Soulmates Never Part is the story of a special long distance relationship between Sheila Kumar and Abel Freeman. Love isn’t really blind, is it? How does love fare between the known and the unknown, the reality and the imagination, and the indulgences and the misapprehensions in a long distance connect? Is only love ever enough in any relationship? Or are faith, trust and understanding just as important? An engrossing tale of two lovers against all the odds and distances by Shampa Sharma.
Love is perhaps the most sort-after emotion in this world. It is God's best gift to mankind and every person is actually born with it in his heart. It is only later on that as one grows up circumstances shape him and he learns to imbibe numerous other emotions. And yet the need and want for love is always there.
The question is is love desperate or does desperation bring love?
Is love desperate? Some would say that if a love is desperate, then it is not actually a proper, secure kind of love. But yes, in fact, love is at times desperate and needs that security of a complete return emotion to flourish smoothly.
Let's say you love someone and you are not sure whether he loves you back with the same gusto. Wouldn't your love then be desperate until you have achieved the satisfaction of knowing that you are loved back the way you want? But would that make you love any less? This desperation could be positive and make you work on your relationship better. On the other hand, it could make you negative and give up, or work up with a little unfairly to achieve your goal. All is fair in love and war, it is said. Love is great and it if and when it hurts, it hurts great. Hence the desperation.
Does desperation bring love? Yes, sometimes it does when you are on the verge of giving up, it blooms out of the blue and you begin to take and interest which clicks like never before.
In my book, Soulmates Never Part, it works both ways. Life is like that, isn't it? Sometimes there are no clear answers and yet the paths have to be taken.
Life is meant to be beautiful. One grows up with dreams of
things turning out for the personal best. One tries one’s best to be positive
and make the most of life. And yet, sometimes what begins well doesn’t progress
as nicely as it possibly could. Challenges come up frequently and they have to
be handled well each time. If one is able to weather the storms and keep up the
tempo of courage and perseverance, one might find that things have gradually changed
for the better for them in the long run. It is all about how one is able to
cope with things that seem tough. There may be a point of time when one may
feel like giving up, and then, it’s as if, let me try just one more time! That
is the spirit that often gets you on board! A last try often works. Never give up on yourself.
In my book Soulmates Never Part, Sheila Kumar lives a normal
life until things go out of control for her. The situation goes on to become so
bad that she needs support, a support that is non-judgmental and undemanding
and something that casually uplifts her emotionally. It is difficult a period
of her life and no one she actually knows in real life is proper enough to
share her life’s dilemma and her pain. She isn’t able to vibe with anyone or
trust anyone with her situation that is emotionally over burdening her. And no,
she is not on the rebound. She isn’t consciously looking towards any attachment,
let alone love or a relationship. She wants to feel better, she wants to look
after herself well. She doesn’t want a nervous breakdown. She wants to live.
Does this sometimes happen to people in real life too? Do people
ever wish that there was just this ‘someone else’ who would pop out of the blue
and be there for us when we need it? Someone who would be understanding, non-judgmental,
undemanding, distant and yet close enough to be trusted? Maybe that is just a
human need of a circumstance and there is no dearth of good humans in the
world, both real and virtual. But love? No, that doesn’t happen easily and not
often. Not the real thing anyway.
Soulmates Never Part travels through time, circumstances and
situations that bring two people, absolute strangers, together. Soon, Abel hints
that they are Soulmates and Sheila learns the fact slowly. What begins with a
quiet curiosity slowly progresses through understandings, love, trust, faith
and is shattered hopelessly. But if love is true and strong enough, it finds
its way one way or the other, doesn’t it? http://soulmates-neverpart.weebly.com/
Soulmates Never Part has caught the interest of some of my potential readers
and they say that the title actually has had them intrigued. The word Soulmates strikes a chord with them and
the Never Part is hope-giving, they
have opined. I do get some queries about ‘Soulmates’ and what the term actually
stands for.
I have some of them having questions that are pretty interesting.
For some it is at a very personal level, situations and emotions that they have
or are experiencing, and what’s more, is that it is very important to them. For
others, it is some sort of an inquisitiveness that they find compelling. There
are a few others who wonder if soulmates really happen to be and they would
want to know. While discussing on a personal front, they share their thoughts
and look for answers. What comes out is invariably a thought provoking and
stimulating deliberation.
