Love in the times of corona is not easy. I was thinking about all the lovers, all the boy-friends and girl-friends who have been locked up in different homes and cannot meet in this lock down period of corona. To them and many others who are away from their loved ones be it your children, parents, spouse or other people you care for, be patient and wise for this too shall pass. You can lock down your homes but not your hearts. We will have to resume our normal days from where we had left. The parks, cinema halls, class rooms, canteen, coffee shops, shopping arcades, food courts, and all the other places where love thrived between stolen glances and stolen hearts will once more buzz with life and love. If anything, the distance will make us appreciate relationships much more.

Today I will write about an old love story, a story of strong relationship ; the balcony type love story. The love story of DJ. Sometimes I affectionately call this couple DJ. D is the woman and J is the man. Let me now tell you ‘ ek choti is prem kahani ‘ of my DJ. Years back when D was still in high school and J in his medical school they fell in love, as I said …the balcony type love…”first time dekha tumhe hum kho gaya, second time mein love ho gaya “. Then that happened… what happens in most love stories ! The parents found out 😂.Those days the parents did not celebrate children’s “love affairs” like today . A tiny bit of filmy reaction to every ‘ pyar ka panchnama ‘ was quite expected by one and all. DJ also went through their share of the drama, first shock, then ” how could you ? ” ,then admonishing, gradual acceptance, and at last like a happy ending…dhum dham shadi …everything happened in exact predictable chronology. Ever since , they have been living happily .

Now to come back to the present times. Just before the virus hit us, just before we got locked down in our houses, DJ met with a crisis of their own. Around the middle of February D met with an accident at home. She fell from the staircase of her duplex house and fractured her leg. Her leg was put in a modern day cast…a shoe which can be opened and worn at will. Just like the Cinderella 👠 shoes this orthopaedic magical shoe fit her dainty fractured feet perfectly. As soon as D would wear this magical shoe she could go around doing her manmarziyan and the moment she would open her shoe she would lose all her powers and become the poor princess chained to her bed.

This is a love story, and a twist in the story is inevitable . Seeing D in all this pain and frustration ( despite the Cinderella shoe ) ‘Jill came tumbling after’…..( oops it’s J) . Don’t panic , he did not fall ; Fall in love … yes…. but not a literal fall ! What happened is that osteoarthritis hit him hard. His knee got inflamed and took away most of his mobility. So now DJ were bed bound…holding hand and 😻 looking into each other’s eyes.

DJ are very close to my heart. Thus, when they were in this predicament my heart strings pulled me to their beautiful home for a few days. After doing the regular rounds to the orthopaedic, X-ray rooms, I settled DJ in their love nest. I am a regular gym person. So I never questioned my physical ability to run up and down the steps in their house . But I soon realized that the stepper at the gym was much kinder than the steps of the house. Hats off to DJ, I will never again frown at their lack of physical exercise, they do much more than any average person on any given day .

DJ gradually settled into a make shift routine of their own, with a subtle sense of harmony. They would finish all their love talk by the day because evening hours were reserved for visitors. So many friends would visit them everyday, with ” get well” messages. DJ are loved by one and all, they are the cutest love birds ; their love stories are many , but that is for another time. DJ’s friends brought in flowers, sweets, food, but most importantly they walked in with laughter and smile to cheer them up. One neighbor took over the responsibility of locking their front door at night and opening it early in the morning. In an ironical sense DJ’ s lock down had already begun. I understood that now DJ were perched on the best nest possible and were being looked after well by friends. I gracefully exited , leaving the love birds alone to rest and recoup.

Fast forward the story by another two weeks and the virus attack hit our country . I was already back in my own house. DJ were also not spared from this harsh reality. They too stocked up their groceries and requested their house helps to get back to their respective homes and stay in isolation. What a brave decision for a couple living in a duplex house with one fractured leg and the other painful leg ..all by themselves. They must have looked into each other’s eyes and said ” we have got this “.

Nowadays I speak to DJ everyday on phone. The only thing I can do under the changed circumstances. Their love story continues even amidst all the hardship. As D gets down the steps ( remember Cinderella shoes ), J stands three steps above keeping an eye on her. D rolls the chapati and J lays down the table, J waters the plants, D washes the dishes, J brews the tea , D makes the bed . It is not easy, but they are managing. As all senior people are managing. True love conquers all impediments. These are the commitments every love story craves for.

Did any one ask.. fight scenes ? Of course there are many fight scenes. Like you and me, DJ too fight a lot. They fight over the tv remote, they fight over the volume of the tv, they fight over talking on the phone on loudspeaker mode, they fight over who will get up from the bed to switch off the fan when the air conditioning makes the room too cold . But who finally gets off the bed , or who has the last word I really don’t know. Somethings are best left for the love birds to sort it between themselves. Once the virus leaves us free, I plan to go over and give DJ a tight hug and let the virus know…Love is also contagious .