Pehla Nasha: I went to propose but asked the time!

It may all seem a little funny now and may mean nothing to you beyond a fond memory, but it's fun reminiscing all about your first love!

With Valentine's Day coming up, we invited readers to share stories of their first loves with us. Here is the next set of responses!

First up we have Shayantan's tale:

Well, this seems like a walk down memory lane. Although it happened eight years ago, it is still fresh in my mind. I had moved to a different school after my Class 10 in Digboi. I stayed in a hostel and shared my room with the best bloke in the world. It was compulsory for everyone in the hostel to engage in some extracurricular activities after school. My room mate and I were part of the cricket team.

One fine evening, while playing, we saw a bunch of girls on the terrace close to our playground. Everyone started to make an extra effort at batting, bowling and fielding. We were diving around, bowlers were bowling with more venom and the batsmen were trying to hit a six with every ball. Suddenly the ball came towards me and due to a rush of blood, I made a mess of it. Everyone started laughing, even the girls. It was quite embarrassing, I must say. Suddenly I saw this one girl and everything stopped around me. She had something in her eyes...I don't know what, but I sank into her brown eyes. I felt what SRK felt in Main Hoon Na. I came back to the hostel and inquired about this girl and sadly no one knew much about her. Dejected, I waited for the next evening so that I could catch a glimpse of her again.

Next morning, everything seemed wonderful -- our warden's wake-up whistle, the awful breakfast and everything else. I was eagerly waiting for school to finish. We were in the midst of our morning prayers and suddenly I saw this girl again. God, she was beautiful! I noticed that she and her friend were staring at me and laughing. After prayers, I told a senior to inquire about the girl and by the lunch break I had her bio data.

Things continued the same way for the next few months -- I stared at her and she stared back. Finally, my friends decided things needed to move forward. They told me it was time I proposed to her. But the kind of guy I was, I was terrified. Every night we used to plan how I would propose and it was finally decided by my roomies that I do it at the Saraswati Puja.

The Saraswati Puja arrived and it was time to take the next step. I went to her to speak my heart out, but alas -- I came back after having asked her the time! Finally, I told a girl in my class to do it on my behalf. She came back telling me 'XYZ' wanted me to say the words to her. I gathered enough courage and went to her and said those three words, literally shaking -- and she just smiled back. Her friend (who is like a sister to me) told me she needed time to decide. It took almost a week for her to answer and it almost killed me. Finally it was a YES and that was the most wonderful day of my life. I took my roomies to Sharma Hotel for a dosa party!

I wonder if she will read this, because the last time I checked with her, she wasn't very tech-savvy. She is doing her graduation in Assam and is still as beautiful as eight years ago. I am still in love with the sound of her laughter, her flawless skin, her way of talking...I am still in love with her.

Share your 'First Love' stories with us! Write in to us at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject line: 'My First Love'). You can also include a photograph and we'll publish the best entries right here on rediff.com!

Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh

'I was so embarrassed and ran away red-faced!'

Next we have Amit's experience:

It was the year 1998. I was in Class 10 then. Although I had liked other girls before, this one incident had me head over heels, I still remember.

School had just reopened and there were a few new admissions too. I then heard from my friends of this particular girl Ritika, whose cute looks had swept people off the floor. Sigh! Why did all the pretty girls have to be in a classroom Anyways, I did get a chance to see the beauty. "Dude, she's pretty," I told to one of my friends. "I like her."

A few days later, during our sports session, we were all playing football on the playground. I felt a bit thirsty and moved off the field to fetch some water. As luck would have it, she came up to me looking confused and asked, "Hi, can you please guide me to the library?" Dumbstruck by her big round eyes, cute face, glittering smile and even sweeter voice, I couldn't utter a word and just stood there smiling foolishly. But I somehow regained control of myself and said, "I'll walk with you, it's just inside that building." "Thanks!" she said. The two minutes we walked together we didn't talk much, apart from me asking if she was new to the school. "Of course," she said and then introduced herself.

By the time I returned, two things happened -- I had fallen in love and my friends, who had been watching us, had already nicknamed us Romeo and Juliet.

I returned home and couldn't help thinking about her for the rest of the day. I had never before waited so eagerly to get to school! With her in mind, I cycled there the next day and got lucky again when she caught me glancing at her during morning assembly -- she smiled. I smiled too and then quickly looked around. I didn't want more people catching us exchanging friendly gestures while praying. "Oh my goodness, she is so beautiful," I said to myself.

Yearning for a glimpse of her again, I went to her class on the pretext of meeting some friends; I was quite unaware that the previous day's library incident had people talking about us. The moment I entered her class, her classmates started shouting, "Amit, Ritika, Amit, Ritika!" Oh boy, I was so embarrassed and ran away red-faced, not knowing what to do. When I reached my class, I thought, goodness me, what would she think of all this? Maybe she thought I was the culprit.

