Love (f)actually

There’s this fun reel I saw. 

Person A: I will do anything for the love of my life

Person B: Will you eat healthy and get 8 hours of sleep

Person A:

You get the gist. I saw this and LOL-ed IRL.

Now, since I am utterly unqualified to talk about the ‘eat healthy and 8 hours of sleep’ thing, let’s focus on the love part. (What makes me qualified to talk about love, you may ask, but it's my blog!)

Somewhere in my late 20s and early 30s, I realized that love in the cheesy romance books/movie sense had really lost its sheen.

I remember looking at the price of flowers one Valentine’s Day and realizing that Kartik would much prefer eating the two biriyanis that I could get with the same money. It’s a jaded take, considering that I always put a lot of faith in these small, beautiful gestures.

Also, the economy aside, I began to realize that the ‘I will do anything for love’ is so stupid and cliched and most of us really wouldn’t, past that age where we think love is an all-consuming, passionate, life-saving, madness.

Tell me this, those of you who have been married/committed for more than a year, will you give up your side of the bed for your partner? 

I thought not. 

Because same. 

(This actually happened. After a Neeya Naana level debate, we switched places, and even now, I brandish that about once in a while. No, I am not above that)

When I was in love with Kartik, I remember thinking that I would never ever say no to the opportunity of watching a movie with him. Hah. That died a quick death. Even before OTT and the convenience of catching the same movie on TV, there have been times I have chosen to stay home and watch reruns. Because, at the end of the day, that is who I am!

This is why this “I will do anything for you/I will die for you” rubbish really irks me. Like one is going to find opportunities to dive in front of a bullet every day. 

Are you willing to sit and listen to me go on about my current obsession, and be genuinely interested in what I have to say? Will you join me for something I want to do for my friend? Will you assuage my anxiety about ridiculous things for the 176629th time?

This is where so many people fail.

At the end of the day, we are all opposed to change. None of us is going to turn into a new person for anyone. We may try new things, accommodate a few, grudgingly, maybe for barter, but that’s about it.

And I guess that grudging accommodation is love. 

Title credits to the utter genius that is Baradwaj Rangan who had titled his VTV review similarly. (Yes, I can come up with a title of my own.. it just gives me a special joy to borrow from BR instead)