I’m the kind of person who doesn’t usually cry after watching a particularly sad movie. I can count on my fingers the number of times a story has moved me to tears. The last scene in the movie “Anjali” where her older siblings try to wake her up but she doesn’t respond because she’s long gone. The gut-wrenching pain the little boy experiences in “Taare Zameen Par” and the bittersweet love of the couple in “The Notebook” made me sob uncontrollably. This was decades ago and I haven’t shed a tear at the cinemas in ages now. So imagine my surprise when I found myself tearing up over “Saiyaara,” the story of a young couple where one of them is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. I’ve always been a sucker for love stories but this one was different.
Because I loved the movie so much, two of my friends suggested “Rockstar” and they were sure I’d love it. I watched it for their sake but it was pretty clear to me that the kind of love portrayed in that movie was in sharp contrast to the love shared by the couple in Saiyaara. Love has the power to redeem or to completely destroy you. It can be a disease that you succumb to or it can be an elixir that heals you. A drug that consumes you or a balm that soothes your soul. One takes from you until you run dry and lie on the wayside gasping for air. Another swoops in quietly as you are drowning and becomes the solid rock on which you rebuild your life. Rocky, unpredictable, and tumultuous love sweeps you off your feet and makes you lose your bearings. But the quiet, steady kind will bring you a peace and comfort that you’ve never known. It comes with a softness and sweetness that lingers like a scent.
If you’re lucky, you get to experience that kind of love. And if you do, hold on to it for dear life. Not everyone is fortunate enough to find it.
Punctuate Life 