My affair which ultimately culminated to love dates back to 1989,when Ranjita and I first met in my cousin's birthday party. She was in IXth and I in the XIth Standard(to the best of my knowledge). She caught my eyes as she had likeness of both Anita Raj and Steffi Graf or otherwise, both celebrities who were my heartthrob.My heart skipped a beat as I felt I had found a girl of my liking(lookwise).The cupid had struck me.

In adolescence, you are bound to make comparisons, me being no exception, I also fell in traps of her charm(innocence,simplicity).Here, I must admit , that it was a crush at first sight(at least at my end).Well ,after that , I cleared state level Engineering Entrance Exam and got admission in the Regional Engg College ,Jaipur .As expected , one starts flying high ,once in college due to unlimited amount of freedom , so did I .Moreover, I had a brand new Mobike in my possession, added to full masti.

I used to visit my cousin's(Tina-My mausi's daughter) place quite regularly, as she was of my age and we used to share a lot many things in common. There ,sometimes, incidentally, I used to meet Renu . Renu has always been a shy and simple person, never indulged in free talks or chats, on the contrary, I used to enjoy meeting people make friends (especially of opposite sex) . My cousin's place was ultimate rendezvous for me ,as lot many of her friends used to gather at her place frequently for afternoon parties.So keeping my fingers crossed ,I used to go to her place , praying for girls to be there.

There were many of them , some were quite pretty and witty ,some were quite bindaas,others were girly sort of (back biting, typical …….).But in one corner ,this girl Renu used to sit, who was quite different from them all. I used to wonder sometimes, that what's going through her mind, but always failed to make out , as she never used to indulge in free talks with me, always used to draw a line.This particular behaviour of her also urged me to know more about her. Slowly and gradually , I started developing a special status for her in my heart, I couldn't give it a name, as I was never ready for a steady relationship with a girl at that moment of my life. At that time , I wanted to freak out with as many girls as possible(as you know, it's always good to discuss as many relations with girls as possible when amongst friends). But for Renu , I always had a sense of respect ,because she was different ,and never gave a clue of being modern types.

So, slowly and gradually she chiseled and carved a soft corner in my heart. Superficially, I used to deny the fact by saying that she's just a good acquaintance and nothing else, but slowly , after intense leg pulling by my cousins and close friends ,I must say, I started thinking of her. Now, in order to test her feelings towards me, I asked my cousin to discuss with her, the prospects of having an affair with me . I knew, Renu ,would take this matter lightly ,as our natures were poles apart , and we did not ,by any chance, ought to make a good pair. My cousin told me that she also liked me ,but hated my flirt nature. I was very happy to know this , but didn't disclosed anything in front of her. These pranks and parties continued for years , I used to chat with other girls ignoring her, and could easily make out that she used to feel jealous.

College days were over, got a job at Malvika Steel Ltd,Lucknow , had to leave Jaipur for the first time. All fun , masti , partying had to cease, above all , leaving behind the sweet memories was a load for me. But by that time ,neither me nor did she had any idea or thought of getting hooked up in a steady affair. It was all light , full of youth , teenage crush sort of by then.

Whenever I used to come to jaipur , I used to enquire about her from my cousin and get to know that ,she also used to enquire my well being from her. We (me and Renu) never talked over phone or face to face in private by then. Then after few time, I joined Hindalco, and went farther to Renukoot , There on I started making calls to her (once in a fortnight ) that too for a few seconds, just to hear her voice .

Next came Tina's marriage, we all went to Agra ,to attend her marriage, Renu being best friend of her, accompanied her to Agra. I was overjoyed to see her , same pranks and leg-pulling continued .

One day, after the marriage, me and my mother went to Asha Mausi's palce , there she started telling /discussing marriage events to my mother. As my mother didn't accompany us to Agra ,she was too eager to know the happenings. All of a sudden , I don't remember on what matter, my mausi started praising Renu and started discussing a prospective matrimonial alliance with me. I was more then embarrassed, least expected had happened. But I was very happy , as I could not rule out the eventuality of us (me n renu) getting married by then. My mausi asked of my view over this proposal, superficially , I showed as if I'm least bothered and effected person of these talks.

On our way back, my mother asked me ,if I liked the girl , I immediately nodded and supported by saying that , the girl is sober and we all have seen her for many years and know about her nature and true character. My mother said that she also liked the girl but the only hindrance being the caste factor, she was apprehensive about people raising their brows for an inter-caste relationship. But she definitely assured me that she'd discuss the matter with Papa. The same night I rang up Renu ,to officially propose her , by this time , I had not committed anything, whatsoever , to her. She at once accepted the proposal, and we agreed to meet for the first time somewhere else, predecidedly and without the presence of my cousin. So the next day we met at Archies Gallery in Raja Park, I was feeling very nervous as was she(I came to know later) . We stayed there for 10-15 minutes discussed a few things and went back. The same night , I had to go back to Hindalco, as my holidays were ending . She convinced me that ,at right moment she will discuss the matter with her parents and would seek their approval.

We used to talk to each other over phone , I would always remember the hefty bills I used to pay for chatting over STD .A major chunk of my salary used to be spent in making calls. After a few days, she mustered up courage, and had a discussion with her parents regarding the prospective alliance. Her parents, took this sportingly , and gave their consent for this marriage.
But after a few discussions with their relatives , they withdrew and refuted this relationship. Renu broke down and used to cry all the times . She even stopped talking to me over phone as her parents objected to this. Later on ,after so many difficulties ,with the help of one my mausis , I arranged to have a telecon with her , she cried and cried over phone asking me to marry somewhere else, and that she will never marry in her life.

I consoled her ,and asked her to muster up her strength and become adamant for this relation and nothing else. She took my words, and stuck to her commitment. Slowly and gradually , time proved to be a great healer, her parents started taking interest in me . As time passed I left Hindalco and joined Software stream in Jaipur itself. Her parents indirectly , by now, had given their nod to this relation.
So , as a token , on 29th September 2001( Renu's B'day) they invited me to their place. From their gestures , I could make out that they liked me , it was such a heartening feeling for me, and thus I achieved what I wanted , with the consent of her dear ones.