Happy Birthday Blog!!!!

I started writing 8 years back. Then, I was sad, lonely and wanted to talk it out. I wanted to yell my feelings. I was naive, stupid, a bit arrogant too. I started blogging in October 2008. I have never celebrated my blog's birthday, mostly because I think of celebrating around July-August of every year but forget by the end of September.

So, this year I have decided to celebrate my blog's Happy Birthday.

I have chosen a few couples; my classmates, colleagues, and friends.

I am going to have real life love stories.

Each story will be written by the couple themselves and one story each will be published every Monday, all of October.

Enjoy reading them, and don't forget to wish "Happy Birthday" to my blog.

Love Story 1 - When Kolkata met Mumbai

Love Story 2 - US

Love Story 3 - Destined to be together

Love Story 4 - Raja Hindustani

Love Story 5 - Knight in Shining Armor

8th bday guest post 6: Knight in Shining Armour by Sandhya

I wanted the best story of all to be on the last Monday of my blog's birthday month and the last day of the birthday month.
When I was scrolling my Facebook searching for a couple for my last story, I came across one of Sandhya's post, and I was like why not, I was sure that a super cute girl like her has to have an amazing story to share.
When I asked her to write, I knew nothing about her life, all I knew was this bubbly, beautiful woman with a great penchant for food. She was nervous when she submitted her post. And I fell in love with this post instantly.

This post is written by the very pretty, Sandhya. She has used the third person voice in her love story. 

Here is Sandhya's story

Through blurred eye she stared at the mirror… the swelling reduced, allowed her to look at the pale lost person staring back. Bruises from the day before and of many days of the past still showed. She felt groggy…..The details of the night before still played in her head.

It was the day she realized who her true knight was…..he wasn’t who she pictured like that at all.

But it’s he who saved her…

All of five, the little one staunchly stood between her and the figure that towered over them both.

There, curled up on the bare floor, through a bleeding nose and groggy eyes, she saw her true savior… her faith in the most unselfish love renewed.

The little one, of who she was the protector for 9 months and more, was suddenly the reason she was alive…. her reason to be alive.

But was she really?

For her little knight, she was the ultimate …supermom, super ‘Boss’ best tickle bunny partner…super chef…super everything. But only she knew the burden of not loving oneself.

But suddenly, that day, in front of the mirror, things started getting clearer and more vivid than before.

PC: clipartkid

As the day wore and the evening set in, Sandhya decided it was time to put things in the past, and move on…it was time to fall in love again. Find that person who she once was…that carefree happy go lucky person she once was.

It’s not easy you know… once bitten twice shy. But her little knight egged on….. unknowingly , nonchalantly , every day…every moment.

Determined she moved forward, promising not to stop till she finds herself…finds Love …again

Then , when she did set on that journey of discovery …every day has been a celebration…every moment to be rejoiced.

The little girl hidden within slowly emerged, shyly at first…little by little, day by day…

Cooking with a hum, learning something new every year, taking that morning walk, gardening, sketching, travelling with her knight, exploring new nooks to have that hot breakfast or the best new ice-cream in town, catching up on a movie , reading that bestseller with the nicest filter kaapi, she suddenly enjoyed this new company … she discovered the best relationship she could have.. that one self she could love… needs to love the most …. Herself. Not the shadow that she had become, but the true reflection of she was…. And thus she fell in love again.

Suddenly , there was new meaning in life again, letting go of the past was her best way to find herself…find love

Laughing  unabashedly.. that loud laugh, head tilting ,loud ,unapologetic filled with true glee,

Following her little dreams, making honest memories to cherish , watching her knight grow to be promising your lad , in loving herself did she truly discover what loving anyone else was.

Suddenly, all the songs were about her…… sigh! And the journey has only just begun…picture abhi baaki hai dost….. definitely not yet The End!

My Note: I have edited some parts, some words, some tones in my previous birthday stories of my guests. But, this story, I did not feel like editing anything. I wanted the story and its emotion to be the way it was written by its author. Thank you Sandhya for sharing this lovely post and making my blog's birthday super special. I have read this story at least 30 times before posting just to get the feel of that emotion. XOXO. God Bless you and your knight.

8th Birthday guest post 4: Raja Hindustani by Pranali

Its guest post birthday Monday again. Our fourth story is from an ever bubbly, super cute, model looking girl Pranali. She is an inspiration to look up to. Salutes to her achievements at this tiny age. She is a rock star in my eyes. 

