His Forbidden Love

'Oh, Lord Krishna! I take refuge in you and pray to you for your eternal love. Today is your birthday. I pay obeisance to the Lord of all Lords and the highest symbol of love and purity of the Universe.' Immersing the idol of the Lord in a small bowl of water, Alisha hums her favorite bhajan and covers the idol in colorful tiny clothes which gives a pleasing effect to the eyes. She decorates the temple with a garland of different varieties of flowers and places the idol on a higher platform when she hears her mother calling from a distance from outside the inner temple of the house. "I am coming," Alisha replied. She takes an idol of Lord Shri Krishna and shows it to her mother. "Mother, see what I got." "Oh! This idol of Lord Krishna is so beautiful. But shouldn’t you place the idol in the temple?" The temple is already adorned with another idol. This is a special gift very close to my heart "Who gave this gift to you? Some special whom I know.." "No. I brought it for someone special." "Will you give the idol to me?" "No. Mother. I cannot give it to you," she replied "Why can't you give it to me? I am your mother," She laughed "I will give it to someone special in whom I will see an image of Lord Krishna." "I am jealous," laughed Rama "Mother, you needn’t be jealous. I haven’t found anyone yet deserving to get this idol." "Okay, now come to the hall and help me with the decorations. The guests will be arriving soon for the celebration." Yes, Mother. I will join you soon but I need some time in the room. I need to check my schedule of work for tomorrow. Alisha takes her dairy in her hand and sees her schedule. She murmurs - I have completed all my work for submission in the Court. Now I can join my family in the celebrations. Alisha goes to the hall to join her mother in the preparations when she sees her mother speaking to someone over the phone. Alisha goes close to her to take her permission for going out to get some sweets. Before she takes her permission, she patiently waits for her conversation to end and overhears it. Rama says – “It is 6 am. Why don’t you join us in the pooja and celebrations of Krishna Janmasthami, Lalitha? Come over to my house. Many are coming to the house. "When is the pooja scheduled to start?" asked Lalitha, her best friend "The Muhurat (auspicious time) for pooja is 8 am,' replied Rama "I will come positively." Very soon, the drawing-room is flooded with devotees and guests who join in Satsang. Alisha begins the celebrations by sharing a few words about Janmasthami and the glories of Lord Krishna. She begins 'Janmashtami is a grand celebration to commemorate the appearance of Lord Krishna, who is believed to be the Supreme Lord or the Lord of the Lords. It is the celebration of joy, love, and divinity.' She requests all present to get immersed in the nectar of love and devotion of Lord Krishna through Bhajans. In pomp and pleasure, Alisha sings her favorite bhajan glorifying the pastimes of the Lord and reciting Bhagwad Gita. After the bhajan gets over, Alisha gives the prasadam, an offering of the Lord to everyone present in the hall. "Come here, little girl.' Lalitha calls her for the prasadam. Alisha gives the prasadam to her. She gets intrigued to know more about her and asks her - "What do you do?" Before Alisha would answer, Rama joins the conversation and says, "She is my daughter, Alisha. She is a lawyer." "Oh. Wow. That is impressive. A lady lawyer. You must be a proud mother. Which Court does she work at?" "She works at the Bankshall courts, the City Sessions Court of the Session Division of Kolkata." Lalitha continues – What is your area of practice? "I take care of family disputes. " "I will surely come to you if I need any advice from you. " "Sure, Aunty." "God bless you, child" "Thank You, Aunty." Lalitha began – "Rama, your child has child-like innocence. It is a rarity." Alisha is overwhelmed by the compliment and takes leave from them to serve the prasadam to everyone in the hall. Lalitha’s eyes get hooked on Alisha when Rama asks her – "What is going on in your mind?" Lalitha says that she is impressed by her daughter’s devotion and humility and puts forth a marriage proposal for her son, Dinesh. In the middle of all hustle and bustle in the hall, Alisha hears her phone ringing. She receives the call and speaks – "Yes. Who is this?" "Can I speak to Ms. Alisha Sharma?" "Yes. Alisha Sharma speaking" "Mam. We are the organizers of AutHer literary Awards 2021 and would like to invite you for an awards function." "Awards function? And me?" "Yes. You are nominated for your novel “Chosen by Fate” which you submitted last month with us for the competition." Tears started swelling in her eyes and her heart filled with joy. She continues - "May I know when the Award function is?" "The AutHer Awards winners will be announced at a grand ceremony on 1st September 2021. Cash prizes would be given to the top winners of all four categories and a Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to a woman author for her lasting