Human nature is very complex. What makes us immensely happy
today may not make us as happy the very next day. It is not that we have changed drastically
during that period of time. It is mainly the circumstances and our needs have
become different from what it was the previous day. For example, let us say we
like to listen to a particular song today. Tomorrow we may just want to listen
to some other song. Today we have no idea what song we are going to be crazy
about tomorrow. It is not about good or bad, or positive or negative. It is
just the way it is. The question here through this very small and simple
example is that, if we don’t even know our own selves very well, then how do we
think we can know another human being so well?
This lack of knowledge often causes us to take people for
granted. This in return increases our expectations from their behavior which
many a time fall flat and have us wondering what went wrong? Why don’t we give
other people the required space and not go in for preconceived notions about
the way they will carry themselves in particular circumstances? If we could do
this, then we would perhaps be more liberal towards others and kinder to
ourselves.
Soulmates is a very deep kind of relationship, and understanding
one another is of paramount importance. Love comes from the heart and is
entwined with emotions. Trust and faith are necessary and it comes from love
and hope that is very positive.
So far so, good. You are in love and would want it to be that
way forever. But does that really happen? No, because there are situations that
invariably come up and circumstances change so that challenges may crop up, and
here a certain amount of understanding of each other is essential for life of
go on smoothly. Wisdom or intelligence, call it what you may but combine it
with patience and give the challenge a go!
The challenges faced could be internal between the two people, or
it could be external, coming from some outside source or person. It could be
due to health reasons or it could be a totally imaginary issue. Still, what is
important is the way to understand it and then, of course, to deal with it.
My standard counsel to most of the people who have a too naive or impractically great expectations
from their soulmates or husbands or partners has been that they should tone
down their expectations to being perfectly realistic and be more liberal with
their understanding of the said person and also of the situation or challenge
in hand that is causing the problem. ‘They haven’t done this, and they haven’t done
that!’ Why complain and be negative? Why not look at the things they have done
and appreciate them? ‘And then it is they said this and they said that!’ Why
not do and say things that bring out the best in the person you love? After all,
can’t live peacefully without them and any such tension causes you immense
misery! Of course, it is easy to say and put it in black and white but life isn’t
that simple, is it? Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches!
In Soulmates Never Part,
in one of the chapters, Sheila, who is based in Kolkata, has her own notions
and preconceived ideas about her long distance friend, Abel, who is based in
Scotland, who she is about to meet for the first time. He meets up to her expectations
and even more, which makes her deliriously happy, satisfied and sated. And then,
something happens that comes as a rude, evil shock to her and she is too stunned to
move for a while. When she gets back her senses to a working condition, what
does she do? And what are the consequences of the action she takes?
There are many ways to react to a challenging situation.
Different people would react differently to a similar situation. However, most situations between two
people can be solved with a positive persistence, patience and understanding. Panic and
intolerance is most often the beginning of the deterioration of any
relationship. And, of course, being realistic about expectations is sagacious. http://soulmates-neverpart.weebly.com/
One of my readers
recently discussed my book Soulmates Never Part with me very energetically touching many aspects of the
story. She said that she liked it immensely and could almost identify with
Sheila Kumar’s feelings of longing and desperation. Life is busy and hectic but
there is always a space for a good, understanding and non-judgmental sort of friend.
Another reader said that she wished Abel Freeman was for real and not just a
fictional character and we had a nice, positive sort of laugh. Love is lovely, but it is neither easy nor funny. After all, it is the most sort-after emotion in the world.
Soulmates Never Part
highlights a special, long-distance relationship between two people who find
solace in each other’s company. Usually,
it is easy to relate to or love a person one has met physically, heard of from
others or even has seen in the magazines. But when one can relate to a
stranger whom neither she nor anyone she knows has met, and they still can
connect, trust and keep in constant touch so that their long-distance relationship
blooms into a special kind of love that stands its test of time, is in brief, what
the soulmates in Soulmates Never Part are
like.
To put it very briefly, two
people meet in a chat room on the internet and are piqued with each other. And
that is how it starts for them! Sheila Kumar, working in the capacity of
a personnel manager in Kolkata is miserable as she has been through a recent,
failed relationship and a consequent abortion. She distributes her time
between working in Nathan Paul’s office and looking after her ailing mother,
Belinda Gomes. Abel Freeman, in
Edinburgh, on the other hand, has just become a widower and he lacks the peace
of mind as he has a tiny hand in his hateful wife's death.
