Jessie's Date with 3 Idiots

On a mid week afternoon an Idiot#2 starts a mail thread in friends group with a subject: “Let us watch Jessie tonight again?”

Idiot#1 quickly responds “I agree” followed by the Idiot#3 saying “me too …”

The 4^th guy - not an Idiot, couldn’t join, as he wasn’t really passionate J

We 3 Idiots meet up at 9pm in R.T Nagar, Bangalore. We get into the hall and immediately are awed by silence – Jessie is in the Hall. Rarely did I utter a word; still I was deeply involved with intensive conversation with Jessie.

Jessie – Kundanapu Bomma (Sandalwood Doll) a first of her kind –

She is beautiful. She is very cute with a fresh face of a new born baby. She is intense in her eyes, so in her talks. An intelligent girl, her presence spreads the magic around, Matured, at the same time, innocent. She cares for her family above everything.  Her dressing style is simple yet elegant.

Ready to die 1000 times for her smile. Her voice has the fragrance of Kerala’s back waters, coconut grooves, Tea estates. Her voice is enough for this life time. Her appearance in the Green Saree has driven me crazy, wanting to see her/talk to her every day, every second, every moment.

First sight of Jessie, felt like flying at 1000 Mph at a height of 50,000 Ft, no nothing of that sort happened. She was my college mate, doing her Masters in Mathematics, while I was studying my Bachelors in Engineering in one of the Bangalore’s well-known college.

She was 2 years elder to me. We got introduced through a common friend.

We were studying in the same college for close to 4 years and rarely did we speak with each other.  It was more of hi/bye interaction.

We were nearing our graduation and that’s when we started visiting each of our batch mate’s homes before setting on different career paths. My first meet with Jessie, outside college was at a friend’s birthday party. I was deeply moved by her caring nature and the selfless love that she showed towards friends/closed ones. She can never ever hurt any. I knew if at all I’d need a life partner, it should be Jessie:

1. If she can show such immense care/ love for her friends/relatives, then how well would she look after her Love partner -  Selfish reason
2. With her unconditional love, she will not only love her partner/closed ones, but every other human in this world. She had that feeling of oneness in her – Selfless reason

That day I repeatedly said bye to her, not able to take my eyes off her. I could only forcefully bring back my body home but my soul wandering at my love Jessie’s place.

Jessie’s family is very conservative, and they don’t entertain Jessie getting along with guys. I met her for the second time on road while she was going to her office. Jessie tried to use our age difference and said if asked at home, would tell that I’m her brother. Suddenly, from nowhere I had all the confidence in world, I stopped her to tell, Jessie, from this moment onwards every other girl in this universe is my sister, except you, Jessie. Immediately she walked away without saying a word or even turning back.

I felt deep inside that I had done a terrible mistake. Arey who will propose a Girl in the second meet itself. That too she was 2 years elder to me. Or, might be I was wrong, because Love doesn’t know how if we are meeting for first time or n^th time. It is a truly momentary and inevitable. I quickly knew that I had to live and die in this moment.

After the meet, I didn’t see Jessie for the next one week. I couldn’t live for even a moment, I was lost in my own world, I talked to her all day, I talked to her in my sleep, I just felt her by my side wherever I was.

            I started seeing three pairs of steps in my life - Gods, Mine and now Jessie’s.

After a week, trying to just be alive in the memories, I could trace her from my close friend Krishna who got the info from Jessie’s close aunt, Trisha.

I packed my bags and pulled my friend Krishna and boarded the bus to Allepey, Kerala; yes that’s where she had gone to.

God had all the time to create this beautiful land. Its mere display of quality artwork and is in its pristine form as desired by the Lord.

I became a road Romeo searching nook and corner of Allepey. I was tired but not defeated. As my friend says Luck favors the brave, but it struck me that luck favors intelligent too. We walked into the biggest Church in the town with confidence that we will find Jessie in the Jesus’s lap. I believed from day 1, there is some eternal magic which will set our Love story on right track. That magic pulled her attention to the place where we were sitting. She spotted us and immediately we walked out of the Church.

