1. Love out of sight
Dipesh Sujalgaonkar had done his computer engineering from Pune and a few months back, he got his first job in Magneto Solutions, an IT services multinational company, through a job consultancy. He worked in three different shifts: morning, afternoon, and night on a rotational basis. He lived in Saswad village near Pune, Maharashtra.
Once, he went to Jejuri to attend a marriage function of his distant relative with his parents unwillingly because during long weekend, he wanted to go for a small trip with his friends but instead, he was forced by his parents to attend this marriage. They were planning to project him as a prospective groom in the market of marriage. He had no intention to marry so early. He had a very different image of a life partner which he thought wouldn’t be ever found in such type of marriage functions.
The usual marriage rituals were going on and then he noticed her! He saw her running down the stairs wearing a glittering red Ghagra, green Choli. He was also wearing red Kurta and dark green jeans. She caught his attention immediately because she was very pretty, smiling, agile, delicate, and had a perfect figure that any healthy Indian girl could have!
And to his surprise, she came running to his parents standing nearby and touched their feet. Dipesh was sitting nearby on a chair with his cousins. He couldn't remove his eyes from that girl who was now going somewhere else.
Then she went back to a group of women and became busy doing the needful related to the marriage function. She fascinated him so much that he thought of enquiring about her but couldn't gather the courage to directly go to his parents and ask about her.
It wouldn't have looked good to show such eagerness, as a few of his cousins were also sitting with him.
Dipesh thought, "There is a possibility that one of my cousins may also be a prospective groom for the same girl or what if her engagement is already done?"
Till the marriage function finished, his eyes were on her movements, what she was wearing, the way she was smiling, the way she was running while adjusting her Ghagra skillfully, the way her long loose hair was covering her back, the way she carried herself confidently.
She also noticed many times that Dipesh was looking at her. She also threw a few mischievous looks at him. He once caught her looking at him, but she quickly moved her eyes away. However, he didn't get any chance to go and talk to her directly so that he could know more about her and observe her delicate beauty from a very close distance.
However, while all were having buffet lunch, his eyes were still searching for her. But now he couldn't find her. Post lunch he went to both the floors and casually checked everywhere in the marriage hall, but she was nowhere. Maybe she had left early with her parents?
Disappointed, Dipesh started climbing down then his phone rang. His father was calling.
"Beta, where are you? We must go now!", his father said in a worried tone.
"Yes, yes papa coming", Dipesh's voice seemed to be a bit lost.
Dipesh came down. His eyes were still looking at the stairs from where she had come down in the morning. It was the much-talked case of "love at first sight" for him. But currently, his love was "out of sight".
In the late afternoon, at the railway station, while Dipesh and his parents were waiting for their train, his eyes noticed the same girl. She was stepping onto another train that just had arrived.
Finally, he gathered the courage to ask his father, "Papa, who is that girl?"
"Which girl beta?", said his father throwing a meaningful look at Dipesh's mother.
Dipesh pointed towards the bogie however the train started leaving the station and he missed her, again!
"The same girl papa, which touched your feet in the morning!", said Dipesh.
Dipesh's father gave a suggestive look to his wife and told Dipesh, "I don't remember beta, which girl touched our feet? Many girls did it since morning."
"But anyway, what is that about the girl?", Dipesh's mother enquired further.
"Nothing. I simply asked!", Dipesh said hesitatingly.