Distance loving

This is the story of long distance loving traced through quotations.

THE FIRST DAY

Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you... (Richard Marx)

Time and distance don't mean anything when I know we will embrace and hold each other again. (Anonymous)

If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there? (Richard Bach)

In true love the smallest distance is too great, and the greatest distance can be bridged. (Hans Nouwens)


A FEW WEEKS LATER

We are the perfect couple. We're just not in the perfect situation. (Joey Rivett)

You know when you've found it 'cause you feel it when they take it away. (Anonymous)

And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. (Khalil Gibran)

5000 miles away and you are still right here, in my heart and mind. (Anonymous)

I'll hold you in my heart, till I can hold you in my arms. (Anonymous)

Don't measure the distance; measure my love. (Anonymous)


A FEW MONTHS LATER

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it sure makes the rest of you lonely. (Charlie Brown)

Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated. (Lamartine)

I am here and you are there - one of us is in the wrong place! (Anonymous)

Time is the longest distance between two places. (Tennessee Williams)

Love reckons hours for months, and days for years; and every little absence is an age. (John Dryden)

Words are just not enough to tell you how much you mean to me and how much I need you by my side, all my life. You have touched my life in ways others can't even think of. (Anonymous)

Between now and you is a few hundred days, thousands of tears, and a great deal of dreaming. When those few hundred days have passed, when those thousands of tears have been shed, and when I have dreamt a great deal of dreams, I will be with you again, and it will be pure magic. (Anonymous)


AND FINALLY

The joy of meeting pays the pangs of absence; else who could bear it? (Nicholas Rowe)

Ain't no mountain high enough,
Aint no valley low enough,
Aint no river wide enough,
to keep me from getting to you baby!! (Temptations)

Distance does not matter if two hearts are loyal to one another. (Anonymous)

The test of love is not when we are together. It comes when we are not together and realize that despite the distance, love is still there. (Anonymous)

Distance between two people is only as far as one allows it to be... (Anonymous)

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PS: Do you know any other famous quotes in this category? What stage is your long distance relationship at?

Some more romantic movie dialogues

1. P.S. I Love You
Denise Hennessey (finishes kissing Tom): What's my name?
Tom: Tom.
Denise Hennessey: Where've you been?
Tom: With all the wrong women. (he kisses her again)


2. Serendipity
Sara: You don't have to understand. You just have to have faith.
Jonathan: Faith in what?
Sara: Destiny





3. 50 First Dates
Henry (to Lucy): You erased me from your memories because you thought you were holding me back from having a full and happy life. But you made a mistake. Being with you is the only way I could have a full and happy life. You're the girl of my dreams... and apparently, I'm the man of yours.


4. Bridget Jones' Diary
Mark Darcy (to Bridget): I don't think you're an idiot at all. I mean, there are elements of the ridiculous about you. Your mother's pretty interesting. And you really are an appallingly bad public speaker. And, um, you tend to let whatever's in your head come out of your mouth without much consideration of the consequences... But the thing is, um, what I'm trying to say, very inarticulately, is that, um, in fact, perhaps despite appearances, I like you, very much. Just as you are.


5. The Holiday
Graham (to Amanda): I have another scenario for you - I'm in love with you. I apologize for the blunt delivery, but as problematic as this fact may be, I'm in love... with you. I'm not feeling this because you're leaving, and not because it feels good to feel this way... which, by the way, it does, or did before you went off like that. I can't figure out the mathematics of this, I just know I love you. I can't believe how many times I'm saying it! And I never thought I'd feel this way again, so that's pretty phenomenal. And I realize that I come as a package deal: 3 for the price of 1. I know my package, perhaps in the light of day, isn't all that wonderful, but I finally know what I want and that, in itself, is a miracle. And what I want is you.

Test of your love

Here is a nice quote which tells how absence is a litmus test for your love. :)

Absence is to love what wind is to fire;

it extinguishes the small,

it enkindles the great.

