Time after Time....

"Love is not Love,that alterations find.." says a famous poet, agreed to an extent..but what is love then? Is it the heady feeling described in the Mills and Boons novels that I so eagerly read in my teenage years? or is it the song and dance routine of the bollywood flicks? Worse still, is it the 'baring it all and plunging on to the next horizontal space available' syndrome of the hollywood flicks?? What is love?

It is february again and the world is going mushy and romantic. The stores are dressing up their windows with red teddies and white hearts, teenagers are eagerly awaiting that special call for the dinner date on V-day and the hospitality industry is cashing in on it big time. I am sure some producer will release a mushy love story that weekend with a chocolate faced hero and a 'cute as a button heroine' to melt the crowds. Roses, cards and perfumes will be sold in thousands, chocolates will be gifted, egos will be satisfied for a day and the day like all other days will end. Is this love then?

Love has always escaped definition, we know what love is not..but we are yet to pin down what love is.. or maybe.. that is what love is - a fleeting tempest - like the flickering candle, the passing wave, the dancing moon that hides behind the clouds the moment you gasp at its beauty, the fabled golden dear that tantalizes but cannot be captured.. the unknown dewy flower that beckons but when plucked fades off in our hands. The love that sets our hearts aflame by its freshness and romance, that makes us gaze yonder for hours and write poetry, or makes the most practical guy wait for hours at end for a glimpse of his beloved is definitely short lived. In a years time or less a routine develops and the heart does'nt come to the mouth each time you see your love at the end of the road, neither does it soar as high on getting a text message.. does that mean love is out of the window? When the gifts start to dwindle and the dates focus on the menu more than the attire.. is it the end of love? Maybe its the end of the romantic love and the candyfloss associated with it.. maybe its time to move on to discover the aftermath of the tempest! To relax in still waters, to wake up to the smell of familiar surroundings and the calm of an everlasting bond. Here the definition of love changes again from poetry to prose.. flowers though still appreciated might not top the list of priorities.. maybe a call is not made just to say 'I LOVE YOU!' maybe its not said at all anymore...But there is love, no doubt, in the unnoticed gesture that covers your feet with a blanket while you sleep, that ensures that the tank is full when you plan on taking the car out, that gives you your freedom to bitch about the increasing absence of love in today's life. Love might be less frequently visible in cards but the bills are paid and no questions asked. Love after its tumbling and gushing stream like stage has entered the laze of a river that feeds and nurtures, prods and protects, between the gentle reminder of the stream and the vastness of the upcoming ocean lies the most stable though tad boring phase of love.

Februaries will come and go..but love will be celebrated in every moment of togetherness, every gesture of care and every step taken towards a common goal. Love will shine through everyday humour as well as anxieties, it will take its course through illness and recession, it will hide and reinvent itself almost when we are about to give up on it, Love will see that it prevails through the phases and the years of our lives. Maybe love will teach us to enjoy and discover each of its phase as long as we can find where its hidden..we have cause to celebrate!!