L.I.V.E.: Chapters of Life

Copyright © 2017 by Bali.D.Sanghvi.

ISBN:      Softcover           978-1-5437-0085-5

               eBook               978-1-5437-0084-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Partridge India

000 800 10062 62

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

Contents

Introduction

1)   Through The Storm

a)   The Home Of Narendra And Asha By Sanjeev Sood

b)   Zillion Glow-Worms By Ramnita Sharda

c)   My Life With Misal By Rachna Mehta

d)   The Big Picture By Shoumik De

2)   Unfinished Love Stories

a.)   At Moment In Barista….. By Bali.d.sanghvi

b.)   Oranges By Baisali Chatterjee Dutt

c.)   Pink Slip-On With A Yellow Flower By Shoumik De

d.)   Coffee Break By Bali.d.sanghvi

e.)   I Was By Smita Ganeriwala

f.)   The Face By Bali.d.sanghvi

3)   Unconventional Love Stories

a)   Late Nights….. By Bali.d.sanghvi

b)   Love Story By Aamrapali Bhogle

c)   Cupid By Bali.d.sanghvi

d)   Two Men By Vasundhara

e)   Whispered Secrets By Khushi Mehta

4)   Parental Love

a)   Till You Come Back Again By Bali.d.sanghvi

b)   Me, #Mothertobe Or #Nevertobe? By Jignesha Bhansali

5)   Feelings

a)   Dreams?!? By Bali.d.sanghvi

b)   ….That She Loved Him By Bali.d.sanghvi

c)   Soulmates By Simoni Zaveri Choksi

d)   Voices By Bali.d.sanghvi

e)   It Belongs, Even In Our Absence By Pushpendra Pandya

6)   Three Line Stories

a)   Three Line Stories By Bali.d.sanghvi

b)   Three Line Story By Ipshita Banerjee Bhandary

Credits

Thank You is a small word to show the immense gratitude towards a few who have made the journey of this book, so very meaningful.

This book, or for that matter, any book would not have been possible without the love and understanding of my husband, Darshan, who is my reason for living and who has truly taught me the meaning of Love in all forms. I have to thank my stars, my twin boys, Vivaan & Vedant, who have brought out a different kind of love in me, the love, which is so unconditional.

Shouting out a big, big Thank You to the editor of this book, my lovely niece Khushi Mehta who is a brilliant writer, the one to watch out for and to Ayushi Mehta, without whom, I would never have discovered Khushi’s talent.

And lastly, a heartfelt thank you to all those who have loved me- as a daughter, a friend, a sister, a wife, a teacher, a mother, a counselor, a guide and sometimes without the label of any of these. I am blessed to have loved people who have loved me back because that is what makes my life so complete. I am blessed to have loved people who did not love me back, because they have taught me how to love without expectations and I have been immensely blessed to be loved by people whom I could not love back, because they have taught me that you don’t need to be ‘someone’ to fall in love with. All you had to be… was simply YOU!

Heartfelt Gratitude, till the end of my life.

This book is a special dedication to that one person who still takes my breath away: my husband, my life, Darshan, my boys, Vivaan & Vedant and finally to the origin of my life: my mother, my shadow, my soul: The late Mrs. Shilpa Bhansali: no matter where you are, I carry you within me and I will always, always love you… till the end… and beyond time.

Introduction

‘Sometimes you can’t explain what you see in a person….It’s just the way they take you to a place where no one else can…’

What’s in the bag??love… love…love all the way!!!!

It has been quite a journey compiling this book, as with each story that I have read, something deep has stirred within me. I have seen love from a different perspective….

I have seen love through the eyes of the common, the wild, the suppressed, the shy, the bold, the romantic and the old…

I have seen love that crosses the barriers of age and society in the beautifully narrated story by Vasundhara… love that is so pure that it does not need a touch to prove how deep it is…..

I have felt a pang of sadness reading the beautiful poem by Baisali about two women who love each other but are forced to let go because of the society.

I have seen the strength of love in Rachna’s story as she describes her husband’s death and the courage she shows to move on in life, raising her children…

I have read stories that have melted my heart and made me realize that sometimes love only needs three lines to be told…..

