9 years out of forever...

So, again, it’s been pretty long since my last post. But again, as I am not a full-time blogger, I can only write when time and my mind allows.

I am just back from a getaway. A much-needed one. It was the occasion of my marriage anniversary – 9 beautiful years of a happily ever after.

As you all know, I was in Germany for over a year and it’s only been couple of months since I am back in my homeland. Germany is a wonderful country. I miss every bit of my stay – my friends, the family that I earned here, my place. But there was one thing that wasn’t with me and whose absence was much stronger than my ever-growing love for Germany – Aishwarya – my husband.

As I was alone, I always felt a big vacuum since Aish wasn’t with me. I had to come back. I had to come back for him, even more so for me! To live without him is a nightmare. I lived a year full of it, and was not ready to live any further like that! So, even though, I wanted to stay, I equally wanted to come back.

So, when I was back, I felt I was back from an exile. Home is where your Heart is. My heart was here in India, where Aish was. So, coming back to him was the kind of happiness I really cannot express. He is my first love. I fell in love with him at a mere age of 16. Our love story is no less than a roller-coaster ride. We had gone through a lot to be together. At such a young age, we found each other and then fought with the whole wide world to be with each other. So, he is as precious to me as the most precious thing in the Universe.

We didn’t see each other for months. So, it was surreal to finally meet him. I couldn’t believe it was him for a moment. To hug him felt so weird. He was a bit surprised at my reaction. He had also grown his hairs and hence he looked completely different. I mean, we were on video calls almost every day. But to look at someone virtually and meeting in person is always a totally different feeling. I was so stunned. I was almost acting as if he were a stranger! But, after a while, I got on my senses and realized that I finally made it! Made it to India from Germany during the dreadful pandemic.

First few weeks at home felt like I am in a paradise. Mumbai is a crowded city. Where we live, its next to a highway and very close to the International Airport! But those noises were really like a cuckoo singing in my ears! Many told me to be prepared about jetlag, irregular sleep pattern, plausible health issues as I was coming to India from a foreign country after more than a year. I was even advised to take vaccination shots as I could catch water borne diseases, or the climate could affect my overall health. But, the moment I landed, I felt that I am now at home and at the safest and the most beautiful place on Earth! No jetlag, no insomnia, no health issues. When you see the smile on the faces of your closed ones who have been waiting for your arrival, it just makes you so happy and content that it automatically recalibrates your body and soul to the new surroundings. I don’t think, I needed to adjust at all. It felt like, I was never away!

My family – Aish, my sis-in-law, my mother-in-law were exhilarated to see me back. Watching them happy just made me feel the luckiest person. No amount of riches can replace the treasure of warmth. That moment, I felt like the richest person on Earth. They are literally my world and I am thankful to God every single day for bringing them in my life.

I spoke to my sisters, my aunt – whom I call mummy because she is my mother – not by DNA, but by heart. They were equally happy with my arrival. After the 2 weeks quarantine, I met them all! It was so good to finally meet them, talk to them for hours, listen to their stories, tell them mine!

I think a month or two went in these beautiful meetups.

By the end of December, me and Aish were deciding on the location where we wanted to celebrate our Marriage Anniversary. We were going to celebrate 9 years of marriage! We both are merely 30 years old and have spent almost half of our life knowing each other. That’s pretty dope! We were pretty young when we got married – I was 20, he was 21 – just about the legal age to get married!

For all those who are wondering, we had a Love Marriage! Our Love Story is as adventurous as it can get! I will talk about it some other time, some other place!

Nevertheless, since it was an ultra-special occasion, we wanted to celebrate it at an ultra-special destination. We traversed through a variety of places! India is such a vast country! Every state is a country in its own – its own unique culture, tradition, history, cuisine! We were so confused! But, after days and days of thinking – we finally decided the place – Kerala!