Pranali says -

So "Raja Hindustani" that's what our friends  say about our relationship. Roller coaster ride of 8 wonderful years.  

From the time I was a teen I had been clear about one thing in my life, that any heart related matters, any boy related matters will first have to be approved by my family.

Valentines day of 2009 is the day we met for the first time -14th February 2009. 

He was my neighbor. Tall, dark and charming is what I would say, my eyes saw. I was kind of floored already but I had my self set "family approval" conditions in my head.

So when Mr. Raja Hindustani proposed me after a week, I went to my mother and explained, I told her what I felt and after two weeks of discussions, arguments, changing conclusions, I managed to convince my family.

PC: youtube

That evening, I confessed my love to the man who loves me much more than I do, and the joy, the blush, that butterfly feeling cannot be explained in words.

I realized its not the end of this story, its just a tiny beginning, the journey from I to We and in that "we" its not only me and him but almost all who do has significant contribution in our life like our parents, siblings, extended family and ofcourse our friends

We did have our moments of downs too. Those fights, arguments, tears, long phone calls, smses. We have more up's than downs I must say, had those super cherish able memories in the past 7 years.

We are both family-oriented people and we want to fulfill both our families expectations. I am grateful to have a very supportive family and more importantly my Raja Hindustani- Sachin, who stood by me in all my thick and thin.

After 8 years of wonderful journey, when I look back, I can only be grateful to God who gave me Sachin and I pray to be blessed by Ganpati Bappa to continue my journey forever as Mrs. Sachin from November 25th on wards.

My Note: 8 years and many more to come. God bless you Pranali and Sachin, you guys make a cute couple. and Thanks for sharing your story with me. Lots of Love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG!!!

8th bday guest post 3: Destined to be together by him

This is not just another Monday. This is the third Monday of my blogs birthday month and here today I present the love story of one of the cutest couple I know. A boy with an amazing sense of humor and a girl with a charming smile. Their chemistry is so evident in the pictures they post. Both are animal lovers and have adopted a a cute and shy little dog

Well, here is the story from His side

I had no real reason to hate Her. I just did. Every time I saw Her in office, I would wonder “Who the fuck does she think she is?!?!” 

She had joined work just a few months before me but she already seemed to walk around like she owned the place and everything and everyone in it. And that included me. And that I couldn’t take. She had a boyfriend, who worked in the same office and every time I saw them together, I didn’t know who to feel bad for. We worked together for a couple of months and then I moved out of that job.

I moved around for a few years, freelancing for different companies just to see all that was out there. I wanted to try out all the pastures before I settled down with a little piece of land for good. I had the exact same philosophy when it came to relationships.

About 3 years later, I was on a new project and a few days into it, I was told that some new team members would be joining us for a meeting. As I walked into the conference room, I just saw the back of Her head and knew who it was. I made a sly, mean remark that was intended to imply friendliness and familiarity. It wasn’t taken kindly. 

Over the next couple of months, I realized that I couldn’t connect with any of the other team members and that if I was to have a friend in the entire team, it would have to be Her. The fact that she felt the same way made it easier for us to get along.

By the time that project had come to an end, we both had realized that there was more to this friendship than either of us had intended. It didn’t bother me so much but I imagined my girlfriend would have something to say about this and Her boyfriend (the same one), would definitely have fistfuls to say. As time passed, things started to heat up and after a point they were too hot to handle. I was single again, not because I wanted to be with Her forever but because I realized that my current relationship wasn’t going anywhere, at least for me. Soon, we were in that strange zone where neither of us knew what was happening but we wanted to see where things could go. When things began to become serious, I did the only thing I knew how to do – I ran!

I ran away, out into the open. Ran into a couple of girls but then kept on running. All this, while I was still in touch with Her. She was also single now. After a lot of meetings and discussions, we decided to officially start dating. It was great to finally be with her and not have to hide from the world. Things moved ahead, she moved in and once again, life was good. Soon, her parents, who were more than happy that her previous relationship had ended, started pressuring her to get married to a nice boy. Meetings were being setup and profiles were being shared. I knew all of this was happening and when she asked me about our future together, I still had only one phrase that was harmless and yet effective, “I don’t know”.