- Comte de Bussy-Rabnutin

Kahin toh hogi woh

The film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na caught the nation’s attention when it was released in 2008. Imran Khan and Genelia Dsouza became overnight sensations and crowds began calling them by their respective nicknames used in the movie: Rats and Meow. The refreshing songs gained popularity even as they hit the tv screens. However, it was only a week ago that I heard Kahin toh hogi woh... in its entirety. As with many songs that I love this too has few accompaniments with the stress on the vocals. But it was really the lyrics that struck a chord with me and got me listening to it repeatedly.

The song voices my sentiments. Not having someone besides me these days makes me yearn for the world:

where we will be together (Kahin toh hogi woh duniya jahaan tu mere saath hai),
where there will be days when I will wake up in the morning to find him gazing at me lovingly (Hogi jahaan subah teri palkon ki kirano mein),
where every night I will fall asleep in his arms (Lori jahaan chaand ki sune teri baahon mein),
where there will be a magic of sorts every time we meet (Hai nasha teri meri har mulakaat mein),
and where at any and every pretext we will kiss each other (Hoton se hoton ko chumte o rehte hai hum har baat pe).

Believe me when I say that only where he is, is my laughter, my happiness... my life. (Jahaan hai tu, meri hassi meri khushi meri jaan)

Here is the full song for you to enjoy:

Film: Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
Music: A. R. Rahman
Lyrics: Abbas Tyrewala
Singers: Rashid Ali and Vasundhara Das

Kahin toh... Kahin toh hogi woh

Duniya jahaan tu mere saath hai

Jahaan main jahaan tu

Aur jahaan bas tere mere jazbaat hai

Hogi jahaan subah teri

Palkon ki kirano mein

Lori jahaan chaand ki

Sune teri baahon mein

Jaane na kahan woh duniya hai

Jaane na woh hai bhi ya nahi

Jahaan meri zindagi mujhse

Itni khafa nahi...

Saasein kho gai hai kiski aahon mein

Main kho gai hoon jaane kiski baahon mein

Manzilon se rahein dhoondti chali

Khud kho gai hai manzil kahin raahon mein

Kahin toh... Kahin toh hai nasha

Teri meri har mulakaat mein

Hoton se hoton ko

Chumte o rehte hai hum har baat pe

Kehti hai fiza jahan

Teri zameen aasman

Jahaan hai tu, meri hassi
Meri khushi meri jaan

Jaane na kahan woh duniya hai

Jaane na woh hai bhi ya nahi

Jahaan meri zindagi mujhse

Itni khafa nahi...

It happens in love

Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others,
and the delight in the recognition.

This is a quotation I found myself staring at on igoogle some days back. I would say that in love not only do you discover yourself in others but also discover yourself because of others. You come across feelings you never thought existed inside you. Over time you find out who and what is it that you hold most dear. You also come face to face with your strengths and weaknesses, your qualities and your vices, and your successes and your shortcomings.

Yes, when someone notices and appreciates your efforts, it sends you in raptures and you feel incredibly proud of even the littlest of good you might have done. On the other hand realizing where you lacked fills you with guilt. Along the way you learn how much more there is in you that you could and should give. Love humbles you.

Love across the salt desert

In our class XII English text book we had a chapter titled "Love across the salt desert". This is the story of Najab Hussain who falls in love with Fatimah, daughter of a spice seller from the other side of Kutch. Known to be a simpleton, Najab decides to brave the vast desert to meet his beloved. When they do meet, Fatimah discloses her fears of her family getting her married to another suitor. On hearing this Najab asks her if she would want to come with him on the journey back. Her entry into Najab's village is greeted with the falling of raindrops for the first time in two years.

I particularly love the following passage which tells the thoughts going through Fatimah's mind during the ride.

"It was only in passing that she thought of the village she was leaving for good. As for quitting one and entering another, she never gave it a thought. Where did one have the time for Pakistan and Hindustan when one was eloping with one’s love and crossing the desert which divided, both physically and symbolically, the two countries? For her it meant just a shift in dialect, a smear of Kutchi added and a little of Sindhi sandpapered away."

