Naati Charami The Game of Love

It was 15 August 2007, a remarkable day! Independent India had turned sixty with glitter and glaze……… August 15, 2007 – it was Swati’s sixtieth birthday………. Today, for the first time in her sixty years, she was the happiest and was feeling complete. Her life had some meaning. Her principles, her ideals, her dreams, and her hard work had started reaping fruits! …………. “Just like me, India too is celebrating sixty years of independence.” There was an announcement, requesting H. E. Mohana Guru Murthy to say a few words on the occasion. “……We have our independence today, and all that we enjoy today is a gift given in a golden platter to us by our fathers and forefathers…………. “……….We must realise always rights bring responsibilities on our shoulders. India has a character, and its fabric is woven by generosity, hospitality, harmony, peace, love, and sacrifice……” ….. “No one’s life is a bed of roses or a cakewalk! We need to sow the seeds of love to reap the fruits!” Her lips trembled, but the words didn’t come out……..” …..Charmi kept saying, “I am capable. I can take care of myself. I need someone who can be my partner and with whom I can gel.” “What gel? What nonsense? Your mother has taught you all this. She and her women’s lib, her discourses on freedom, and all this have gone to your head. She is the culprit,’ Guru shouted vehemently……” ……“Swati, I am very proud of your capabilities, but education is not only for earning money. We need to look at it as a tool that better trains us, prepares us for eventualities, and gives us the mental balance. It is especially important for women who bring up children to become better human beings and responsible citizens for a happy living.”…. ………Swati thought, “How funny human nature is! Where there is love, there is jealousy. Where there is love, there is hatred. Where there is love, there is sentiment and emotion too. Jealousy and hatred are human weaknesses, whereas sentiments do cause problems, but without sentiments, it is like having food without salt and spice. There is no much fun in life. So logically problems are fun in life.”……… ……. “Swati, I told you many times, I cannot change my faith that has made me today what I am!’ She maintained silence. ‘Our fathers, forefathers, and all our ancestry taught us some values and principles. I don’t think I could disobey and insult my upbringing.” Guru was very cool, very balanced, and very clear in his thought…….. …………..Ms Kay La sat in front of her dressing table. She looked at herself. She had beauty, riches, fame, friends, and well-wishers. “Where was this agony hiding? Where was this loneliness all these years? Why suddenly now, so vulnerable and dying for love and affection?”………. ………….. “I am also all alone. I left my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and my friends and came out of my house. I have everything that everyone doesn’t have, but I don’t have anything that everyone has! It is very ironical but a fact.”…………… ………….. “Which dharma says, kill your conscience? Why cannot we disagree but still live without being disagreeable? Is it human ego that stands between two people, making them the bitterest of enemies? Or is it desire that is the root cause of all sufferings of human beings? Is it true that unfulfilled desire creates anger and then anger leads to unhappy and unwanted situations?”……….. …….Jagannadha Sastry was lying on his bed. If he closed his eyes, the gruesome past was making him restless. How rigid was his thinking, how powerful was his word, and how committed was he to the rituals, pujas, and religion! Everything else looked so petty and useless! “Was it the same life? Was I the same person? How could I be so ignorant and stubborn and ready to sacrifice my own daughter, an innocent girl, who hasn’t learnt the subtleties of the world? She was like a tender, delicate bud, ready to blossom.”…………… ……… “She had seen so many wonderful love stories in life, but this was most amazing, unique, and ethereal – for so many years, no, for decades, living side by side, two young people extremely in love. But body didn’t matter when souls were united, and they could perfectly enjoy the priceless togetherness.”………. ………Lakshmi Prasanna said softly with her ever-shining smile, “All this is in the name of love. According to our sastras, “If a father’s love forms a golden cage for his daughter, a man builds a marble fortress for his love and a son ties the heart and soul with delicate strings of love!” From any angle, she is tied but how deftly she frees it is her life!’ ‘How deftly she frees it is her life. How true!’ Swati looked at Lakshmi Prasanna in total admiration…………..