Janhavi Ukhalkar

Right after giving birth, everything changes for a woman. She has just delved into something completely new, something she has zero experience in. Her mind is undergoing a whirlwind of emotions. There is a tiny brand new person who is dependent on her for everything. She might not be too sure of what she is doing. It’s natural, of course! She is still trying to figure things out. Sounds tough enough, right? Yet, why are some people hell-bent on invading their personal space when they are so vulnerable?

‘Because I Love You’, is a phrase that can be used as justification for a lot of horrific things. For instance, it is what some men think when attacking women with acid. They think that because they “love” a woman, she owes them love and must be punished if she does not reciprocate their feelings. But of course, this is not true love.

Did he love me…did he not? This puzzle was solved years later, but… I have had several romantic liaisons none of which reached the stage of fruition, culminating in matrimony. This is yet another incident in which I had no inkling whatsoever regarding what the other individual felt. Had I got a clue things would have worked out differently. During the summer of that particular year, many moons ago, I met this young man, a pen-pusher like myself. Those days I worked for a local city magazine.