Fatimah's willingness to leave home, absence of worries about fitting into a new family, and simplistic approach to the huge transition about to take place, are highly endearing. In a world which has a habit of throwing doubts at you, she shows us how easy it really is embracing the changes in our lives.

She makes us realize that when in love we shouldn't be afraid of taking the leap.

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PS: Do you remember reading the story in school? What relevance does it hold for you today?

More romantic movie dialogues

1. Never Been Kissed
Josie: That thing, that moment, when you kiss someone and everything around becomes hazy and the only thing in focus is you and this person and you realize that that person is the only person that you're supposed to kiss for the rest of your life, and for one moment you get this amazing gift and you want to laugh and you want to cry because you feel so lucky that you found it and so scared that that it will go away all at the same time.


2. 13 Going On 30
Jenna: You want to know a secret?
Matt: Yeah.
Jenna: You are the sweetest guy I have ever met.



3. Runaway Bride
Ike: Look, I guarantee there'll be tough times. I guarantee that at some point, one or both of us is gonna want to get out of this thing. But I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life, because I know, in my heart, you're the only one for me.



4. As Good As It Gets
Melvin (to Carol): I might be the only person on the face of the earth that knows you're the greatest woman on earth. I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing that you do, and how you are with Spencer, "Spence," and in every single thought that you have, and how you say what you mean, and how you almost always mean something that's all about being straight and good. I think most people miss that about you, and I watch them, wondering how they can watch you bring their food, and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive. And the fact that I get it makes me feel good, about me.


5. Sleepless In Seattle
Dr. Marcia: Tell me what was so special about your wife?
Sam: Well, how long is your program?... Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were suppose to be together... and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home... only to no home I'd ever known... I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like... magic.

Without condition

When I let my thoughts wander a bit, a question that comes to my mind is that is there anything called true love. Many would say there isn't because love is always conditional. At first they do seem to be right. After all children always expect support from their parents. Younger siblings always want to be looked after by their elder brothers and sisters. Parents too hope that their kids on growing up will take care of them in old age. Even in our search for a life partner we tend to confine ourselves to a space defined by the qualities we desire for in a spouse.

Agreed that we expect certain conditions to be fulfilled. But what happens when they are not met to our satisfaction? Or when we happen to encounter in addition particular attributes, good or bad, which were unanticipated?

We don't start hating our children when they do not come first in their class. We might fight with our siblings but that does not mean everything is lost. We make up after those arguments. Your fiancee might act silly occasionally but you don't stop loving her. Your would-be might be a few cities apart but that does not diminish your feelings.

In my opinion, while it may be circumstances and needs which bring two people together but what keeps them truly entwined are selfless emotions unbound by any conditions.

Kaise mujhe tum....

This year I began my account of hindi movies by watching Aamir Khan's Ghajini in Bangalore. I did not like the film that much. But I came out loving one of the songs Kaise mujhe tum... from it. I suppose the reason for this is that the lyrics so beautifully convey what you feel when you've finally found your special someone.

It tells how when its just you and your thoughts, you wonder how did this miracle happen so much so that you can't believe your luck (Kaise mujhe tum mil gayi... Kismat pe aaye na yakeen...).

Then when you actually get a chance to spend some time with this person it leaves you confused because you are unable to decide whether you should just keep gazing at him or close your eyes and just go on endelessly hearing his voice full of love (Dekhoon tumhe ya main sunoo?).

There's only one question that you keep on asking the man in front of you. What took you so long? Why did you not come in my life earlier? (Kyon pehle na aayi tum?)

You remember the times you lamented at God asking Him why you were alone (Main toh yeh sochta tha ke aaj kal... Uparwaale ko fursat nahi). However, now you can't help but thank Him enough everyday with your faith in Him having increased by manifold (Meri nazar mein chadh gaya... Rutbe mein woh aur badh gaya).

Having realized "this is the one" you are left without doubts that you will never let go. Seasons may change but you'll always be there for your beloved every moment from hereon (Badlengi rituen ada ... Par main rahoongi sada... Har lamha har pal).

