Love at First Sight

Love at first sight! The most romantic idea sold to us by Bollywood films. "Subhanallah, pehli dafa hai /wallah, aisa hua" would the croon intone. Lyric after lyric, film after phillum. In the first flush of Sufi obsession that engulfs many a teenager. this "Laila ko dekhna hai to/Majnu ki nazar" stuff  is quite (in)toxic(ating). A mature novel like "Pride and Prejudice" sure corrects the illusion.

Do you think this dream of `love at first sight' is quite real? As for me, I am absolutely convinced that it is a fact. Want proof? Go to  the rather rickety Godrej cupboard, get yourself the family album, have a look at the pics of your babydom and childhood. So goofy are the snaps that you shudder with sheer horror. But, hey, look carefully. In the corner of that terror is the illuminated presence, your mother and your father. At times, alone; often, together. Lighted from within. The best proof ever of love at first sight.

Can you imagine a bawling-away-to-glory bod of wrinkled skin, bald head, a toothless mouth? Disgusting appears the very description! Hey, that is us all, the baby or the newborn version. What a sight to behold after nine long months of confinement(s) of all sorts, and the death-in-life kinda experience of natural birth! A creature that looks rather like a baby monkey, not to forget the matsyavtar/fingerling or the varahavtar/piglet that formed the bedrock of life according to the Purana's. A sight to design depressions of all types!

But, hey, no, Mother to that imp, she is actually brimming over  with love at the very first sight. Actually a vision that should give nightmares, but the father is bursting with proud joy. What more proof can there be of love at first sight?

This love at first sight, moreover, grows with years. No disappointment diminishes it. Ever forgiving, it never disappears, however harsh the child's words and/or actions could be. Tender yet tough, it disciplines us, the little devils that we are, it shapes our selves, it never disfigures our souls though. It flowers forever, blooming more with each stage of our growth. It is love that alters not with Time's compass. In fact, the older it is, the deeper it grows. Hosanna to that affection. Long live Love at First Sight!

Let me end the blog today with a sweet tribute to the best love at first sight feel:

"Chanda hai tu, mera sooraj hai tu

  oh, meri aakhon ka tara hai tu!"

pratima@ originary affaire de coeur