Our college had closed down for the diwali vacations. Vacation meant all kinds of hullabaloo…picnics…parties…maza…masti! My friend, Sana invites me to join her friends to a picnic at a hotspot on the outskirts of Mumbai. It’s a one-hour trek to the temple on the hills with lovely wooded surroundings.

We congregate at the designated railway station & then saunter to the intended destination. Tiny cosy hamlets spring out at  short intervals as we walk on. Sana introduces me to all her friends who had brought along some more friends from other colleges.

This was the first time I was going to a picnic without being escorted by a parent or teacher. We were seventeen & bursting with bubbly energy. The presence of boys made our hearts beat an extra skip as we headily walked in small groups.

Then I get introduced to Ajay Malhotra. He was an engineering student, about nineteen, 6ft 3” (about 187.5cms), looked like the Jedi of love (of course…my opinion has changed gears now when I think about it).

As we revel in the pristine nature walk, Ajay joins in & whispers ever so softly if I would like to be his friend. I looked puzzled coz I thought we already were friends. He gives me a look that’s probably not flattering my faculty of thought and reason. That does the trick and makes me understand the meaning of “ being friends”.

Though I’m effervescent with the adulation coming my way, I have a different perception of love Jedi Ajay’s intelligence stemming from the fact that I had still not shed my famous healthy drumstick look. And here he was…gawking with just the right tinge of interest to make me feel a bit proud of my hidden beauties. Even my underdeveloped jujubes (bor) were not going to make me feel awkward now.

And then there were the other girls who would have loved to be with him. So obviously he was good for me. But I still needed to consult my auxiliary support. So I inform Mr Jedi that I shall have a reply for him in the coming days.

I get the opportunity the very next day. Mum was cleaning fish focusing all concentration on not leaving a single scale behind. The opportunity was right & I had to take my chance now!

So the conversation starts about how she’s a genius with the fish curry, the frangipanis in the garden have blossomed in such abundance & could I say yes to a potential boyfriend…tick…tick…tick…silence!

She inquires about his ancestral bearings & gives me a nod. I’m perplexed at her reaction. I’m dismayed for not getting the opportunity to use the fireproof apparel that I was wearing to stick it out in case of any combustible situation arising from the information I was providing her.

She gently convinces me to meet him only in a group. She philosophizes that if he loves you…he shall wait! WAIT? Why wait?…..Ah ha….wait! I know all about….WAIT!

Thus starts my first love affair. Ajay conscientious comes to my college sacrificing his lectures to peep at me from across the coffee table at our college canteen & is ecstatic when I say yes.

After the initial euphoria of accomplishment, Ajay starts yeaning for private getaways. In the meanwhile I have been busy too. My Eros incarnate (greek god of love) has been placed on an exaggeratedly high pedestal to be worshipped, oblivious of his languishing desires.

As weeks zipped by…Ajay turned from a sweet ever caring boyfriend into a resentful yokelish individual. The huge mound of pride on which I stood was fast eroding. My blemishes were personified & being mentally obtuse was not much help to decipher the reason behind this unrest in our sanctum of love.

One day Ajay’s raging hormones gets the better of him & in a disjointed state he dissertated that his folks had found out about his supposed liaison with me & he could therefore no longer continue to see me.

All hell broke lose. I realized with painful surprise that I was capable of producing hundreds of gallons of saline liquids for days, all the time sympathizing with my dear Ajay & his predicament.

My auxiliary advisor wore a mask on learning of my busted fate. She sympathized & mumbled something like…there is a silver lining behind every broken heart.

Me : Maa…that’s supposed to be behind every cloud..not heart.

Maa : Oh! whatever!

Well…there was no silver lining in this case. I was branded & predicted to die a spinster’s death.

No guy wanted to be within a 100mt radius of me. And the ones who strayed were people who wanted my help to date my other girlfriends.

Redemption prevailed at last when I joined the Naval wing of the NCC (National Cadet Corp) where due to severe imbalance in the sex ratio; the saturating numbers did the trick. My confidence in my hidden beauty returned as I once again stood on the mound of  self-pride.