It is so breathtakingly beautiful that it is also known as God’s own Country. Kerala has a very unique etymology. The word ‘Kerala’ comes from the Malayalam word ‘kera’ which means 'coconut tree' and ‘alam’ means 'land'; Hence, it is also known as the 'land of coconuts' due to the abundance of coconut trees.

We spent around 5 days in this paradise and each day was as perfect as it can get. We stayed at Taj Bekal Resort – a beautiful resort and a perfect pick! The resort was spread across acres of land filled with coconut trees, banana trees, mango trees and host of other greenaries! It had backwaters and a beautiful serene beach in its premises. We couldn’t ask for more!

Owing to the Covid pandemic, we didn’t venture out of the resort and it didn’t bother us a bit! The place was a little paradise on its own! Also, the hotel staff had well sanitized the entire hotel premises and they were very particular about all covid specific protocols and adherences. So, for us, we were more than happy to be ‘locked in this little paradise’. This bio-bubble of ours was just awesome!

The beauty of the place was so enthralling that we just couldn’t help but stay out as much as possible; even though the sun was scorching hot! We couldn’t afford to miss any part of this wonderland! The staff was equally warm and helpful. The food was just too good. Traditional Kerala Cuisine is everything one could ask for!

We also had our little water adventure – we went for Kayaking! Me and Aish, both are scared of water. Ankle is the maximum height of water we allow ourselves to get soaked in, when we are at the beach! So, to decide to do Kayaking was a big thing – a big achievement, a big accomplishment.

It was scary but the experience easily overtook the water phobia. We enjoyed every moment of this little adventure. Will we do it again? I don’t know! But, this one instance – we simply loved and it is embellished as one of our most cherished memories.

It is hard to believe, but we simply slept on our anniversary night! We then woke up at 4 am or so and then wished each other! When you are together for so many years, occasions become special by emotional connect and not by time. For us, at 4am too, we were as happy as we would have been when the clock would have struck midnight 12!

Gifts are also now not a mandate! We never were crazy for them! So, I didn’t gift anything to Aish. But he has his ways! He gifted me a watch – and a good one! Even if he would not have given me anything, it would really not have mattered. Gifts signify emotions – if you get the emotion, you don’t really need a gift!

But, having said that - I was still super happy to receive it! That’s the difference between him and me. I am more organized and do as we decide. He likes to deviate! That’s what keeps our relationship interesting!

In a jiffy, 5 days were over! We had one of the best anniversary getaways! It was all the more special because it was our first trip post my return! But to be with Aish is a great getaway in itself! Each day with him is a new experience. We know each other a little more, we love each other a lot more!

We completed 9 beautiful years of marriage! We still are the same immature love birds at occasions! We fight, we laugh, we get angry at each other, we are just like any ordinary couple – and that’s precisely also why we are so special! We understand each other, we respect each other. This trip, Aish had to work in between and I totally understood that! We both are career-oriented individuals and we love our profession. Hence, it is imperative that we also respect and understand that sometimes, even though we are on a vacation, we might have to work. So, although he had to get on calls time and again, it really didn’t deter our joy. It was the kind of commercial breaks in between a really interesting movie, when you are in a theatre – you have to watch it even though you really didn’t ask for it!

Aish and me have seen a lot together. We were merely in our 20s when we got married. We just had started our jobs – were earning pretty meagre. But it all didn’t matter. We loved each other and were ready to face all obstacles together holding hands and with a smile! All that we need to keep a relationship blossoming is Love. When you love each other, trust, care and respect are complimentary gifts. When you have these 4 pillars in a relationship, it is pretty strong and it can easily withstand cyclones and tsunamis of any form!

We have now entered the ‘Decade Year’ of our marriage and we are still the crazy couple that we were when we were just married. Nothing has changed except for the Calendar.

I’d like to keep it like that! 😊

So, this is how we celebrated 9 years out of the forever!

I hope reading this made you smile. If it did, my writing was a big success!

This is exactly why I write and share my world with you all!

I will write back soon (hopefully!).

Until then, stay safe, stay healthy.