Over slow but continuous chats, they relate to each other and go through
various emotions, ups and downs. As time passes, emotions and expectations churn
up that result in the need for a meeting. After five years, Abel makes a
trip to her city and Sheila makes it to his hotel room where they have an inevitable,
passionate, love-filled union. Abel is now in no doubt that he has her
absolute love and trust, and on an impulse, he discloses to her his most
disturbing, hoping of course, that Sheila will understand him and his uneasy
secret.
However, Sheila reacts too
hastily by walking out on him instantly. Later on, when she analyses him
calmly, she comes to the conclusion that Abel couldn’t have committed the crime
he claimed he did and regrets her impulsive reaction. He was probably only teasing her, a test which
she had miserably failed. She tries in vain to contact him again but gets
no response from him. She now realizes
that she loves him unconditionally, and yet, has wronged him. Having no choice,
she gets on with her life, never keeping him away from her heart.
Soon she gets an offer to act in a film and since she is desperately in need of
a change, she takes it as a challenge and succeeds. It takes her to the
UK for a premier show and she considers this as a God-given chance to visit
Abel who she knows lives in Scotland. Sheila digs up Abel's Mumbai address
with the help of her producer, Tom Mores and meets with the Robinsons, who are
his family. She gets Abel’s Scotland address from them and lands up at
his gate.
Abel is warm but maintains that he is now married to Susan, a woman she finds
in his house. He hopes that Sheila will continue with her successful career and
meet someone good enough for her.
Sheila throws herself into her work once she returns to
Mumbai, but her love for Abel doesn't decrease. Three years pass away again and
she is still a sought after actress, as also a spinster very much in silent
love with Abel.
Sheila wonders how long she can go on like this, when he suddenly lands up at
her doorstep and they come together beautifully. Abel confesses that he had
kept a track of her throughout and he has explanations for all his past
actions, including why he had lied to her about having married Susan.
The story spans a decade and the narration brings out their continuous
connection until the soulmates finally, socially, and everlastingly find each other. http://soulmates-neverpart.weebly.com/
Most
good, difficult and challenging stuff comes into life with the definite want
and need for a change. A change is always desired and it is accompanied by the hope that the situation will get better, though in reality there is always the chance that the reverse might
happen. Still, for those willing to take a chance do have a chance, and if
things go right, the change that comes to them might be the change they had
hoped for or had dreamed of.
In
Soulmates Never Part, Sheila at a certain stage in her life needs a change and
she looks for it. She takes a decision and goes on with the tide that it leads
her to. It drops her at a point that is an immensely challenging issue for her
as she has never done it before. Should she or shouldn’t she? A glimpse of the
situation through pages five to eight follows.
“You
are the best Personnel Manager I have ever had, Sheila,” he told her, being
overly lavish with his words. “I would go on to say that you manage people
better than I do!”
The
warmth of the compliment unexpectedly spread through her, and Sheila was glad
that his cell phone chose to ring at that precise moment.
“I’ll
deal with this file before I wind up today, Mr. Paul, and I will also put down
instructions on my desk,” she said after he had answered the call and got up,
holding a file. Once she had unfolded herself, she stood taller than his wife
at around five feet four inches plus two-inches of her high heeled sandals,
looking cool and elegant, and Nathan Paul suddenly had a weird feeling that he
was going to lose her sooner than later.
“See
you after you get back, Sheila,” he said anyway, as she moved towards the door,
“Do make sure that you have a good time and get back refreshed.”
An
hour later, Sheila cleared her table, put down the instructions for the coming
week as she had promised her boss she would do, so that her substitute would be
able to manage well in her absence, and then she checked her computer. When she was ready to leave, she picked up
her purse and left her cabin, shutting the glass door softly behind her.
It
was a Saturday, and normally a half-day in Nathan Paul’s comfortable office.
But Sheila was used to working late, usually till seven in the evening even on
Saturdays, if the circumstances so demanded. Today, however, she was lucky that
the work load was lighter and it would be splendid to reach home early for a
change.
Change! That was the word, Sheila
told herself, her heart suddenly beating fast, as she waited for a bus to show
up at the bus stand. As she was leaving
early today, she had to use public transport in place of the company van that
she normally commuted on every day. Well, this was a change too in a way,
wasn’t it! Was change really on the cards? Was she finally going to be happy?
