All is well until Mom discovers a couple making out somewhere towards the end of the tale. Apparently, the characters also use abusive language which her child, growing up on highbrow AXN movies, ‘doesn’t have a clue to’. The literary work changes hands and is now with the elder brother. Picture this. You walk into a bookstore and as you gaze appreciatively through the bestsellers and the coffee-table books, you spot the Indian-Fiction bookshelf. Instantly, your thesaurus for ‘love’ shoots up. There are books about love that happened at work, in Engineering and Management colleges, in school and several regular places. This love comes with interesting pictures of popping hearts and skinny girls across the cover. Precisely therefore, you collide head-on with the “Love is in the air” phenomenon. What’s more, it enters with a plethora of corny lines, lovemaking advances, grammatical and punctuation errors.

As the grey-haired would like to call it – the book hits the perfect chord. From brother to friend to several more the world over, Five Point Someone does something unprecedented. With the power of its colloquialism, it draws people in millions. These people don’t just read, they want to give the writing a shot. Since writing a book was about sharing college experiences and you didn’t need fancy thumb rules that authors in ethnic attire swore by, why not write a book of your own? This gave birth to a thousand people screaming “Me too”.

It would be unfair to let the obligation of an era rest entirely on Mr. Bhagat’s shoulders. As also it would be to stereotype all the titles in this, err, series. What he penned down as a possibly harmless, even one-off tale snowballed into the ‘Love is in the air’ phenomenon. If only the proponents had gone easier on the theme – the skimpy girls less pea-brained and the Engineering guys less leering, for instance – the assortment on the shelves would have painted a nobler picture. At the risk of sounding deprecating, the ‘Me Toos’ were experienced at jumping on the college-romance bandwagon. Make sure the college hero lusts after a college heroine and his life nosedives. Throw in a few smooches and rolls in the hay behind the hostel and voila, your book is up on the Indian Fiction bookshelf! When you start running out of cover design templates, just pick some red hearts and pink candy floss dolls.

A-Z Of A Relationship...

A complete relation is :

An Amalgam of two souls,

Bonding of Hearts,

Charismatic Chemistry,

Delightful & Dynamic,

Exemplary,

Fabricated with Faith,

Galore of Gaiety,

Harmony of Thoughts,

Inspirational,

Jolly & Jocund,

Knitted with Love,

Lively & Fresh,

Mesmeric & Majestic,

Nickelodeon of Love,

Ordinarily extraordinary,

Perfect understanding,

Quixotic & Quintessential,

Rhapsodic,

Simple & Subtle,

Tremendously lovable,

Unadulterated Affection,

Vivacious,

Warm & Soothing,

Xtravagant,

Youthful,

Zealous & Zestful.