With that background let me put the lyrics of the entire song for you to savour.

Film: Ghajini
Music: A. R. Rahman
Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi
Singers: Benny Dayal and Shreya Ghoshal

Kaise mujhe tum mil gayi?
Kismat pe aaye na yakeen
Utar aayi jheel mein
Jaise chaand utarta hai kabhi
Houle houle dheere se

Gunguni dhoop ki tarah se
Tarranum mein tum
Chuke mujhe
Guzri ho yoon
Dekhoon tumhe Ya main sunoo?
Tum ho sukoon
Tum ho junoo
Kyun pehle na aayi tum?

Kaise mujhe tum mil gayi?
Kismat pe aaye na yakeen...

Main toh yeh sochta tha ke aaj kal
Uparwaale ko fursat nahi
Phir bhi tumhe banaake woh
Meri nazar mein chadh gaya
Rutbe mein woh aur badh gaya
Zindagi sitar ho gayi
Rimjhim malhar ho gayi
Mujhe aata nahi kismat pe apni yakeen
Kaise mujhko mil gayi?

Badle raaste jharne aur nadi
Badle ret ki tim tim
Chedhe zindagi dhun koi nayi
Badle barkha ki rimjhim
Badlengi rituen ada
Par main rahoongi sada
Usi tarah teri baahon mein baahein daalke
Har lamha har pal

Kaise mujhe tum mil gayi?
Kismat pe aaye na yakeen...

A sweet something

To mark the occasion of Valentine's Day I am putting here this luvvlie exchange of dialogue that I came across recently.



Sweetie: Can't ever get enough of you.
So promise to come in my dreams.
Cutie: Let me be your dream tonight...
and your reality forever.

:)

Way back into love

About a week ago during a tea session my boss said that in his opinion girls handled the matters of the heart much better than boys as they are emotionally stronger. I have on the other hand have always thought that boys are more practical than girls which gives them a certain edge.

If my boss is right then how do you explain all the tears shed by heartbroken girls?

If I am not wrong then why do I find some guys almost becoming direction less in life?

I suppose one cannot simply label it as a boys versus girl scenario. Afterall we are individuals with our own ways of coping with everything bad that love brings. Some people when grieving hide under a shell. Some immerse themselves deeply into work. Some are just unable to function while some keep on acting as if everything is fine.

Our reactions may all be different but there's a wish which everybody has in common... its the wish to find a way back into love. As much as it scares us we still hope for there to be someone who will make our return journey worth it. :)

Here is a song which very simply and beautifully talks about all this.

Film: Music and Lyrics

Music: Adam Schlesinger

Lyrics: Adam Schlesinger

Singers: Hugh Grant and Haley Bennett

I've been living with a shadow overhead
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed
I've been lonely for so long
Trapped in the past
I just can't seem to move on

I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away
Just in case I ever need them again someday
I've been setting aside time
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love

I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine
I've been searching but I just don't see the signs
I know that it's out there
There's got to be something for my soul somewhere

I've been looking for someone to shed some light
Not somebody just to get me through the night
I could use some direction
And I'm open to your suggestions

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love

And if I open my heart again
I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end
There are moments when I don't know if it's real
Or if anybody feels the way I feel
I need inspiration
Not just another negotiation

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love

And if I open my heart to you
I'm hoping you'll show me what to do
And if you help me to start again
You know that I'll be there for you in the end

Love-analogy

I was greeted with the following analogy between love and truth as a quote on my igoogle yesterday evening and I couldn't help but agree with it.

Love is like the truth,
sometimes it prevails,
and sometimes it hurts."
- Victor M. Garcia Jr

And it has inspired me to come up with the following poem for whose beginning I have used the above lines. Here goes...

Love is like the truth
sometimes it hurts and sometimes it prevails
Love is like the weather
sometimes it blooms and sometimes it hails

Love is like the war
sometimes its victory and sometimes its defeat
Love is like a lie
sometimes its sour and sometimes its sweet

Love is like forgiveness
sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't
Love is like that poem
which from the heart freely flows

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How good or bad was this attempt?

