Lovingly yours...

It is indeed in the make-up of intellectual beings to inspire like minds. For instance, the very idea to jot this article for my blog. I know, it sounds boring for you to read another one after that sad tale of mine. But such are the ways of life,

“Pondering on thoughts I was,
there came Miss Walter with an applause,

Much to my amusement she did suggest,
Something in congruence to Zenny’s behest.

Yes I was ordered by my lady love
Once again to open my treasure trove

The trove in which I wove beautiful words
Words that mesmerised her like song of birds

So here I pen for my lovely girl
her mere presence makes my world swirl

Thoughts of whom makes my soul alive
nothing but an elixir, never fails to revive,

To deliver the magic of my Brown Book again
I hope I may not falter, nor my efforts go in vain.

Call it love, call it pain, call it patience or an art
Whatever that ensues has cometh from my heart...

Its been almost two years since we two had depart
This bond shall prosper even when death do us apart.

Insha Allah – Aameen.

This story here, is that part of my life, which is wonderfully painful, yet one of the best thing of things I have experienced. Shouldering the burden of a long-distance relationship isn’t a piece of cake for feeble souls. Nor that I am the master of this prowess. I would humbly say it is the genius of the sheer intensity of the bond and the joint willingness of two individuals to carry on their belief in each other. Relationships aren’t a hot theme to mince words on, rather from my eyes it is often a critique on a simple abstract of life such as a Wardrobe. Metaphorically partners have been reduced to the likes of attire, which a person may choose to switch at will. At least such is the fate of the relationships I have seen in recent times. I am indeed grateful to Almighty Allah for keeping things alive even after two years despite being separated by a mammoth distance and am thankful to this amazing lady for helping me keep it so.

The aforesaid thought of pain is an attribute of the sinking feeling; a feeling that I may experience due to the lack of family or companionship. Not to mention the obvious shortcoming of my psychological make-up. I hail from an extended-joint family and there hasn’t been a time as lonely as the aftermath of University days. For me it is tough to find a sense of direction even in simple chores of the day, as the void of an active social presence mauls me to no end. Imagine what it is to live life right from your birth amongst an extended-joint-family and suddenly being pushed to another horizon to manage things all alone. Yepp! A sense of Deja Vu prevails, especially if my mom’s not around to scold me to do this to do that. It is about time that I face the truth that I do need a partner who is a guide yet a tourist with me on this tour of life. I know only romantic fools think of someone’s waiting to go home to. But how humane can such thought be, after all I am bound to face such emotions considering am in love with this splendid lady.

The journey so far, to be exact 694 days from the time I first travelled this shores has been a gift to cherish. Not a gift for the pain of separateness and hardships, but for the fruit of patience and prudence that has kept the bond alive. Many lessons in humility has been learnt, for every callous catfights, for every arduous arguments, for every discerning disagreement and for every cordial congruence we shared, for every romantic repertoire we have, for every upbeat understanding we reach, for every magical moment we arrive and so on and on...

Often I am made to realise what a prized catch I have in you, but that is the fundamental difference between two words OWN and POSSESS. For you see, owning brings privilege to the object, while possession is nothing but pride that accompanies the object. So much so that if I be the object then I’d liked to be owned by you and if you be the object then it is my privilege to possess. It reminds me of Ketki’s banter on how you had that spark for me which she is consistently able to see since the last six years of our association. And it is not for her telling that I know what you have for me, but it is for my asking despite knowing the subliminal truth you behold for me. The condition which I go throw is similar to that of a child who is on his way to the ice-cream parlour, but still needs to be reassured time and again that he will surely have the candy once they reach, no matter how concrete and convincing the promise is, still the child needs those assuring words. Apparently that is the dose which Ketki gave me, in her words “Aarif you are very lucky to have her”, little did she know, that is what I wanted to hear. So now you know where the child in me comes from.


Every time we speak I bore you to no length with romantic words that I mince, yet you choose to call everyday to hear the same concoction time and again. Wonder how much persistence love has taught you, how much patience has distance engrained in you. To my luck hope hasn’t run out for both of us. And partly we both are indebted to many of our friends who value our bond, who never fail to appreciate the togetherness we share. And I promise them that if Allah willing, they soon shall see a day, which will be a day of days for me at least, when I seal my bond with you.


