My Love Story - Blog

More than a decade ago, a rather young and vibrant soul of mine in –teen years took a twist. In words of Rumi, “No, I’m not roaming aimlessly around the streets and bazaar. I’m a lover, searching for his beloved”. For the first time in my life, I were to travel to Lahore – a “crush” city for millions of us living hundreds of miles away from it. With unprecedented butterflies in my stomach, I set off towards, well dare I say, towards the “would-be, love of my life.” Just as we approached the marvel city, a unique giddy feeling started to creep in. At the moment, I brushed it off by thinking it was merely an excitement of finally getting to see Lahore. But it was more than that. I entered into this holy grail to never get out of it ever again. Coincidentally, the famous old cliché “Jinnay Lahore naii vykhyaa, o jammiyaa e naii” was over too. But “never knew that it could mean so much”. Awestruck by aura, my heart was slowly and silently leaving its place - By the pull of something unknown at that point, yet so strong.

And then again, like a nucleus’ pull of having countless electrons revolving around in its orbit, the beloved Lahore does the same to every person. Love has something extra in it. Even you get to periphery of it, you’re bound to be caught in attraction no matter what. And just like a mother, Lahore embraces every new person as if he/she was her first kid. My first sight of Lahore had me in its deep gravity – a gravity of seeing historical places as you’d guess, and there was no way out. While it was a first sight and was a mere two days visit but it seemed an eternity. And it was just the beginning, a quiet expression of love. Just like a couple on their first date, almost speechless yet vibing each other off.

Some years later, the deeper pull of love had me back to where it all started. The love was about to be rejuvenated all of a sudden and long-distant wait was over again as I got admission in UET Lahore. There’s something about love, you just can’t seem to get enough of it. It seems to satiate the thirst but upto a certain limit and time. Just as the lover is getting used to relishing the sight of beloved, it puts the limit. The limit - where the person still craves for more of it and has no choice but to leave that damn sacred sight. Maybe to keep the flames inside the heart blazing more and more. The separation which comes as one of the certain gifts of love life, which each lover has no choice but to gleefully accept. Four years passed in the blink of an eye, in a flash. In the words of Amir Khusroo, “the nights of separation are as long as the hair(of beloved), while the days of a union are short like life”. And just as I departed Lahore in last year, in words of Khusroo, “Lost in my beloved’s thoughts, I don’t know where I’m going”.

Well, the pull of love goes beyond the boundaries, the bodies, and even the soul. I believe Lahore has it all. You could be sitting alone in the sad, murky winter evenings in Dera Ghazi Khan, but a sudden thought of the charismatic night view of Lahore from “Haveli Top” would enlighten you beyond any imagination. Now an amalgam of history and modern infrastructure and malls, it continues to amaze. But then again, no love story is complete without the “love birds” setting the cinematic love scenes. In my case, friends are lovebirds. That’s my kind of love story, and by no means it seems to be over, not yet anyway.