I failed again

After visiting Sumay-uncle’s house, I was inspired to start daily spirituality into my life. I decided to start by chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra for 10 to 15 minutes every night before bed and listening to the wisdom audios of Srila Prabhupada that Sumay-uncle had shared with me. This routine continued for a few weeks and I felt a sense of satisfaction after each chant each day, even though I wasn’t entirely sure of the purpose behind my practice. However, I eventually struggled to maintain this hearing and chanting, soon I realized – I was more interested in enjoying – playing cricket, hanging out, gathering at restaurants, and many others which was similar to my friends.

Despite my initial interest in spirituality, my lack of positive association ultimately led to a decline in my practice.

meeting disha again

By this time, I had already ended my connections with Pranshi, but her older sister Disha still kept in touch with me. One evening while I was out for shopping, I spotted Disha, and she noticed me too. She approached me with a friendly greeting.

“How are you? It’s been a long time since we met” she said.

I responded with a smile, “I’m well. Yeah, it has been some time. But we don’t have a reason to meet now.”

“Why? You were not only Pranshi’s boyfriend, but also my younger brother. We don’t need any reasons to meet” She said.

I was pleased to hear her kind words and said to her, “You’re right. We should catch up. Where are you headed?”

“I’m returning home from my coaching class. Why don’t you come to our place? It would be lovely to have you over for a chat,” Disha suggested.

“No, I can’t. You know that I and Pranshi are no more together. I am also afraid of your mom” I said.

“Don’t worry, my mom is aware of you. She’ll be happy to have you over. You can come over one evening, and we can catch up,” she reassured me.

“Okay. I will come one day. But not now.” I replied.

Then she said me bye and I also continued my shopping.

i was invited to pranshi’s house

Disha contacted me on the occasion of Rakhi Purnima, which was one month after our last conversation. This festival is celebrated in India, where sisters tie a thread on their brother’s wrists, and in return, the brothers promise to protect them. She invited me to their home. She loved me like her own younger brother, and she wanted to tie Rakhi to my hand. I hesitated at first, knowing that I hadn’t spoken to Pranshi in a while and it might be awkward for me to visit their house.

Then, Pranshi texted me out of the blue, “Are you coming over tomorrow?”

I replied calmly, “Yes, both of your sisters are insisting on me to come. But I am feeling uncomfortable.”

“Why uncomfortable? Forget about our past. We will have fun together. My mom will be happy to have you. You should come.” She said.

“Hmm…Okay, I will come.” I replied.

So, I agreed and the next day I went to her house. Pranshi’s two elder sisters welcomed me, and I was nervous because I had never spoken to their mother before. I also had an impression in my mind that their mother did not like me. But the scenario was completely different. I entered their house and touched the feet of her mother to show respect. She was very affectionate and talked lovingly. After some time, I felt a bit comfortable. At that time Pranshi was not home and had gone to her friend’s house. After an hour she came and smiled at me. Then we talked normally as friends.

Pranshi’s father served in the Indian Army, and was often stationed away from home. I spent about three hours at her home, and they were very friendly to me. They had prepared lunch for me and after having lunch her mother asked me to take a rest and stay for a couple of hours. From that day I became remarkably close to them. They used to invite me to birthday parties and other ceremonies. I had forgotten our past quarrels and stayed like good friends with Pranshi. Sometimes her sister would call me in the evening over chai and snacks. We used to talk about our college life, our school days and many other topics and spent time.

i was challenged by my friends

I was not committed to anyone and happy in my life. My friends would often ask me why I was not getting into another relationship. But I knew that I didn’t need that and I was also not interested to waste my time with a girl. There was a girl in our college named, Suravi who used to be very popular for her looks. Most of the guys were crazy after her except me.

One day, a friend told me, “Did you know that Suravi always gazes at you during class? Many of us have noticed it. Don’t you think she could be a good match for you?”

“No, I don’t see her as my girlfriend,” I replied, returning my attention to my math problems.

Some other day, while I and my friends were sitting and gossiping, Suravi entered the class. Almost everyone immediately turned their heads toward her.

Annoyed by my friends’ behavior, I said, “How cheap you all are. Just because a girl entered, you all are drooling over her.”

One of my friends retorted, “Yes, we’re looking at her because she’s beautiful. You’re talking like you’re a saint.”

“No, I am not a saintly person. But she is not that interesting.” I said.

“She is a dream for you. You can’t be her boyfriend whatever you may do.” One of my friends said.

“First thing, I am not interested in her. And if you are challenging me to make her mine then I can do it very easily” I said.

proposal went wrong

After class, I approached Suravi and said, ‘Hey, I need to talk to you.’”

“Huh! What?” She asked.

“Not now. After the college hour gets over I will meet you on the terrace. I have something important to say.” I said with an intense look.

She became confused and said, “No, I can’t come to the terrace. You say right now.”

“I am interested in you. Will you be my girlfriend?” I asked.

She didn’t say anything but only kept staring at me with eyes wide open. After pausing for a minute she said, “No. I won’t. I really don’t know how can you say this so directly.”

“What’s the problem in saying directly? I like you and that’s what I have said.” I said.

“What about Pranshi? Are you guys broken up?” She asked.

“Yes, It’s been more than three months since we had broken up,” I said.

“Oh! Really? But I am not ready for this relationship.” She said.

“Okay, I don’t have any issues,” I said and went home.

She called me despite rejecting me

After a week our college declared a holiday for a week due to the Durga Puja festival. I was lying on my bed and checking my phone. Suddenly I got a call and it was an unknown number. I received the phone and it was Suravi on the other side. I was surprised to hear her voice.

I asked her how come did she call me up? Then she said that she had taken my number from one of our mutual friends. She just wanted to talk to me as a good friend. So, she called me up.

I thought, “She must be also interested in me. Otherwise, why would she call me up?”

After a brief conversation lasting no more than five minutes, I ended the call with Suravi. The following day, she called me once again, this time inviting me to join her at the Durga Puja Pandal located near her residence in the evening. I went there and the place was very crowded. I couldn’t find her but she suddenly appeared in front of me out of nowhere. We exchanged smiles and then went inside to visit the Deity of Goddess Durga. The pandal was a stunning spectacle, adorned with bright lights and intricate decorations. After offering our brief prayers, we said bye to each other and returned to our homes.

It was a lovely day. But at night Pranshi called me up. Her family was planning to visit the Puja Pandals the following day. So, her mom and sisters were asking me to join them. I agreed to their invite.

But the next day in the morning something happened, that I had never imagined.

Stay tuned to know what happened…