Jessie finished her prayers and walked towards us. Without letting her say anything, I apologized for the proposal episode. She coolly said “Oh! is it?” and her grandma/cousins stopped by. She invited us for lunch at her place. (Kalchoo Kalchoo)

After lunch we walked into the backyard gardens. I sincerely apologized and asked her to forget whatever happened till date and start it afresh. She did accept my apologies, and she said if we have to be in talking terms, then we’ve to be friends only. She repeatedly said it is not going to work in her house, Love marriage, that too inter-caste, that too guy younger to her, no way, her Dad will never entertain any discussion on this topic and it is waste of time. I asked her one question; keeping aside all your family restrictions, parents, society, what is your feeling for me. She gave a weird smile (couldn’t understand till day, if it was yes/no) and said, she has to like me first. She was confident that she would not commit onto this what so ever happen.

            Jessie asked me why I was so crazy about her. I replied, for reasoning sake, I can list the qualities I liked and what I loved you for. But then it would become a business/trade, not Love. Truly speaking, Love is a magic that has blossomed, I want to nurture it to become a life tree.  As Mother Theresa said, you cannot Love a person if you start judging them. Love is something which you cannot hide or burry. It’ll find its way to you, if it is around you. It’s a magic, which cannot be explained but experienced.

Jessie’s grandma lived here and she visits this every year. Luckily her father wasn’t accompanying her this time, and she had come alone.  Jessie has spent the most joyous part of her life in this village. No one asks what she does, where she goes, when she comes and all those typical conservative family questions. That’s what helped us have this open conversation.

            I unwillingly agreed that we’ll be friends, and meet regularly once we are back in town. We left from the place.

Back in town, we met in a Coffee Bar near our college. She had brought a friend for company. I had bought flowers with me. I immediately gave it to her friend and with a smile, asked her to take another table and give us some personal space to talk to Jessie. Soon she was seen in a far off table. Jessie was bit surprised that I had not got flowers for her.

I told Jessie that I couldn’t pretend to be a friend with her. It is love for sure and I’ve to express/live it. She again asked me for reasons. I repeated Mother Teresa’s quote and my answer. I said that this magical experience has given me enormous confidence and I was ready to face any challenge for her, I tried to make it clear, that she need not take decisions based on other people’s likes/dislikes. I wanted her to think and make a personal conscious decision.

We spoke for quite some time. We walked out of the bar, and she was about to leave, that’s when in a romantic way I just took a small Lotus bud, which I had hidden, and said THE 3 beautiful words. She took it smilingly and left.

Even today, when I pass by this coffee bar and am alone, I see myself and Jessie sitting there, reminding me of the proposal day.

After the Coffee bar meet, I made calls everyday, some times more than once. She agreed to talk to me on one condition; I’ll not talk about “Love”. I used to talk for long and she used to listen all along. She would laugh sometime, while hardly speak out about her life/past. She insisted that this will not work and she was not willing to commit for a relationship. I said in almost my every call, she will give her final answer, on the day when I would explicitly ask her if she loved me or not? Till then I wanted her to see me as a friend and move closely as she would with other friends. Even I was particular about one thing in these calls. I couldn’t hear to the word “bye” from her when we were to end the call. I literally did command her, that she will not tell “bye” and just simply end the call. Every utterance of that word, made me feel she was going away from me.

She got her posting in Wipro as a program analyst and had to relocate to Secunderabad.

We talked over the phone for the next 6 months. I used to fill her inbox with messages through SMS portal. Daily there used to be long mail threads.

Suddenly on a fateful day, I received a mail from Jessie with subject as “UPDATE”. She mentioned about her marriage to some Guy chosen by her parents. She didn’t entertain any calls there after. And I with immense pain stopped calling/messaging.

I was very angry with her decision for choosing some unknown person over my love.

I did attend to her marriage, because I need not tell “I loved her”. On the D-moment, for everyone’s surprise, she said she did not want to marry and walked away from the wedding hall.

That night, I went to her house to meet her. Her parents had come to know about my love for her and they thought I had come to the marriage with intentions to stop the wedding. But she promised to her parents she wouldn’t meet/talk to me for life. Even I left from there without meeting her

Next 3 years was the most painful period of my Love. I didn’t know how and where Jessie was. I tried enquiring about her from her parents through all possible channels, but no success. I repented that I couldn’t convince my girl enough.

