Romeo....and Juliet

"Juliet when we made love you used to cry
You said I love you like the stars above Ill love you till I die
Theres a place for us you know the movie song
When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong Juliet ?"

I have a vivid memory of BRAYING this verse, over and over again, to two besotted lovers not so long ago. I think it was last Diwali or the one before that, I'm not sure. But it's unimportant. Because this story is not about me. It's about them. Those two lovers for whom time, and other people, have lost all importance; they're now in a place where the only thing that matters is having each other.
Vidya. Smart, vivacious, 21-year-old MBBS student. Filthy rich, but brought up by ayahs, nannies and an older brother whom she called 'Surya,' and adored with all her heart and soul. "He's the sunshine of my life," she often told me when she visited our ancestral home in Tumkur with my cousin sister (her classmate and best friend); and "You guys are so lucky to have such a big family. I wish I was a part of it!" To which we all laughingly responded that she indeed was. Over a short span of 2-3 years, my memories of family vacations and get togethers have become synonymous with those of Vidya; her generous laugh, unassuming nature and incredible ability to put people at ease. She was adopted into my large, bustling, boisterous family from the start. She bought my sister HUMUNGOUS Cadbury gift packs(which da pig finished in a day!), discussed sari draping with my aunt, and walked Belli (the world's fussiest doggie) with my grandmother in the rain.
Enter Kunal. I met him only once, that fateful Diwali. I still remember little, insignificant details so starkly. The way they held hands under the table. The way he made her go a brilliant red by just smiling tenderly, so that, in her designer pink lehenga, she looked a freshly bloomed orchid. The way he looked at her....(At this point, I'm out of words. All I can say is that as he gazed at her, I was actually seized by a sick jealousy, wondering if any guy would EVER look at me that way).
We were all bursting crackers that night. Kunal said, "Hand me a rocket, Nanni(my nickname)." "Be careful, you're so busy drooling you'll set yourself on fire instead!" That was my uncle. How we all laughed! That is one of my most treasured memory of family togetherness. Everyone knew; and approved. Even though my grandmother grumbled, "That boy must find a motel. This isn't a brothel! They can't sleep together under my roof," I could tell she was pleased for the two young lovers.
They were so in love that they radiated it; a bond, a security, an unspoken understanding so strong that it reduced everyone else to sopping puddles of mush. Their easy banter (she once chased him all over the garden with a femur they were supposed to be observing!), their comfort zone, their disregard of social (he was a Punjabi, while she was a Kannadiga) and economic (her father was a mulitmillionaire; I'm not too sure about his) status.....all served to make them a perfect couple. I still remember how Kunal, the ultimate bespectacled 'geeky cute' guy, was seriously explaining the difference between genomics and genetics to me once, and as I watched, he looked over my shoulder and his face lit up with an effusive happiness. It was incredible. 3 years of a PERFECT relationship; their plans included a lifetime together.
Looking back now, I WISH I could go to Tumkur and find Vidya there, poring over a fat medical tome, and pull her leg, screeching "You two are so sweet, you give me diabetes!"...Wish Kunal would come visit, smiling that special smile he reserved for her, his angel...
Becuase Kunal was killed in an accident. His motorcycle was hit by a car. Vidya was rendered hysterical, and so her brother brought her home. Two days later, she committed suicide by hanging.
Cold, hard facts.So simple to type. But two young lives, were lost....to be united forever, as indeed they deserve to be.
I'm filled with an inexplicable rage now; rage at her uncaring parents (preoccupied as usual; she was alone when she took her life); rage at the driver who hit Kunal (it was a hit-and-run case); rage at the sadistic God who HAD to ruin this PERFECT RELATIONSHIP!!!
But most of all, I feel overwhelming pity. For my cousin sister, who will never be the same. I guess her definition of crisis has been forever altered. For Surya, whom I've never met, but who seems like an old friend, thanks to all Vidya told me about him. He brought up a wonderful, caring, sensitive sister...
Oh well.
She said, she'd love him till she died (being the cynic that I am, I just laughed).
Well, in the end, that's what she did.