Version 3.0 : Love

*Drum roll*

Now here comes the mush.

As much as people proclaim that they abhor being romantic, and dislike the coochy-cooing happening all over the place, Love is something you cannot escape. It plagues you, takes over your being, and makes you evolve in more ways than one. Love is a necessary evil, like education. And thus, I'd deal with this emotion in much the same practical manner (If at all love and practicality can go hand in hand, this is my shot at the impossible)!

Back in Roorkee, even though most of us are busy with different chores at hand, the presence of the four letter word in our lives is quite prominent. When you meet friends after a long break, you instantly feel a sense of warmth filling you from within. When you talk to a junior and narrate 'personal pages' from your diary of experiences in college, you feel closer to that person. When you walk hand in hand with your belle along the Thomson Marg, you cannot but feel elated at that very moment. There is one common thread sowing all these moments together. Love. And it comes in all forms.

I am a big one for mushy flicks. I have practically grown up watching Pretty Woman, One Fine Day, Sleepless in Seattle, A Lot Like Love and the likes. As a *chronotron* puts it, "You like chicklit?" Yes, Sir! I do.

Off late, a lot of people I know are 'settling down'. They've found their companion, the wavelengths have been matched and the midnight calls started. Initially, it really peeved me. It seemed futile and it still does actually, but thinking about it now, I feel it helps these honourable mortals. It's a stabilizing element of sorts. You calm down, look at the world as a better place, and try to be a better person. Good till the honeymoon period lasts, and Insh'allah, I hope it does for a long time for most of them!

I also know that most of us are alone. The only solace I draw from all this is the fact that there are others like me, and so, we are all together in this. I am not whining about how some people are 'lucky' and others just the opposite. I cannot. I should not. I have a beautiful home to come back to, some very caring friends to rely on and my own self to take care of. That's a handful for sure!

So next time, look around you. Look within yourself. Look at places you've hitherto found insignificant. And you can't fail to notice that "Love, Actually (C)" is everywhere!