I believe that I am a hopeless romantic. My life led me into a hopeless, but practically romantic journey. Coming from a filmy family, I grew up dancing to Madhuri Dixit’s songs, mimicking Sridevi. I always thought I would fall in love with a ‘hero’, although I didn’t quite know what that meant.
I went to a boarding school for my 11th and 12th classes after my father’s death. I had a penfriend then. It felt easy to talk to or write to him. Yes, I am from that generation; we used to write letters. We didn’t have mobile phones or the internet. I found comfort in the idea of this person, someone I crafted in my mind. The comfort of loving an idealised version made the long-distance relationship bearable.
It was a long-distance relationship. After school, I met him a few times, and he wasn’t the person I fell in love with. It’s not his fault; I was dreaming about my own version of him. I broke up with him, but kept my love for my version intact.
After three years and 17 jobs, I found myself working as an assistant director in a production house. Due to some complicated family circumstances, I decided to work after 12th, instead of pursuing further studies. Work helped.
This was the time when Orkut was in our lives. One day, I received a message in my scrapbook complimenting my photo from a shoot during my TV anchoring days. Let’s call him ‘S’. We started chatting, and he sounded very intelligent. I was trying not to create an image of this person in my head. It was tough not to meet the person in my mind. The internet, back then, felt like a safe space. I didn’t need to deal with a human in flesh and blood. We never spoke on the phone either. It wasn’t necessary.
Denne historien er fra February 21, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Denne historien er fra February 21, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Emergency, Stalled
Kangana Ranaut starrer, Emergency, the eagerly awaited biopic of 2024, is yet to find a release date. Bollywood has churned out a slew of biopics in the last decade, most of them formulaic
Political Dangal
After fighting hard for Olympic glory and protesting against sexual violence, Vinesh Phogat has now stepped into a new role: the politician
Contending Nationalisms
The Manipur crisis is a complex, interconnected mess that spills across several borders, national and international
God, Communism and a Women's Gym
Unlike other constituencies in the region, Kulgam stands out as a battleground for ideological conflict. The election results, expected on October 8, could lead to either celebration in the CPI M) camp or the Jamaat-e-Islami camp
The Darkest Hour
Qurban Ali is a senior journalist and son of former freedom fighter and Socialist leader Captain Abbas Ali, who was jailed for 19 months by the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency.
Chronicle of Authoritarianism Foretold?
Eternal vigilance on the part of citizens is imperative Eternal vigilance on the part of citizens is imperative
Blank Editorials
Despite being under scrutiny during the Emergency, small journals like Himmat Weekly got around censorship by taking calculated risks
To Write or Not to Write
For many journalists, reporting in the volatile decade of the 1970s was both exciting and challenging
Indira, the Nationalist
Indira Gandhi is dead and she cannot defend herself. But that doesn't mean others can't
Blue Star and the Golden Temple
Bhindranwale was able to get away with wrongdoings because in the eyes of the Congress leadership in Delhi, Punjab had a Sikh problem since Independence’