PC; quoteaddicts

One fine day, she put her foot down and asked me what I wanted. I told her that I wasn't ready for a lifelong commitment yet. That night she moved out, with all her stuff. The next morning, when I woke up and my hand searched for her on the other side of the bed and found nothing, I knew I was in trouble. I woke up! I decided that I never want to wake up and not find her beside me, ever again!

I decided that in the evening, I would meet her and propose to her. I met a friend and told her about my plans. She was excited, more so because she had never seen me so excited. After a while, a fear set in – what if evening would be too late? I made the call. I told her what happened in the morning and I told her that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. We waited till the evening to actually meet up. I got her a nice little symbolic ring and we had a little celebration that night.

This was the fun part of the story. The drama was yet to begin. Parents got involved. Religion became a problem. Conversion was thrown up as an option. Parents got angry. Eventually we realized this is the price we had to pay and that we were more than happy to pay it as long as we could be with each other. In the years that followed, she managed to turn me into a more responsible man, a more sensitive man, an animal lover and so much more. It’s been 4 years since we exchanged our vows in front of the fire but the fire still burns and she still wows me every day. And yes, I never wake up to an empty bed.

My note: My first reaction was, "This could be a movie script". I love love-stories especially the ones that are so cute. I so want to know her version of the story too. 

Thank you buddy for sharing your story. May you and her be blessed forever.

8th bday guest post 2: Ush + Sid = US

Its the second Monday of this blog's birthday month and as promised here is the second story of the birthday month.
This is the story of a very cute friend, whom I know from Orkut days, and then we met and I realized she is such a cute Leo. Her man, Sid, well I don't know much about him.
Let me introduce our couple of the day, Usha and Siddharth and their POV's on how their story started

Usha says,

The moment I met this guy, I was super disoriented. So charming!! But my brain sent out warning signals to my heart: Don't fall for this guy. And with good reason, too. I mean he's cute and has a heart-melting smile, but He is also super forgetful, very unromantic (which is very difficult for the romantic in me to digest), no sweeping-off-the-feet and he talks more than me (which is saying something). Basically not what I had in mind.

But seldom does the heart listen!

Differences apart, Sid and I are alike in so many ways. We both love travel, and love to eat. He does random, stupid shit with me and balances out my crazy with his sanity. He chatters away endlessly and is the most enthusiastic, mad, crazy person I have met. 
He gushes when I do the smallest thing for him. and once in a while, if I'm really lucky, he does cute romantic gestures too, and is then engulfed by disbelief at how I've managed to make him a sappy cow!
You can never be pissed at him for long - he'll smile and sing a cheesy song, and you will instantly forget what you were mad about. He makes me laugh like no one else can, and makes me feel very special and loved.

As I said, he is not the kind of guy I had hoped to end up with. He is much, much more than what I had hoped for. And I'm glad that I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with my best friend, who happens to be my lover, who happens to be my everything.

Siddharth says,

It was love at first sight. Not quite the orchestra playing Beethoven symphony or anything, my lame heart just chose to skip a beat.  And trust me, it persists even today when I see her.

That smile of hers, oh which completely blew me away and made me go to a world of the pleasant unknown still reminds me of the first time I had rajma in college. Yes! rajma was exceptionally good. Speaking of which this girl is an amazing cook. This I assume is a quality every foodie would want his spouse to have. I'm lucky that way.

Her giggle will make you forget all the sorrows in this world and her anger will make u recollect your slightest mistakes. You act all funny with her and you've had it.  It's amen from there!

Her eyes tell a story which one would never want to see end . She hates it when people lie and loves it when pampered.  
I suck at the latter and am too good at the former. Guess I would eventually learn to suck at lying too. She'll support you and pep you up while you're at an emotional ebb and convert all that negative energy to positive ones. She truly has the Midas touch.

She is the best gift i never thought would get to spend the rest of my life with and would love her with the same zeal I did when I first met her. And that's a promise I'll keep until I live!

My Note: Super cute couple. God Bless you guys forever and thanks for sharing your story for my blog's birthday month. Cheers!

8th bday guest post 1: When Kolkata Met Mumbai by Lakshmi Ajoy

The first story of the birthday month starts with a post from my school friend. A very talented, bubbly girl Lakshmi and her husband Ajoy. Lakshmi is a jewelry designer and a mother of two beautiful daughters.

Lakshmi says

Where Mumbai meets Kolkata...
------------------------------------------
The year of 2005 saw me turning into a young, dynamic, confident, educated and bold young lady- all of 23! I had a great job, was about to appear for my graduation finals in March and already had a degree in Hotel Management. 