Ashamed, I avoided eye contact with her for the following few days. Then one fine day during recess, she came up to me and said, "Hi -- can we talk?" I was with friends then and they had already raised their eyebrows. I had no choice -- you can't say no to pretty girls and never to a girl you're in love with.

I silently walked with her and when we were at a safe distance where my friends couldn't eavesdrop, she asked, "Why are you avoiding me?"

"No, I am not."

"Sure you are, why?"

"I didn't tell my friends anything," I explained about the classroom incident.

"I know, you wouldn't be hiding if you'd actually done that. Chill, let them have fun if they want. Friends -- we two -- okay?"

"Friends? Just friends? No way, I can't be just friends with a pretty girl like you. I love you." Hell, I knew I couldn't say that! "Sure we are," I uttered and smiled and then we exchanged our numbers.

So we started talking on the phone -- a lot, almost daily -- and I discovered how lovely she was.

One fine day, with some courage I told her of my feelings on the phone. I was quite baffled when she said, " I know, me too." Suddenly the clouds started roaring, birds started singing and the whole world brightened up for me. Yes, my first love was her first love too and I was so happy. The next day at school we just kept smiling at each other and I felt like grabbing her and planting a kiss there and then.

On Valentine's Day -- February 14, 1999, it was a Sunday, I remember -- we met at a small restaurant to have rasmalai. I gifted her a card, some chocolates and a small teddy bear keychain with 'I love you' engraved on it. And to my surprise, she'd bought the same keychain for me -- they were quite popular in those days because of that song, which were quite famous those days because of that song, Chui Mui Si Tum Lagti Ho. It was happening to me too.

Days passed, we got busy preparing for our boards and our relationship continued. Results were out later and we both passed with flying colours. We chose the same subjects in Class 11, to our liking and interest too. By that time, the whole school knew of our relationship and our parents of our friendship. But things were okay and our cute love just continued through adolescence.

In 2001, we passed out of Class 12. It was time for a final adieu to school. I had secured my admission in a nearby engineering college and she left for Pune for her studies, leaving behind me, my memories and a promise to keep in touch.

Back then, e-mail was the only affordable mode to stay connected -- STD calls were expensive and we were on a strict pocket allowance.

Time flew and our conversations became shorter; from sending e-mails and chatting online everyday, it came down to a few e-mails each week and then each month and finally we completely lost touch.

Years later, I got my first job in Pune and signed onto Orkut too. Searching for my old friends on the social networking site sometime in 2006, I found her. Excited, I send her a friend request with my contact details and asked where she was. I got her response a few days later -- she was in Bangalore and extremely busy.

She then called me and we talked for hours, discussing our lives, the good old school days and what not. We both were in the IT industry and I thought maybe we could reconnect again as I felt I still had feelings for her, but to my disappointment, she already had a boyfriend. She then moved to Germany for her onsite project and after some time, I moved to the US for mine.

Years have passed since then and this is 2011. She is married now and settled in Mumbai with her husband (love marriage, and I am sorry I can't narrate that story). I am back in Delhi, still in touch with her and settled with my job at Accenture.

Thirteen years have passed since then. I have met and left so many people, have been around the globe, but can still remember that scent, my first love, my school and the sweet memories attached to it. They will remain etched in my heart forever. No one ever touched my heart the way you did, Ritika. I miss you.

'My friends discouraged me, saying doctors only fall in love with doctors'

And here is Shyam Sandeep's story:

We used to live in government township quarters in a small town where everybody knew everyone -- it was full of greenery and very scenic in all seasons. People fell in love with this place instantly; I feel lucky to have been part of such a wonderful eco-system, where life was so systematic and organised. We were able to mix with all age groups in our society, right from kindergarten children to grandfathers. There were huge trees all around the colony, showcasing the age of our township and also helping us beat the summer heat.

It all started in Class Six. I had just gotten to know that a new girl had joined in the next class and she had topped in English, which was my forte. I was curious to see and congratulate her, but I could manage only a glance during a common lecture. I never got a chance to meet her until another year had passed -- we were in the same class when we reached Class Seven.

I still remember the day -- it was a fine sunny day. I started early, around 8 am, for school on my bicycle (to complete my Math homework). I entered the classroom and didn't see anyone around -- there was only one schoolbag in the girls' row. I started completing the homework and a couple of minutes later, I heard some footsteps getting louder. I looked up to check who it was and it was her. My heart literally stopped pumping for few seconds -- she was like an angel in the school uniform. I have never seen a beautiful face like that, she had the grace of a goddess and the charm of a princess. I was really awestruck looking at her. She saw me with my wide mouth open, giggled and went to her seat. With a trembling voice I greeted her and told her my name -- she smiled and greeted me back, telling me her name. I could see stars in my head and my imagination was telling me that I would give anything to marry this girl.

Over the next few days I started coming early only to see her. She was a sweet chatterbox; nobody could ever stop or interrupt her talking and I would love to listen to her. I was on cloud nine talking to her and every night, before going to sleep, I would think of her and pray to God for her.

