Love aaj kal

Manpriya Singh 

Love has never really been simple; it’s been either grand—as grand as a 17 hectare towering ivory white marble structure called Taj Mahal, or it’s been a fairy tale (as the viewers of Disney movies and readers of Mills & Boon will testify) or it’s been tragic, ask Romeo or our very own Ranjha. 

It’s been epic, historical, anything but simple. What also it’s never really been is, as complicated as today.  Because love has never been ‘friend zoned’ before, or believed in moving on or kept in touch with ‘ex’ or blocked them from their Facebook! Which is precisely what makes us take stock of love as it stands today, in books and authored by the young themselves. 

You have the password to his life

Thirty-year-old author Sudeep Nagarkar has as many as 10 titles to his credit, all shrieking of new-age love and the role that technology invariably plays in any relationship. It Started with a Friend Request, You’re The Password to My Life, You Are Trending in My Dreams, Sorry You’re Not My Type– you get the picture. “The intention is to build upon stories inspired by true events and in the process reflect today’s youth and their thinking. Be it friendship or love, despite being so connected we somewhere disconnected. There is a missing touch in the relationships of today.” 

His latest book She Friend-Zoned My Love deals with yet another tricky shade of love “When a person is in unreciprocated love with a friend.” Off the book-shelves too, “Youngsters are casual about relationships. It’s as easy as blocking the person from your account and relationship ends.” 

Why can’t we have the best of both worlds? 

Simran Singh, 23-year-old author from Amritsar, touches the unsaid in any relationship in her debut novel Does Love Ever End? An inspirational and love story set in Mcleodganj, it’s the story of Alia, who is every inch a new-age woman but nevertheless she believes in the values of old school love. 

Laughs Simran, “There is a line in my book that reads, ‘Ocean blue eye had met the cappuccino eyes and that is when it all started.’ As for the love, well, “Things don’t end when one person moves on, things end when the other person stops waiting.”  But looking at her generation, she feels, “The concept of love has definitely become casual today. There is much less invested time, efforts and emotions. It’s a generation that believes in moving on.” Good thing or bad thing? 

One love, many notions but time to move on 

Decoding love wasn’t really the intention or idea behind Dr Ranapreet Gill’s debut novel, Those College Years. But when they talk of college years; relationships, dating, love quietly meander in. The protagonist Riya Jaswal is quick to fall in love, maybe with the first handsome face she looks at. Laughs Dr Gill, “She falls in love thrice and moves on. Then in the final year, when a guy is really serious, she finds out she is commitment phobic. She doesn’t want to settle down in a village, or even abroad.” Eventually, she evolves. “My protagonist tries to initially find happiness in other people but eventually realizes it resides within.” 

Let’s look at the bright side 

At least the idea of love is practical and not foolish anymore. Jagjit Singh, 25-year-old boy who hails from Moga, chooses to look at the brighter side of things. “Youngsters today are really practical and future oriented. They only make moves towards someone they deem fit as a prospective partner,” he quotes especially from his observation and experiences. It’s all an endeavour to save a lot of wasted effort, time and emotions. 

“They think why start a romance with someone they’ll have to end with due to various reasons?”  Though the love that finds space in a few poems in his debut collection of 62 poems, Sach Da Ark, is old- school love. The one that moves mountains, entails faith and purity. “Unconditional and true love should stay alive at least in literature. Or, even that’s too much to ask for?” he laughs. 

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