Falling in love is not a crime.

 

Photo courtesy Wiganparky- Pixabay.

Hari was a tourist guide working in the city of Agra; the place of one of the seven Wonders of the World. He had been in this occupation for almost a year now. Born in the city of Agra he had grown up near the Taj Mahal. His whole day used to be involved in taking tourists around the Taj Mahal and ensuring that they were well placed in comfortable accommodation.

Evenings were devoted to his family which consisted of his mother, and two younger sisters. Being a responsible brother he was very concerned about the future of his sisters and wanted them to complete their education with flying colors. One of his sisters was doing engineering and the other was in a medical college.

Since it was a small family, they were completely devoted to each other. His father had passed away when he was a small boy and he was brought up by his mother, who used to work as a household help at a few households.

Once he started earning, he requested his mother to leave her work as she had toiled all through her life, to bring them up. Now a grown-up man, he wanted to take care of all his family members. Moreover, his sisters would complete graduation in another 3–4 years, when he would be free of all the responsibilities and consider his own marriage.

One of his hobbies was to paint after coming home. This provided him solace after a day of hard work, where he could escape into another world through his paintings. Often he used to draw paintings of the Taj Mahal or the emperor Shah Jahan who had built the Taj Mahal. His paintings used to fetch him some extra money when he used to sell them at a nearby shop.

His only dream in life was to get his sisters married and visit some of the countries which had a rich ancient history like India.

Hari was good at observing people and had picked up words of other languages from the visiting tourists. When he used to greet and talk some of the words in their language, the tourists used to be very happy.

Many times he used to meet beautiful girls whom he used to take around the Taj Mahal, and they used to be in his thoughts for a day or two. After they left, he used to forget everything as there was nothing in these girls which he could consider special.

One day he met a tourist who had come from the USA. She was tall and her eyes were very attractive. She was much more beautiful than the girls he used to generally meet. For a moment he could not take his eyes off her. The girl just smiled and requested him to take her around the masterpiece in architecture.

Hari simply nodded. It was evening time and the structure of the Taj Mahal was changing colors due to the fading sunlight. They walked through the garden with the fountains spraying water in the vicinity. The place appeared majestic.

“What is your name?” Hari inquired.

“My name is Anna” she replied. “My God! Just see the structure, it is changing color.” She exclaimed in excitement.

Hari began narrating to her the history of the Taj Mahal; of how the emperor had got it constructed in memory of his dead wife. It was completed in almost two decades, employing 20,000 workers and 1000 elephants to transport the materials.

“Sounds very interesting,” Anna remarked. “Would have cost a lot to construct the structure.”

“Around a billion dollars in today’s cost.”

Anna was impressed by his confidence and mannerisms. He was more handsome than the boys she had met till now.

“You have come to India to see the Taj Mahal?” Hari inquired.

“I had come here to source some materials for my fabrics business. As I was to stay here for a week, I decided to visit this place. After a few days, I will be flying back.”

After they had done the round of the structure, Hari wanted to talk to her further but was not finding the right words.

“It was nice of you to take me around the place. I hope the next time I come here, we will be able to meet again.” Anna remarked.

“That could be very far off. As a memory why don’t you allow me to paint your picture?” Hari requested.

“Are you a painter?” Anna inquired.

“Yes, during my spare moments I often paint.”

“Fine! then please make a nice portrait. How long will it take to complete the work?” Anna was curious to know.

“Two hours at the most,” Hari replied.

“Great. And where would you complete the work?” Anna wanted to know.

“In my house; where I am the most comfortable.”

Seeing Anna a little hesitant he remarked “Don’t worry; have faith in me. My mother and sisters will be at home.”

Since his house was only fifteen minutes from the site, they started walking down the road. On the way, they were talking about their personal experiences in life. Once they reached his house, his mother welcomed them and soon he got busy drawing her portrait, which was completed within two hours.

It was dinner time now. He called out aloud “Mom, I am hungry. Is the dinner ready?”

“It is ready” his mother replied.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner?” Hari asked her.

“No thanks. I will have it in my hotel”.

“You are our guest. We would be happy if you have dinner with us.” She agreed to have dinner on the insistence of his mother.

“That was a nice dinner, much better than the one I have at hotels. How much should I pay for the painting?” Anna inquired after completing dinner.

“It is my gift to you. But remember, the next time I make a painting again, I will surely charge you.”

Anna soon reached the USA and got busy with her work. Hari too got busy in his profession, but somewhere deep in his heart and mind, he could not forget Anna, and often remembered her.

