“Let no one who loves be called altogether unhappy. Even love unreturned has its rainbow.”
― J.M. Barrie
Love is the most transcendent feeling in this universe, ethereal than the air and sturdier than the rocks. And he proved it, that failing in love shouldn’t end up in falling in life. My father recited his story of true love and its impact on him, when I was a kid. Vinay was popular in my family as ‘Chota Kant’, the youngest son of Kant family of 5 brothers and a sister. His eldest brother was my father’s best friend, so he was a baby figure to my grandparents.
He used to visit my house everyday to eat those Sattu ke Laddu (prepared with roasted gram flour, ghee and sugarcane juice), my Granny’s special delicacy with the rustic flavor of Bihar. He was an extremely intelligent and talented child who proved his genius as a state topper in ICSC boards. The entire Kant family was known for their brains, culture, education and their inclination towards achieving the zenith of success. Today, they are the noted personalities of India (his brothers being chief-justice and well-known IPS officers).
Vinay was the cynosure of the eyes of them all as that time they could see the spark in him and the effervescence of his shiny future. They considered him a light that could vanquish away the poverty of his family with his intelligence and mettle. But the ‘Beau Gosse’ fell for ‘La Belle Dame Sans Mercy’, a beautiful girl without a heart. She was a pampered princess of a zamindar family, graceful and drop-dead-gorgeous. He got enchanted with her first glance, the very first day when she joined his college.
He was in a habit of parking his rusted bicycle beside her chauffeur-driven Porsche vintage car. And slowly, this habit of him turned into an addiction which led him to bunk his classes, waiting for her to come out of her home-science lectures, and all the time following her through his eyes. Her name was Kumkum, the daughter of the richest man of the town who had a lifestyle. Thus, she never-ever bothered a returned glance upon him, though she was completely aware of his feelings for her.
That day, he reached her gate and told the guards that he was Kumkum’s friend. And within a moment he was surrounded by 8-10 men who were holding ‘lathis’ in their hands. Suddenly, an old man appeared in front of him who gestured his finger towards him and the guards started beating him. He cried—
“Please call Kumkum once!”
And to his utter surprise, he saw Kumkum there with a couple of girls, laughing. She said to her grandfather—
“Dadu, please leave him. He is my classmate and has come here for some pocket-money. I have promised help by allowing him to clean and repair my old slippers and sandals.”
She was smiling constantly! A wounded Vinay was stunned and agonized emotionally more than being physically hurt. Her grin seemed a crystal rose that broke and pierced his fingers
Later, he came to know through Kumkum’s friend that she reacted in that manner because she wanted her Grandfather to be merciful towards him. She even suggested Vinay to forget Kumkum and live his life in some better way.
Though Vinay failed that day in attaining his deepest desire, the love of his life, yet love had never failed. It had won that battle. Despite being defeated in obtaining his proclivity for his love, he reached towards those spiritual heights. The impact of transcendent love completely transformed his life. He realized that very day, what he was born for.He opted never to get married and lived rest of his life in reminiscence of Kumkum. He achieved heights of knowledge and self-enhancement, and decided to possess his love for Kumkum forever in his heart.
He relinquished his entire life for his love by making an impact on many people and their children as an educationist. He influenced many people to educate their children in real meaning. A law professor, in Patna University, he founded his charitable school for kids and later established a training (coaching) institute for UPSC aspirants, which has a high success rate of producing maximum genius to India’s administrative services. He became a boon to all those students, who, despite having the caliber, lacked in opportunities.
His unsuccessful love helped him making his impact as a great educationist. He believed that if he would have married and lived a common man’s life, he would have been able to shape the future of maximum two or three kids of his own. But today, he is framing the carrier and future of hundreds of kids every year.
I owe my education to ‘Vinay uncle’ who visited our place last while I was getting married and he argued my father as to why he was marrying me off at a tender age of 18. He even requested my father, not to send me to my parents’-in-law house till I finished my studies. He even told me—
“Promise me that you won’t let me down and prove that a girl can study and achieve her goals even after getting married.”