contribution in the field of literature. The details of the function and venue location will be provided to you by email." Alisha couldn't believe what she heard. After keeping down the receiver, she shares the big news of her achievement with her mother who tells her father, Ramesh about it. He takes pride in it and boasts of her achievement before the gathering in the hall. All begin to congratulate the family for such a big achievement. After the guests leave the house, the family rushes to Birla Mandir at Ashutosh Chowdary Ave, Ballygunge, and prays fervently to the Lord thanking him for his blessings. The temple as is known for minute engravings showcasing quotes from Bhagavad Gita is an inspritation to the devotees like Alisha. The priest in the temple blesses the family while Alisha prays before the biggest idol placed at the center of the temple. She closes her eyes in deep meditation on the lotus feet of the lord and begins - ‘Today is your day but you have made my day special. Till now, you have fulfilled all my wishes, I pray to you that may I get my true love like you have loved Radharani and set an example of Eternal love. May I also have an eternal love story like you.' She feels a sudden outburst of emotions for the Lord and returns home. At home, her mother, Rama expresses her happiness through her tears while her dad hugs her in delight. "Mother, don't get emotional. It is just another day for us." "You deserve it girl. We are proud of you." "Thank you, Mother. I am going to meet Seema. She is waiting for me at her home for prasadam. I will share the news with her also." Alisha rushes to Park Street where Seema has her residence. Park Street is their usual hang-out place. Both Alisha and Seema hang out at the various restaurants on ParK Street with their friends. Some call it “the city that never sleeps,” while many attach to it the prestigious tag of “Kolkata’s food street”. Yet, others think the name “Times Square of Kolkata” suits it the best. Park Street has several monikers, and each of them highlights everything that the City of Joy holds dearest: Food, culture, music, and history. Park Street is where it all comes together. It’s where it all comes alive. Alisha shares the news with her circle of friends whom they meet in the nearby café 'Barista'. All of them congratulate her and ask her for sweets (Rosogullas) which she is delighted to share. Back home, some relatives, her paternal aunt, and uncle come home to congratulate her. They celebrate by having pedas which are brought by her favorite uncle 'Karan', who says that he is feeling proud of Alisha who has brought a good name to their family. At night, she checks her email for details of the function and is glad to know that the function is tomorrow. She feels she has less time for preparations. Before going to sleep, Alisha takes the most precious idol in her hand. She stands near her window pane and looks at it closely in the light of the moon when it slips from her hand and falls from her window pane. She shouts out loudly - 'Oh God'. A man standing beside the car starts looking around. Alisha sees down and finds a man holding the idol tightly in his hands. She immediately runs down the stairs from her flat on the 1st Floor to the ground floor and looks at him from a distance. Alisha moves forward to see him properly in the surrounding light. Having the most attractive form, his complexion is dark like a cloud, the eyes resemble the moon and sun, the eyebrows are charming like a rainbow, the nose is long as the beak of a bird, the eyes are broad like lotus petals, the man's face appears even more enchanting when He smiles. He looked like an image of Lord Krishna. "Hello, Mr.... Thank You for saving the idol from falling to the ground." He turns his face to the right to see her. He gets mesmerized by her beauty and forgets the surroundings for the time being. “May I have the idol that you are holding in your hand” Alisha requests again ”Oh! Is this yours?” the man said. "Yes. The idol is mine." Alisha sighs in relief. "Hi. My name is Jamie Pereira." "Alisha seemed least interested and says, “May I take the idol?” The man touched the idol on his forehead as a mark of respect and handed it over to Alisha. Alisha thanks the man and turns away to leave the place. "May I know your name?" shouts Jamie She doesn’t respond as she is asked by her parents to come up to the flat immediately. Her mother calls her by her name and asks her to come up fast. She hurries up the stairs. Jamie constantly looks at her. His sight is interrupted by Ankush who asks him to get inside the car. Ankush asks him, “Who was she? Do you know her?" He responds, “I don’t know her but I want to know her. It felt like I know her since many births." Ankush smiled and said, “You started again. Don’t be romantic. You sound like a hero of a Hindi Movie” “No. Ankush. You must have heard, “True love never dies”. And they chuckled... At night, Alisha couldn’t sleep due to excitement while the chance meeting with Alisha kept Jamie awake for hours...