After a day Anna kept the painting in her bedroom and sent a mail thanking Hari for the wonderful painting. Hari too replied back and soon they were in touch through the mail. Within a few days, Hari asked for her WhatsApp number and they were now exchanging messages regularly.

Soon they discovered that they were in love and could not live without each other. They now wanted to take their relationship to the next level. One day seeing his mother in a good mood he started talking “Mom, now my sisters are well settled and earning good salaries, I think I should get married .”

“I agree with you completely. One of my relatives was suggesting a nice girl. You can meet her whenever you desire.”

“But mom, I like some other girl,” Hari replied.

“You should have told me before. What was the need to hide? Anyways what does the girl do?”

“She is in the textile business?” Hari replied.

“Which place is she from?”

“She is from the USA” Hari replied calmly.

His mother was now completely taken aback. How could he marry a girl from another country when their customs are completely different? she was thinking to herself.

“You have met the girl” Hari spoke, breaking the silence.

“But I have never been to the USA.” She was all the more puzzled.

“It is the same girl who had come to our house, and I made her portrait”.

His mother now remembered the girl but was not happy at his choice. She wanted him to marry an Indian girl. After this, his mother avoided talking to him for a few days to show her disapproval. Hari could sense the tension in the house. His sisters too were not happy with his choice, but they did not react, so as not to annoy him.

Hari could not tolerate the tensions in the house and was always under stress. But he did not want to go against his mother’s wishes as he knew that she had brought them up with great difficulty.

He was also aware that without Anna his life would not be complete and he was always lost in his thoughts. One day on the way to his duty, as usual, he was lost in his thoughts and could not see a car coming from the opposite direction.

Immersed completely in his thoughts, he could not hear the honking of the approaching car. By the time he became aware of the car nearby, it was too late and he was hit by the car and landed a few meters away.

Soon a large crowd had gathered at the place where he lay bleeding profusely. Some of the good Samaritans lifted him up and rushed him to a nearby hospital. He had become unconscious due to the sudden impact.

One of the persons found his contact number and informed his mother. She rushed to the hospital along with his sisters. On reaching the hospital she signed all the documents and gave permission for the operation.

They were now sitting outside the ward praying for his recovery.

The next day Hari regained consciousness but felt too weak to talk. He signaled to the nurse and asked if someone from his house had come.

“Your mother and sisters are waiting outside.”

“Send them in ” Hari replied.

As soon as the ladies entered the room they started crying.

Hari started talking trying to console them “Mom you are such a strong lady. You have brought us up single-handedly, after the death of dad.”

“I know, but I can’t see you lying in this state. Maybe it is the will of God and he wants to test us.”

After a while, they stopped crying and were sitting next to him. The doctors had informed them that he would be discharged in 10–15 days depending on the speed of recovery.

It was painful to be in the hospital alone. The whole day he used to remember Anna. He felt completely miserable as he had not heard from her for the last few days.

Anna had been regularly sending messages on WhatsApp for the last few days but was getting worried after getting no reply. She had tried sending messages many times a day and in the end, was getting frustrated as she could not live without him. How Hari could get so careless? or was he purposely trying to ignore her. She wanted to find out.

Finally, she decided to call him. The mobile rang and his mother picked it up.

“Can I talk to Hari please ?” Anna requested.

“Sure, why not” His mother handed over the mobile to Hari and left the room.

Hari was very happy on receiving her call and informed her of the whole incident. Anna was too shocked to talk, but soon came to her senses. Hari tried to calm her down saying that he was recovering and would be in good health soon.

“I want to come to India ”Anna spoke out.

“You are getting too worried. I will be out of the hospital in a week.” Hari replied.

The whole night Anna was racing up and down in her room. Getting no peace at all, she went to her computer and booked a flight ticket to India. The next day she was in the hospital with Hari.

Hari was pleasantly surprised and happy on seeing her after a long time.

“Why did you leave your business all of a sudden just to see me?” he inquired.

“I could not live without finding out the state of your health. You are more important to me than the business.”

Anna stayed in the ward the whole day and night taking good care of him.

Seeing their love for each other his mother was very happy. She was talking to his sisters “Just see their love for each other. I was completely wrong in my understanding of Anna. The nationality of a person is of no consequence. It is only the true love that matters.”

His mother and sisters had accepted their love. For two years they dated and then decided to get married. Theirs was a match made in heaven, and they lived happily ever after.