Okay! Here I
go again. Now the topic is an age old topic, but a statement was made to me
about a month back. The statement goes like this “Love
is the 7th sense which destroys all the six senses and make you a
complete nonsense”. The reason stated was that love is blind. In return I asked
“So does that mean if it’s not blind
then it is not love?”
Very
recently I went on a trekking expedition to Chandrashila, the summit at
Tunganath at Chopta, Uttarkhand. After a
hefty two day trek we reached Chopta. The Chopta valley is surrounded by
gigantic snowcapped mountains and its scenic beauty is paramount and beyond explanation
in this blog. During this whole trip we were guided by a stray (or maybe wild
too) dog. Yes. He accompanied us the whole trip. Guarding and guiding us
through treacherous ways. Now after the hefty trek, when I was sitting on a
rock and smoking, this dog, whom we fondly named “bhuto” (in English, loosely
it means ghostly), sat close beside me and seemed to enjoy the view too. It was
then it struck me about its self-less endearing love for me and other members
of the group. It was obvious to him that we were going to abandon him two days
later and come back to the plains. He wanted nothing in return except our
leftovers and maybe a pat now and then. People can argue that he came along
with us for food. Seeing his size and health and the forest it dwelled, I
disagree with the conclusion. We started our trek from a village called Sari
Gaon and he followed us from there. I am sure he could have found plenty of
food there. Instead he chose to be our companion.
To answer
the question we have to first define love.
I think Paulo Coelho sort of defined it in his book “The Alchemist”
well: “Love is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us.
When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it
leaves us feeling lost and confused.” But this does not clarify whether love is
actually blind. Neither does it clarify my question to my friend.
Love is
blind. This was penned by Shakespeare and was quite a favorite line of his. For
example, this piece from The Merchant
Of Venice, 1596:
JESSICA:
Here, catch this casket; it is worth the pains.
I am glad 'tis night, you do not look on me,
For I am much ashamed of my exchange:
But love is blind and lovers cannot see
The pretty follies that themselves commit;
For if they could, Cupid himself would blush
To see me thus transformed to a boy.
I am glad 'tis night, you do not look on me,
For I am much ashamed of my exchange:
But love is blind and lovers cannot see
The pretty follies that themselves commit;
For if they could, Cupid himself would blush
To see me thus transformed to a boy.
If you ask
me, I think yes love is blind, most of the times but not always. Yes you do
insane things for that person and you happen to ignore and overlook certain
things about that person. Well if you don’t do that then this whole world would
seem to be filled with persons with follies. That is the reason we have love at
first sight. You like a person even before you know the person. But we have the
wise ones who consciously look for the person of their dreams. They are rare in
comparison to the above category, but they do exist. They meet, discover all
the pros and cons of each other, and still fall for themselves. Because time
makes them grow fonder for each other. Love is not blind here but like a
constant gardener who nourishes the flower beds and rids it off its weeds. So
that, when the eternal spring comes, flowers will bloom. And the birds and the
bees will roost forever.