Thoughts in Sydney

I am keeping the weekend to write my Sydney travelogue. Here I am simply going to share some of the thoughts that I was struck with during the eight days of my stay there.

When you love something you just can't get enough of it!

If you need but a moment to fall in love, then that is what it takes for you to let it go.

Some desires are like the big waves on the beach... first you excitedly chase them and then when they come back at you, you run away feeling scared of getting caught in the flow.

Given a choice between what is right and what is wrong, always go for the first however tempting the latter option may appear.

There is no dearth of love in this world. Since I haven't found it yet, I must have been looking in all the wrong places.

If I can't get romance in my life then I'd at least like to stay in a setting which is romantic. (Inspired by this lizard in the photo below that I found lurking around in a very beautiful spot in The Chinese Garden in Sydney. :-p)

Refresher course (1)

I was going through my previous posts and found some of them lacking in content. I remembered how for these very posts a friend had chided me for just putting lyrics of songs or poems by Emily Dickinson and hence not having much value. I also recall getting all hot on hearing the criticism . What I didn't do then I've decided to do now, which is to refine some of my earlier attempts and the following two are the first in this series of "refreshed" posts.

1. Heartbreak
Click on the title to go to the new post. The original was titled "How is a heart broken?" and simply contained the words of Emily Dickinson's poem.

2. Mera kuch saamaan
Click on the title to go to the new post. I have retained the lyrics and the brief background of the song from the old post. But I have added a little bit more to by extrapolating on the theme of the song.

Heart questions

Is it better to let go than to hold on?
Is it better to give up on someone or give a second chance?
Is it better to wait or to move on?
Is it better to hide your memories some place
than dreaming endlessly perhaps?
Is it better to always be on your own than to be left alone?
Is it better to be happy with a few rain drops than to wish for heavy showers to fall?
It might really have been better to not have loved at all!


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P.S.: Why am I always at a loss when wanting to write a happy poem???????
P.P.S: How is the poem anyway?

Quotation for Valentine's Day

Found this really sweet quotation in Times of India (again!!) today:

Love does not make the world go round.
But it surely makes the ride worthwhile.

-Frank P. Jones

:)

Heartbreak

Sheesha ho ya dil ho
Aakhir toot jaata hai...

Meaning

Be it a mirror or a heart,
it will eventually break

... go the lyrics of the famous Reena Roy song from the film Asha comparing the fragility of the heart to that of a mirror. Just as a slight push can cause a mirror to fall down and break into many a pieces so can be the effect of the simplest of words or actions of someone you love on your feelings. Indeed as Emily Dickinsen says in her poem

Not with a club the heart is broken,
Nor with a stone;
A whip, so small you could not see it,
I ’ve known

If breaking of a heart is easy then putting the pieces back together is all the more difficult. One of my favourite dialogues is from the film Mann where Manisha Koirala lectures Aamir Khan when he lightly confesses to have broken many a girls' hearts saying

Vishwas jeetna bahut aasaan hai
Usse bhi aasaan hai vishwas ko todh dena
Aur sacha insaan woh hota hai
Jo us vishwas ko nibhaaye
Todhe nahi

Recently I came across an article which talked about whether couples who reunite after a period of time has passed since they had broken up can make their relationship work. The answer was somewhat in the negative. Its not a surprise because there would be no peace of mind when you are always afraid of things going wrong a second time over. In the absence of comfort you are not likely to even feel free be yourself.

Mera kuch saamaan

Film: Ijjazat
Music: R. D. Burman

Mera kuch saamaan
Tumhare paas padha hai
Ho... saawan ke kuch bheege bheege din rakhe hain
Aur mere ek khat mein lipti raat padhi hai
Woh raat bujha do
Mera woh saamaan lauta do
Mera kuch...

Patjhad hai kuch, hai na? hmmm?

