Tum Hi Ho Raasta, Tumhi ho manzeel

Tum hi ho raasta tumhi ho manzeel, aur jeene ka tareeqa. Tum bahot yaad arahi ho aaj. Kash thoda aur thaam leta tumhe. Ghar jaunga to tum hogi to nahi, magar dikhogi zaroor. Late se uthunga tab bhi tum yad aaogi, time se utha tab bhi. Car start karunga to tum to hogi nahi, Kiska seatbelt thik karunga fir? Dhalti hui sham mil jaaegi shayad, magar tum nahi mil paogi. Gar sham na mili to tumhara late hona yaad aajaega shayad :) jab bhi hansunga tumhe soch kar, toh yaad ayaga ke, tumhare liye extra toothbrushes jo liye hain, wo bhi intezaar kar rahe hain tumhara so jaldi aajana please.

Sochne ki adat horahi hai Soch soch kar aisa lagta hai, Kash thoda aur thaam leta tumhe.

Tum bahot yad arahi ho aaj Kash tum sath chalti Khair, chalo koi bat nahi. Tumhara khayal to hai sath, Unhi se mil lenge.

Well, today is the evening of February 17th; so why am I making a Valentine's Day post tonight? I actually added this to my drafts on the 14th, just a few days ago, and life simply got in the way of posting it then.

Some things are worth the delay. Love among them.

I'm opening my Substack journey with something deeply personal. I've been writing since the 8th grade. Multi-lingual, a little messy and unrefined, and probably a little too silly. Growing up middle-class in a small town, you learn early that the things you love to do are rarely the things you're supposed to do.

So I never bothered with polish. I only ever learned to write with what I feel. So my first ever post had to be about love.

And so, this is for her. My wife. The woman whose smile rerouted everything. My partner in crime on planet earth and beyond.

I originally wrote this in 2021, the year we got married. It was the middle of one of the most grueling waves of COVID in India. We were stuck out there, and travel back home to San Francisco was severely restricted. We were desperate to finally begin our life together, but we couldn't fly back as one.

Living apart is everything but romantic. The endless attempts to connect, the daily dance around time zones. Just catching up, never connecting.

Anyway, this was written on a warm September evening in Belmont, CA. Don't bother figuring out whether this is a poem or a piece.

I suppose it's its own kind of love letter. Happy Valentine's Day, y'all.