True Love - A once in a lifetime thing or not

Hum ek baar jeete hai, ek baar marte hai, shaadi bhi ek baar hoti hai ... aur pyar ek baar hi hota hai
-      Shah Rukh Khan aka Rahul, Kuch Kuch Hota Hain (1998)
It translates as – we live once, we die once, we get married once … and love too happens only once.

We grew up hearing love stories of the damsels in distress, of the Sleeping Beauties, of Cinderella and of raasaleelas of Lord Krishna and his gopikas. For some time, the word love meant that of our parents, siblings, grandparents and it was measured from the amounts of chocolates and gifts they gave us, from how much they gave in to our whims and fancies and from how long they would spare for us. Then love meant the simple glance of our love interests, a few words they would speak over phone, the secret meetings that we would steal and few kisses and hugs showered upon us. And finally, love was redefined as the amount of sacrifices that our parents and better half made for us, those sacrifices that we in turn made for our children and for their happiness.

When the definition of love keeps changing with time, how is it possible for love to happen only once? Imagine a guy falling in love with a girl. If the girl returns his love, they might end up getting married. Or else, he will feel low for some time but eventually fall in love again. It is natural to fall in love again, it might be to a greater intensity or to a lesser one, but with time, that guy has to fall in love again if he plans to live a normal, happy life.

In a society, where heartbroken people are called Devdas or Parvati, where they are made fun of, introduced to drinking by so-called friends, forced to develop apathy or hatred towards the one they loved or goaded into taking the life of themselves or the one they loved; it seems foolish to call something as such as TRUE LOVE.

There was a Meera Bai who spent her life singing praises to Lord Krishna and people called that a TRUE LOVE. But if all girls start singing praises of Gods and devote their lives to temples then what will happen? They say Devadas and Parvati shared TRUE LOVE, but Devdas didn’t have the courage to face his father for love nor did Parvati stop from taking revenge by marrying another guy. Where is love in their hearts to stop them from taking those decisions devastating not just their lives but also the lives of those around them?

We stop loving only when we stop living. Till then, Love can happen once, twice or a number of times, with the same person or with a different one. But all that matters is how well we are able to sustain our love. Remember, even SRK fell in love again and remarried in the movie where he talks of one love for a lifetime. 

The world we live in, loves stereotyping everything. Love too is stereotyped and often is confused with Marriage or Sharing Bed. Love is simply Love. Loving someone doesn't mean dreaming about them and spending time with them under one roof. Loving someone, in true sense, is keeping them safe, happy and looked-after. Love is having them cared for and making their life bright. Love is smiling at their happiness and lending a shoulder when they are low. Love is being selfless for the sake of the one you love. Love is punishing them for their wrong-doing and praising them for their triumphs. Love is showing the right way in life. Love is accepting someone in your life and giving them a part in it. And in that sense, love becomes TRUE LOVE.

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