I have read stories about women struggling to have children and have understood the deeper meaning behind "I have loved you, even before I saw you’, as it is so beautifully expressed in Jignesha’s story

Shoumik’s story is poignant,`Simoni beautifully expresses what soul mates mean to her & Khushi talks of a love that is present all around us but we rarely acknowledge that because we keep looking for the love that is ‘romantic’ to us. Smita’s story talks about love over decades, Ramnitaji touches our heart with a story that is hidden in almost every single household in India: loving someone and marrying another but at the same time, the power of love that pulls us through life, Pushpendra’s love story written in a simple yet beautiful manner, Aamrapali’s take on the role of the partners and finally Sanjeevji’s beautiful story about how love rises above looks and perfection….

To each one of us, love is a different feeling and experience. However, one thing stands true for almost everybody: it is a beautiful emotion for anyone who feels it. Love is like watching your favorite TV show, cuddled in a blanket, lying on a sofa while it gently rains outside, and you have a hot bowl of Maggi to gulp it all down, every day. It’s like finishing your favorite book for the tenth time and feeling a connection to something unknown in the world. It’s like watching an extremely sad movie and bawling your eyes out even though you don’t have cancer, your husband is not dead, and your dog did not get hit by a truck. It’s like eating that one food that you have been craving for an entire week and finally achieving a divine level of satisfaction in the first bite.

Love is everything…it keeps us together, it makes the world go around, and you may curse me and call me a hopeless romantic when I say this, but it is what has kept us so human for so long. Psychologically speaking, love may just be a bundle of hormones running wild through your entire body, but emotionally, love strikes a chord much deeper than that. And it may not only be romantic love. It could be your love for a fictional character, a totally irrational love for Korean dramas, or maybe even your love for a sport, it all boils down to one simple fact, at the end of the day: you’re at peace whenever you’re in the vicinity of it.

Here, we have compiled stories that relate to this very feeling. This feeling of love, magic, and hope that each of us experience.

We hope that you enjoy reading through the many perspective people have on this very mysterious emotion.

Let’s start reading, shall we?

Bali.D.Sanghvi & Khushi Mehta

THROUGH THE STORM

The devil whispered into my ears, ‘You cannot withstand the storm…’ I smiled at him and whispered back, ‘I am the Storm

The Home Of Narendra And Asha

I would first like to clarify that this is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are the product of author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Many a times I have experienced that life may not give all to you, but it does leave certain doors open.

Narendra was born in early sixties, youngest of four brothers and a sister. An average looking child, dark complexioned and he did not show any promise. His was a middle class family, residing in a small town in North India. He was a happy child; playful and always smiling. In time he was enrolled in a school, just like his siblings. He was an average student for the first four years and then his grades started to fall. The teachers complained that he did not do his homework and did not read in the class. His brothers and class mates complained that he no longer liked to play with them. On rare occasions when he did join his friends, he could not run as fast as them and he just could not catch the ball in a game of catch and throw. His parents got worried and took him to a doctor. To everybody’s horror it was discovered that Narendra was losing his eye sight. He stopped attending school and in a few months’ time he became blind. His childhood, however, did not end there. He still enjoyed the soft rain on his face, he still climbed to the roof of his house when his brothers went there to fly kites and he could hear the bell of kulfiwala before anyone else. In fact he could hear everything before anyone else.

The years went by and he entered his teens. His parents were constantly worried about him. How will he survive? As was the custom of that time, he was put in a vocational training course run by a charitable foundation and he started learning how to make cane chairs. He learnt the art and made and sold chairs through the foundation but his heart was not in it. Soon he left that and passed his days sitting in the neighborhood temple. Nobody knows what went through his mind but he sat there quietly. Then he was put in a music class by his now ageing parents, again as per the custom for blind people of that time. He learnt how to play the harmonium and became part of a musical troupe which played during public functions in temples etc. He did earn some money but his heart was not in it. In the meantime his brothers and sister got married and started living separately with their own families. One day, his father succumbed to an illness and now Narendra was left in his house with only his mother to look after him. He sold chairs, played music during public festivals like Diwali and Dushehra and pulled along. He never asked anyone for money. Even when it was offered by his elder brothers, he never accepted it. Everybody found it strange; after all he was a handicapped person and had all the rights to live off the largess of his family. But Narendra was very clear in his mind, he will not accept charity. This possibly was the reason why he did not like playing music during festivals. He felt that he was being paid