Until then the story of this long-distance relationship
shall see days and nights, seasons and reasons,
to mature and teach some sweet and unpleasant lessons.

But my gorgeous lady as I say,
if life has to go this way,

I have no complain,
Coz still then with yours my name will remain.

I am glad that you are with me,
Making every breath a reason to be.

Here I end my praise in words for you
But deep down my heart it shall forever continue...

My experiment with the truth.

What is life in solace, wonder how it takes you for a spin even before you’ve realised that you are in a rut. My experience with this coarse truth has been a modest journey of 8 months. Flying abroad for higher studies in most cases has been a bollywoodishly stereotypical experience, fantasy of which is subconsciously fixated in modern Indian youngsters. Thanks to the plethora of bollywood flicks and the Phekta Kapoor’s K-wonder soap opera that has endlessly portrayed the protagonist taking up higher studies abroad, not to mention the classic MBA for God Sake!

Well after being there and done that, and acquiring sanity upon completion of the whole journey, only one question haunts me, SO WHAT??? Was it worth to travel the distance, invest or rather waste garish amount of money to acquire something which every tom dick and harry has these days. And my self-assessing response has intimidated me to no length. I can rather be euphemistic about it and accept it as part and parcel of trial and error phenomenon but that would again be kidding myself. If there was one thing which I had ever looked forward to in life, it was a career in advertising. I was fortunate enough to get a handle on it for a while, but only did I know then to not let it go.

Best friends are meant to perk up things in life for good, but sometimes their well-wishes often kick you in the ass and seldom does any premonition come to the rescue. In my case the bonhomie of the situation echoed on a flip note. The do-goody advice not only kicked me in the face, but also I was betrayed with the absence of any presentiment. Partly I am supposed to be blamed, coz I was foolish enough not to realise the repercussions before it was too late. Hey Deval you require a special mention in this article, as it was you who was my support system during the BMS dayz. You were the true motivator I could have had on the professional level. I knew I had that creative streak in me (which you always made me notice), but some things are only meant for college days i guess.

I remember your lines you told me on 17th September 2006 @ Mumbai Airport. “Saale agar tune Finance liya toh main tujhe bamboo ghusayega” I wish I would have been deaf for that moment, or else would have overcame the fear of Bamboo. I knew you had great confidence in me as a marketing person, but now I think I would have done better had I taken MBA Finance, sometimes the in-thing that is not your prowess may prove a better option than the thing you do best. At least this shall hold true for me until I find a successful disposition to dispose the aforesaid thought.

The obvious truth that occurred to me after six months of graduating as an MBA Marketing is nothing short of an irony. “IT IS DIFFICULT TO MARKET YOURSELF IF YOU ARE A MARKETING PROFESSIONAL, HOWEVER ITS EASIEIR TO FINANCE THYSELF IF YE BELONG TO FINANCE”. Now my friend I regret not to take up finance as an option, coz if seeing is believing, then am pretty sure most of my Finance batch mates have found some sense of direction on the career front, however with certain iota of patience I would say I can still see myself and other marketing brats still juggling for that big break. Perhaps it is the destiny of the ore to pass through the hottest of the furnace to see the day as the toughest steel. Sometimes I believe the current phase is the proverbial furnace that life has to offer and I can only expect to meet the dawn when i shall see myself as the steel.

By the way no matter how much optimism i may enthuse in this process, it has made me realise that this stage of my life; where i believe am in a rut, is a make or break situation. Either I may get flushed out as a by-product of metallurgy or else come out a winner – the true steel. Am often cornered with thoughts about slumping into depression soon, but people around me has kept me sailing yet. Thank you Dear Ammi, Abba, Chachas, Chachis, Bhaijaans, Bhabhis, Friends and my lovely Zenny for speaking to me day in and day out, keeping me sane and confident and remembering me in your prayers. It is for you people that am still hoping for good things to come and I shall overcome this not-so-bad-days soon Insha Allah. On a positive note I would like to share the obvious philosophy learnt in these 8 months. There may come a time in life when ye may feel nothing’s happening, life has come to a standstill – but that is for sure not the end my friend. Once the wheel starts moving then there is no looking back and trust me a day will come. Until then keep faith, have patience and try harder!!! And for Heaven’s sake don’t get too filmi about studying abroad. Coz that is where the whole problem starts...