Those were the most motivational words of impact for me which inspired me to complete my masters in English literature, four years after marriage. His impact on my life hasn’t faded even today. Whenever I call him, he always inspires me to provide best possible education to my daughters and tells me to help the underprivileged with education.
Years after being rejected in love, he still lives a life for his lady love. For him, eternal love is not about falling for someone, but rising above all trivial feelings of acquiring someone as your possession. He made his impact on many with his love and beyond…
- This is a real story of a well-known, reputed professor, educationist from Patna. All the names have been changed to protect the dignity and to hide the identity of the characters.
— Sangeeta Mishra
This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.
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Yes Maniparna. The protagonist of this story is my respectable uncle, and he still inspires many people to live selflessly and achieve high.
Thank you so much. 🙂
What an inspirational piece Sangeetaji 🙂 fabulous narration especially the concluding part!! Kudos!
Thank you so much Archana. 🙂
Touching story.. liked it.
Thank you so much Meera 🙂
Nice post. Loved it. It’s quite inspirational.
Thank you so much. Glad that you liked it.:)
nice story , loved it
Thank you so much. 🙂
Very touching. Loved it ! The fact that his failed love did not send him packing into depression is surprising , this is certainly a motivational story for all those who fail in love and decide to drink away in tears for the rest of their lives ! My salute to the professor who took this in the positive way!
Rightly said Bushra. People who fail in love, often end up loosing their zest of life. My protagonist surely can show them a path to live a dignified life despite being lovelorn.
Thank you so much for appreciating the story. 🙂
We fall, but to rise gracefully is what makes us human a special species. Great story Maitreni and hats off to our Hero here.
Well said Jyoti. Our protagonist surely deserves appreciations way more than this. Glad that you liked the story. Thank you so much. 🙂
Hello SangeetaJi. I didn’t realise that you and Maitreni post through the same blog. Do forgive my ignorance. It was a pleasure reading your post 🙂
No problems Jyothi. It happens. Well, for your information, Maitreni is my daughter and TSS is jointly handled by both of us. While Maitreni takes care of the tech-part, reviews, fashion shoots and promotions; I still prefer sitting on my writing desk with old-school paper & pen and handle the creative writing part, apart from replying to comments here. 🙂
You can find some more info. about us here :– https://www.thestylesymphony.com/about-us-2/meet-the-team/
I welcome you once again on TSS. Thanks a lot for dropping by. 🙂 🙂
A very touching and inspiring story, narrated so beautifully. And absolutely loved the concluding paragraph. A great post, Ma’am 🙂
Thank you so much Purba. Your comments always make me feel special for my writing. Glad that you liked this true story of an immensely inspirational, talented and hardworking person. 🙂
This is another inspirational post Sangeeta ji, thank you for sharing. In the start, am hurt because of the brutal behaviour of kumkum, i felt the pain in Vinay ji’s heart. It is intolerable and i can even frame her laughing hurted his deep veins and left him all alone in that mire of pain. Now, am no more sad or hurt. This has a happy ending, his love is true. He never forced her to love, he never wasted his valuable time after rejection. Moving on.. and impacting the society in that way like Vinay is highly appreciated. A must read post, especially in these days. Am thankful to you Sangeeta ji. This is a bookmark post :))
You are absolutely right Prasanna. The protagonist of this story is my respectable uncle, and he has inspired thousands of by his insight and hard-work. He impacts people to live selflessly and achieve high even today. And as you said, the youth of today seriously need to be like him, and they should rise in love rather than falling for it. Love is not at all about destruction and failures but for contentment and enlightenment.
As I always say, your insight and maturity amaze me, and this time too you have put your views so beautifully after imbibing this story.
Thanks a lot to you for reading my posts without a miss. Your appreciation means a lot. 🙂
Very interesting, meaningful, inspirational and at the same time poignant too. But why you guys stop giving the name of writer of the posts? How do I know who is telling the story: Maitreni or Sangeeta Ji?
Thank you so much Ravish. Glad that you liked the story. It’s way more inspirational for me as this is a true story of a person whom I’m proud to know. Well, you must have understood by now that this story is by me. We are not giving names as these posts are contest entries.
Thanks a lot once again for your appreciation. 🙂