Everything
had changed since that call from Abel Freeman came in last evening. Sheila felt
an unfamiliar thrill run through her as she recalled his clear, masculine voice
on her cell phone. She suppressed a
smile that threatened to appear madly on her lips. Soon she got inside the bus
that luckily, was taking her route. It was
great that she did not have a long wait at the bus stand.
Taking
a seat beside a plump middle-aged woman, she looked out of the window. Inwardly, Sheila had been unusually happy
throughout the day but she had carefully maintained her regular cool, distant
attitude in the office. Essentially,
Abel was a name that she couldn’t share with anyone, and though she hadn’t even
physically met him as yet, he had hinted that they were soulmates.
The
richness she had felt ever since their relationship had surfaced in her life
was a miraculous shot in the arm for her at this stage of her life. Abel had emerged out of the blue and had
dispelled her worries, anxieties and loneliness, all in one go, and had given
her the confidence to face the world with poise, the urge to move on. It was a
push she desperately needed.
“Abel,
oh Abel, that deep voice of yours, the words you used and the thoughts you
have expressed, all of them haunt me so,” she whispered to herself as the bus
speeded on to take her closer to her home. “I am so glad that at long last, we
will be meeting each other tomorrow!”
Her
gaze traveled across the western sky that was dotted with clouds and was held
by the wintry looking sun, so pure, so lovely, and so impossible to touch. Sheila felt that that was how her love was -
Out of reach, unquestionably warm, and as certain as the celestial ball.
“It
is time we met, Sheila,” Abel Freeman had said when he had rung her up from
Mumbai yesterday, “I am dying to see this woman who has had me enchanted, held
my interest for five continuous years now.
I have wondered a million times who exactly you are, what are you like
and countless other such things, and every time, I ended up holding an enigma.
I want to see you Sheila, more than anything else in the world.” His voice had been earnest and compelling. http://soulmates-neverpart.weebly.com/
One of my favorites quotes for a
long time has been, ‘The world is full of mediocre things, don’t make love one
of them’. I have found that there are others too who have quoted something on
similar lines and so here it doesn’t really matter who actually said it initially
or who the quote should be attributed to. The bottom-line is it has a universal
appeal and is an inspiration in itself.
The quote, its words convey a
thought, a sentiment and a meaning with depth that holds love as one of the
most special emotions of the world. This is, of course, true whether it is
acknowledged or not, mentioned or not, said out aloud or not.
Moving away, for the moment, from
romantic love which is maybe the most acknowledged and spoken about kind of
love, I would like to ponder on the various other possibilities of love. It is
as vast as the sky itself and I believe, if, as the quote says, we don’t, due
to our hectic schedules or whatever other reasons, make love a mediocre
feeling, it can make the world a better place to live in. On one hand it can
bring about a worldly closeness and understanding and on the other, it can enhance
a personal satisfaction of loving and being loved in return.
Love is a feeling that is not
underrated but is surely less acknowledged and less appreciated. It is taken
for granted in most cases. There are too many kinds of love than can be
counted. Actually, love can be felt for all. Both animate and inanimate. People,
places, plants, animals and nature. Humans
and animals have the tendency to love and value love.
One of the simplest examples is a
dog’s faithfulness for his master. Does that faithfulness come without love? In
return, the master’s acute affection for his pet! Is that possible without
love? I remember our pet dog’s anguish when dad passed away. The Labrador just
wouldn’t let anyone take dad away and he had to be chained to a grill at the
verandah to move the body. Later on, he wouldn’t move away from the bed for
months and nothing could coax him out of his grief.
Similarly, I remember a family
friend who was broken down with sadness and had spent thousands or Rupees in
the treatment of his Alsatian which had cancer and looked after it with
ultimate devotion until its last breath. That is the emotion called love and it
can only be felt. Love in the heart does make one richer.
We know of love in various forms.
We have the patriotic kind of love, the examples of which roll in one after
another in our history books. The love between siblings, parents, friends,
colleagues and so on only enable us to have a better understanding of ourselves
and of others, allow for a tolerance to be bred that is very much necessary to
make this world a better place to live in.
After all, what does one really
want at the end of the day? Something to be smiling about? Does riches and
success really have the capacity to bring in a true smile unless love is in the
vicinity, in whatever form?
In Soulmates Never Part, there is
a portion of the story where Sheila has attained success as per her standards
but is she able to really enjoy what she has. Is she able to go to bed with a
smile and wake up looking forward eagerly to the next day?
I do think we need to give a
thought to love in its many forms. It would make us better human beings and help
make this world a lovelier place to live in.
