Namit

It was a friend’s wedding and as much as Namit hated crowds, this was an event that he could not avoid.

All dressed up in his traditional Coorgi avatar he grudgingly went to the venue. Racked with boredom he set out looking for company. Spotting a bevy of youngsters he stood around watching them. That was when he spotted Pari,  looking bedecked yet restrained in her finery. Laughing with the group, she yet seemed like she did not belong there. Charmed by the vibe he picked up, he walked up to the group.

A closer glance revealed a dark slender alluring beauty with a spiraled fuzzy mane.

Surrounded by a bunch of friends , the dolled up tom boyish girl had an aura about her that awed him.

He walked closer, fumbling for words. That’s not how you eat, come on let me teach you the right way to eat”! Startled Pari looked at the bulky stranger and wondered why he was giving her tips on eating well! Polite that she was, she heard his tips on the right way to eat a multiple course Coorgi meal!

The awkward lunch ended and they went their separate ways.

She soon became his living dream, day and night, Nothing could take his thoughts off her and Namit realised, that he had fallen - hook, line and bait for the mystical charms of the demure Pari.

Mustering up courage, he invited himself over for lunch to her home, even talking directly with her firebrand Colonel father.

They met and their eyes spoke beyond all words. He had known from the very first sight of her that she was the one for him.

To him she was the epitome of love and all that he had craved for since he was a child.

Namit had a disturbed childhood…

Instead fond memories of love and laughter, he recalled the agony of separation from his parents

A child who was deprived of a mothers love. The career that kept his parents away from him..

Namit, standing behind the bars of the window at his hostel, ever waiting for his mother to arrive and hug him and tell him how very much she loved him. Instead sobbing away, praying and wishing that by some magic his mother would appear to him. Alas the magic never happened to him.

He recalled the endless days and years that he stood in this anguish, the sinking feeling of going to bed disappointed, dejected and feeling rejected.

The shooting pain of feeling abandoned,  craving to play with his mother to be smothered by her love and affection.

The strong willed young boy then realized that his dream of experiencing the love and affection from his mother had turned into a nightmare, for he felt only pain, everytime he thought about her

He stopped every form of communication with his parents even refusing to speak when they met.

The distress and anger in his mind was so deep that  he refused to converse with his own mother who could be hard hearted enough to send him away at such a tender age. Meeting him just once a year for a brief while. He had completely withdrawn and chose silence over communication.

A few months in the hostel and he became dear to everyone at his hostel. 

Fresh are his memories of how he took up sports to keep himself away from the anguish that haunted him every waking moment.

He soon learned to keep his mind and body focussed on sports.After a successful stint in Cricket, he also tried kabaddi and aced the game and the tactics.

His hard work and determination to be independent kept him going and very soon the 16 year old boy stopped being dependent on his parents for any of his needs including finances.

This inspiring Eklavya award winner, did not even inform his parents when he received the award. He had chosen to disallow them the joy and pride of an achiever offspring. After all they had abandoned him. 

30 years on, Namit is leading a content life, filled with warmth, grace and love.

The love that he had looked for from his mother ... He found from Pari, truly the angel in his life. The petite beauty towers over him with love and affection and takes care of every need of his with the  tenderness of a mother.

Strange are the ways of the universe, and today Namit is wary of accepting his Mother back in his life while she craves to spend time with him..

 Namit stands tall, a self made man, a sports man par excellence. Complete with affection and love from his doting wife and his adorable son.

One look at the couple and you will see them living upto the "made for each other" tag.

He has found  love from his wife, that made up for all the years of craving.

Brings to the mind " Love isn't something you find, Love is something that finds you".