The Tamil festival "Pongal" was round the corner and the family had the opinion that the birth of the harvest festival would usher in some good news. Thus, began the soul-mate hunting for me without 'My' knowledge. 

A trip to Shirdi later that month revealed the secrets in my parents' minds. They had begun hunting for an ideal "husband" for me.
This revelation was shocking and I, being a rebel, fought with my family for days end before a sick bedridden grandma and my overtly emotional parents convinced me that the hunt that had just begun would take no less than two years to finalize a match. That sounded a bit convincing to me, two years is enough time to set my career.

A few eager parents of the prospective grooms made random calls to try and match horoscopes and exchange pictures. Nothing seemed to be  working and I was secretly feeling elated. I had better things to focus on; a job as a duty manager in the hotel industry and the finals of my Bachelors in Arts that was round the corner. 
Amidst serious preparations and the exams lurking around a week ahead, the phone bell rang one lazy afternoon with everyone else tucked in bed enjoying a post lunch siesta and me buried with my head in one fat book.

With no one else to pick the call, I reached for it and a sweet voice on the other end went: "Hello! Is this the residence of Mr. Radhakrishnan?"
Me: "Yes, it is. How can I help you?"
Voice: "We have found his daughter, Lakshmi's horoscope matching out son's. Actually, we are from Kolkata and a trip to Mumbai is soon on our cards. Would it be convenient for us to visit your place anytime next week?"
Me: (pausing in shock)" Hmm... I guess I could note your contact number and pass the same to my father. He will get back to you by evening today"

What followed was a series of fast forwarding events. The return phone call, the visit from the parents of the prospective groom-to-be with their elder daughter in law, exchanging photographs, some songs, long conversations, evening snacks and then email ids, my final graduation exam papers, our visit to the groom-to-be's aunt's house at Andheri and done!
The match making was finalized by the parents of both the parties without the groom to be and the bride to be meeting each other face to face.

Way back in 2005, India was still way behind in technology and Yahoo! was probably the only most popular mailing site and Yahoo! messenger was probably the only chat option available with voice hearing technology. The video calling, Skype and chats were a distant dream.

From the first mail that I sent out to the prospective groom whom I hadn't met him and only seen a couple of his photographs on the 2nd of April, 2005, the return mail acknowledging the receipt of my mail, from the first phone call on the 5th of May 2005, to several hours of International satellite calling every single day thereafter, the Cupid had already struck!
By the end of June, both Ajoy(the groom to be) and me (Lakshmi- the rebellious then; not so rebellious now bride to be) were head over heels in love. All without even meeting each other in person.

The dates for the D- Day was fixed, the venue was booked, advance payments made, shopping had fervently begun, decorators and caterers were finalized and yet, both Ajoy and me were waiting to meet eye to eye. The long wait of this long distance love was finally set to break when the dates of Ajoy's arrival was fixed. The company had booked his tickets and his sign off dates were decided from the ship on which he was sailing as a third mate at that time.
His parents had booked tickets to Mumbai from Kolkata as Ajoy said he wouldn't fly Kolkata directly without meeting the girl he is planning to marry.

PC: Pintrest

Eager preparations were on and the day arrived on the fateful month of July, 2005 when Mumbai was drowning in its monsoon floods. Nevertheless, no calamity could keep at bay the love birds longing to catch sight of one another. 21st of July, 2005. Ajoy's flight from Geelong, Australia to Mumbai landed at 19:45 after hours of delay owing to rough weather conditions. The family of both the parties were all set to welcome the groom to be. I was dressed in a royal salwar suit with minimal makeup but a natural glow on my face and sparkle in my eyes. The announcement of the flight's arrival was made, passengers had disembarked and crowd from the flight had begun to thin out. My sailor boy was no where in sight. I was nervous, hands had turned icy cold in anxiety and every second seemed like an hour. Finally, from far, I could see a figure emerge from the corner. My heart was quite sure it was "him" but my mind refused to accept. As the figure drew to a close, Ajoy headed straight towards me and just pushing his suitcase and jacket he had in his hands, his majestic frame and muscular arms enveloped me into a warm, comforting bear hug. The moment was frozen and their dreams had come true at last. The love birds had met.

My note: I loved the narration, so heartfelt, gives this warm feeling all through. Thanks Lakshmi for sharing your story. May God bless you and your family forever. Amen!