It was the summer of '91, an era of love movies at their best and I did all the crazy things a boy in love could ever do, like writing her name in my books, scribbling minute graffiti on my cupboard, playing stupid games to reveal our compatibility and glancing at her every other minute in class, hiding myself if she happened to look back. I even joined the same tuition class so as not to miss her.

Then came the time for a class excursion, where I decided that I would reveal my love to her. I had mixed feelings about it -- I was excited at the thought, but at the same time, the fear of rejection. What if she said NO? We all got on the bus and on the way there I sat opposite her, chatting for hours together. I felt confident of myself whenever I spoke to her, but felt insecure when she talked to others. The question was always at the back of my mind -- if she felt the same about me as all the others, why would she treat me any differently? I was constantly looking for chances to be heroic in front of her, but failed most of the time. Still, I never gave up -- she may have thought of me as a joker, but that didn't hinder me at all. One of my best friends however, fell ill on the journey and I stayed with him, which drove away all my chances. Perhaps God felt it was not the right time to make a move.

Finally, we reached Class 10 and it was time for the science exhibition. My friend and I were thinking of creating an alternate energy source project like a windmill. We created a prototype from our bicycle dynamo and were trying to find the words for our presentation when it struck my friend -- why didn't we ask a girl to join our team and make the presentation? My obvious choice was her and he agreed -- and she was agreeable too, when we asked her. So she visited my house a couple of times. My mom liked her a lot and it was a moment of sheer excitement for me, the most gorgeous girl I had ever known was in my room -- the very thought was driving me crazy! But of course, the project was priority and we discussed at length how to make it a grand success. Every other day we did a proof reading, looked up words in the dictionary and made it even better -- it was a great exercise. The day was nearing and like a blessing in disguise, my friend had a sports meet on the same day, which left only her and me for the project presentation.

On the day of the presentation I was quite excited. I waited eagerly for her, but there was no sign of her arriving. Finally, she arrived very late and I was furious -- I would have blasted, had it been anyone else. But the very sight of her cooled me down, I learned that she was down with fever, but still made it only for me. I was so happy I could have hugged her. I checked her temperature by touching her for the first time and she was warm. I told her to take rest, but she took the lead and gave a fantastic presentation -- we bagged second prize for it.

Years passed and I never met her in Class 12. She got a double digit rank for medicine and I got a four-digit rank for engineering. We were in the same city, but I never met her until my third year. One fine day, I got a mysterious call -- when I asked who it was, it was her and I couldn't believe it. I was completely tongue-tied. She told me it was just a casual call, but my imagination ran wild all night -- I could hardly sleep. The next day I went to meet her and she had grown even more beautiful, but I could still see the tender beauty of my school friend in her. She wore a yellow dress matching to her skin tone and left her hair loose; she was simply gorgeous. I took her out for a frankie and I remembered all the sweet schooltime chats we used to have. She still chattered, although of course, she was much more mature now.

On the way back, just before we reached her hostel, I gave her a rose and told her of my feelings (after almost nine years of waiting, I felt I should propose on my knees -- I was so embarrassed!). She was calmly quiet for a moment (not furious, thankfully!) and it seemed as if she was expecting this. Then she just smiled and told me that she would need some time to think about it and left.

Thanks God it was not an instant no. I went back to all my childish games of compatibility, searching the Internet on success and failure rates, studying trends in college. My friends always discouraged me, saying that doctors always fall in love with doctors, but I never felt like that was a setback. Weeks passed by and I never got a call. I didn't have the courage to call back, even casually -- somehow, I didn't feel like forcing her into any relationship. So I just got on with my life.

Another year passed and I was in my final year. A few friends and I were thinking of an innovative project to fulfill academic criteria and selected neural networks. After a few days of the initial study, we felt it was more about functional knowledge in medicine and I instantly thought of asking her for assistance. I called her and at first, she seemed reluctant to speak. Then when I told her about the project she assisted me with a few books and also said that she was thinking of specialising in neurology,

We talked for an hour on the phone and the next day, I went to meet her again. I couldn't stop praising her beauty -- she was God's own child, she had an elegance which would be fatal to any man. After a couple of discussions, she asked me why I never called her back for such a long time. I kept quiet for awhile and then asked about my proposal. There was silence for a long time and I could feel the big 'NO' in it. I said it was nice meeting her and that I would call if I needed any more help with my project. I was not disappointed, as I wanted to respect my beloved's feelings; I felt that if we were destined to be together, she would definitely be mine.

Two week later I got a call. It was her and she just said "YES" and nothing else. It puzzled me at first and then I was floating! I kissed her on the phone and said it was the best day of my life, I just couldn't believe it. I never asked her why she took so long to respond, what she felt before and why she said yes

Five years later we got married. I work managing a software team and she is a neurosurgeon in a famous hospital in Hyderabad. We've recently been blessed with a baby girl.

Two great philosophies I have learned are that life is full of pleasant surprises and whatever happens is always in our best interests.

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