I sought into travelling to keep myself occupied and avoid her thoughts. But memories are like a boomerang. I only saw her in the all the work I did, people I met, places I went. (3^rd pair of steps never disappeared from my life). Her presence by my side helped me excel in whatever I did. I decided to share my love (that I had for Jessie) with the nature, people. It changed my outlook for life and people. Life went on and priorities changed and I got completely involved in my work/passion - traveling.

While I was on an adventurous trip, I met her in Darjeeling. She walked up to me and we had a casual conversation. On her marriage day, she wanted to see me for one last time before parting away. The timing was good. She asked me if I had found another girl in my life. I smilingly asked her to take a guess. She said I would have found one cute, intelligent girl with good clarity in life.

She had made such a deep cut into my heart that I couldn’t think of anyone and I replied, I haven’t moved on in Love life, and First Love cannot be forgotten.

She immediately broke out and we had the best conversation since we met.

            Me: Why did you reject this marriage? Didn’t you like the groom?

            Jessie: I loved you and even I cannot think of marrying anyone else

            I was spellbound and speechless.

Me: when did you realize my love?

Jessie: I liked you the day you proposed me and I fell in love, when you apologized to me in Allepey.

She put it as:

“In all the words that I speak, I think only of your name, and have etched your name on the tip of my lips. Out of my conscious, even without letting you know I have locked your soul within me. Aaromale (my Dearest), please forgive me for keeping you in this painful lonely state for such long. I am wishfully offering my life and soul to you.

Once you are back home you need to feel like you are sitting in a freezer and you hardly weigh a kilo. That is how one should feel being with his/her love life. Else it is a name sake relation which I didn’t want to get into. And I feel Light and comfortable being with you Aaromale.”

The qualities which I described when I first saw Jessie are rarely found in one girl. But even if you find one, Jessie beats every damn girl in this one:

She cares for her family above everything, even her First Love. She is the only girl I’ve known in the history ready to wait for her Love for life. I thought “First Love can never be forgotten” is true only with Boys till I met Jessie. She proved me wrong. She is one crazy gutsy woman, who dares to remain single for life as her parents didn’t agree for her Love marriage. Not to mention her daring act to walk away from her Wedding hall in presence of the big crowd.

I started seeing stars, bells started ringing, music spread in the air, and high energy in the heart, I said,

“God would have already decided the Love pair and destined the time/place of their meet. The love pair can never be separated what may come.”

I just listened to my heart, looked into her eyes and realized we were ready to dream our life together.  We decided that this IS the moment for us to tie the knot and rest followed.

Three pairs of steps at times came down to two. God and I, together decided, we will carry Jessie through her difficult times.

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This story happened when Idiot#1 asks the other for a movie (Ye Mayaa Chesaave in telugu) on a Sunday night. The 2^nd one pulls 3^rd idiot to watch the movie –a Magical story which we can either relate to or the one we are waiting to happen or the one which is a past.

It was 3 days since we saw the movie and we felt we were separated from Jessie for long and couldn’t wait anymore to watch her again. And that’s when we meet her again on Wednesday.

Another 3 days passed and we were planning our 2010’s Himalayan trek. It was 5:55pm on a Saturday evening, and the idiots felt that Jessie is waiting for us.

6:40 was the show at Jayanagar Multiplex, and we had 40 mins to reach there (22 kms). In Bangalore, the average speed is 20km per hour. We had to drive like crazy, to see Jessie from first scene, anything for Jessie. We reached 10 mins late and had missed the first song.

After my engineering days, I haven’t been so crazy about any movie and haven’t watched even different movies in such short time. 3 times in a span of 7 days and still longing to see it again and again. Everytime I walk out of the cinema hall, I feel I have to watch the movie again for songs and Jessie.

Vintunnavaaa, Vintunnavaaa

Jessie are you listening?

Note : All credits to the Movie team. I have made some changes to the story. Not that I didn’t like the original story, but to bring in some ideas from past experiences.