Finding Rahul...

Beautiful energetic morning, sitting on a stone kept in the corner of my courtyard and having a cup of yummy, soothing coffee. The soft rays of the sun touch my cheek like it's saying it was waiting for me to come out. From somewhere in the colony, the humming and whistling of a song from Dil To Pagal Hai can be heard. Wow! What else can one expect? My morning started so nicely. It's true that whatever music you hear at the beginning of your day sets the tone for the rest of it. I'm not joking or fantasizing—it is really true.

Let me tell you what happened. That humming took me somewhere else, to my era, my days of real fantasy. Actually, it was a time of life that was truly tension-free and happy. My thoughts went to my world: me and my group—the girls' gang at St. Ursula Girl's High School. We were all great fans and followers of Shahrukh Khan. At that time, it felt like love was in the air. Every one of us was mad about the "love is in the air" concept.

In this love-filled atmosphere and Shahrukh fan frenzy, one thing was common: Rahul. Yes, Rahul. Now let me explain why Rahul: "Naam to suna hoga..." Rahul was a favorite name used by our favorite actor in many films that we loved. Especially Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Dil To Pagal Hai were the best for us. Our fantasy world was so different at that time.

Each one of us from the group of eight girls was dying for a Rahul who would come in front of us and say, "Rahul, naam to suna hoga..."—a cheater Rahul with whom one could fight or play basketball. To our surprise, six out of eight of us were in touch with a Rahul, whether as a childhood friend, a classmate in tuition, a distant family member, or a neighbor! Really, maybe the name was too common. Sorry, some Rahul might kill me for saying his name is common, but it's true it was really that fascinating at that time. Maybe due to that fascination or affection, someone or the other in our group always liked a Rahul. I was also one of them. It was like a KKHH pattern for some of us, just like the rest of the movies where the name of the actor is Rahul.

Rahul... naam to ab suna hi nahi, ratta rataya ho gaya tha. It became a very familiar name for all of us. Now when we go back to those memories and start discussing them, it seems so foolish. Movies felt like real life to us. The fantasy world we created felt real. And our dreams were like that too. Now it’s very clear that dreams, fantasy, and reality are entirely different.

The magical part of that world was that no one was there to tell us what the future would hold. We were very sure that whatever happened would be the best. The comic thing was, two from our group fell in love with some Rahul when they were in junior college. After that, I at least don’t know what happened to their love. One of my friends got married to a Rahul. The most comic part is, while discussing, we all came to know that everyone from our group, when their parents were searching for a life partner for them, got at least one proposal from a Rahul.

I didn’t get my Rahul, my fantasy buddy, but yes, over the years, I’ve come to realize that having fantasies is really good! Many of my friends told me, "Mrunal, you behave like your life is a Yash Chopra movie. Come out of it." But I want to tell all my buddies that life might not be like a Yash Chopra movie, but live life in such a way that someone might want to make a movie about it. I don’t want a movie made about my life, but without fantasy, no one can truly enjoy life. At least at the end of your life, you can be satisfied that you thought of something, you lived something, and you tried to achieve something. Your dream person doesn’t necessarily have to be named Rahul, but what you have envisioned for yourself, you will surely get.

Now my heartbeat skips when my parents talk about marriage proposals and saying goodbye to me as I start my life with my XYZ... Let me get the concrete name and I’ll update you once I finalize it or once he comes to me! Ha ha ha. Anyways, it’s a huge tension, wondering who you’ll get in your life to share it with, calling him your life partner with pride and happiness. It’s not just me; any of my friends had fantasies or linked our lives with movies or dreamt of a dream mate. Everyone does so, but very few express it. The important thing is, if I’m happy and good with myself, surely all will be well. It’s about accepting destiny, dealing with luck, keeping the world of fantasy alive, and much more, not just about finding Rahul. Someone, somewhere...