Ho... patjhad mein kuch patton ke
Girne ke aahat
Kaanon mein ek baar pehenke lautayee thi
Patjhad ki woh shaakh abhi tak kaanp rahi hai
Woh shaakh gira do
Mera woh saamaan lauta do
Woh shaakh...

Ek akeli chatri mein jab aadhe-aadhe bheeg rahe the
Aadhe sookhe aadhe geele sookha toh mein le aayi thi
Geela mann shaayad bistar ke paas padha ho
Woh bhijwa do
Mera woh saamaan lauta do

Ek sau solha chaand ki raatein
Ek tumhare kandhe ka til
Gili mehndi ki khushboo
Jhooth moot ke shikwe kuch
Jhooth moot ke waade bhi sab
Yaad kara dun
Sab bhijwa do
Mera woh saamaan lauta do
Sab bhijwa...

Ek ijazzat de do bas
Jab isko dafanaaoongi
Main bhi wahin so jaaoongi
Main bhi wahin so jaaoongi


The song Mera kuch saamaan... has been soulfully rendered by Asha Bhosle in the film Ijaazat, meaning permission, starring Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah and Anuradha Patel. In the movie Naseeruddin Shah and Anuradha Patel were in love but N. Shah gets married to Rekha. This song comes at a point when Rekha tells her husband to send away all of Anuradha's things (saamaan) that were lying in their house. But as the lyrics tell us the things that Anuradha wants back are very different. What she asks for are the rain soaked days (saawan ke kuch bheege bheege din...), the night she had spent writing a letter (mere ek khat mein lipti raat padhi hai), her wet heart (geela mann shaayad bistar ke paas padha ho), the insipid fights (jhooth moot ke shikwe kuch) and the silly promises (jhooth moot ke waade bhi sab).

Often those who've lost in love wish if they could get back every moment that they'd spent laughing, crying, loving and hating while dreaming, thinking, imagining and remembering this one person. As you go about realizing the futility of this desire, you begin to think yourself as a fool to have spent every every moment laughing, crying, loving and hating while dreaming, thinking, imagining and remembering this one person.

Faye puts it much better in the climax of the Tom Hanks movie "That Thing You Do" when her long time boyfriend Jimmy breaks up with her. She sadly admits,

"I have wasted thousands and thousands of kisses on you. Kisses that I thought were special because of your lips and your smile and all your color and life. I used to think that was the real you when you smiled. But now I know that you don't mean any of it, and you just save it for all your songs. Shame on me for kissing you with my eyes closed so tight."

Nice quotes

A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
-Charles Gordy

So go ahead uncles, aunties and boys and girls and become beautiful in a matter of seconds.

Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to.
-Anonymous

And as they say if its your's it'll do an about turn.

Patience with others is love,
patience with self is hope and
patience with God is faith.
-Adel Bestavros

Aren't these the simplest and most apt definitions for the three words!!

(Note: These quotes are taken from today's TOI.)

Dreamland express

I caught a ride on the Dreamland Express last night

I was sailing on an ocean of blue

And right there by my side, much to my surprise, was you

I said, come over here baby, let me look in your eyes

Let me see the very heart of you

And I couldn't believe it, to conceive that my dream would come true

Cause you said, hey there sweet daddy, everything is alright

For miles there's not a telephone line

There's not a soul to disturb us dont be nervous

Just come and be mine

You said, let me be the end of your rainbow

Let me be the stars up above

Let me be the one that you long for darling

Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh

Let me be the one that you love

And now it's four in the mornin', Honey I can't sleep

I can't seem to get you out of my mind

I keep tossin' and turnin', yearnin' for the sun to shine

I'd like to send you a ticket on the Dreamland Express

And take you far away with me

I've got a vision of heaven and you livin' there with me

Let me be the end of your rainbow

Let me be the stars up above

Let me be the one that you dream of baby

Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh

Let me be the one that you love

These are the lyrics of the song "Dreamland express" by John Denver. A friend of mine sent me its audio file a couple of years. The moment I heard it I fell in love... with the song. And its been my favourite since then. I specially love the parts that I have highlighted in red. :D