Love at first sight – a fairy tale?

By Aravind Ramachandran
http://lifestyle.in.msn.com/advertorial/ponds/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3187606


It takes only so much time for the blink of an eye. It takes just half that time, to fall in love.

On Element X – the alpha male zone, we explore this blissful terrain that was once feared lost: Love at first sight.

Does love truly begin at the first sight? Mankind would stand divided at this question. Half of us would say it does, while the rest may not think twice before denying the very foundations of the concept. But given a chance, who wouldn’t want to experience those sublime moments when you catch her eye and the two of you lock into a gaze that goes on for ever, but seems to end so soon. The world around you ceases to exist and the two of you are whisked away into a haven of your own. We took the notion out on the road and confronted a few couples.

We start with a very unromantic environment. Wikipedia explains the concept thus: “Love at first sight is an emotional condition whereby a person feels romantic attraction for a stranger on the first encounter with the stranger. The term may be used to refer to a mere sexual attraction or crush, but it usually refers to actually falling in love with someone literally the very first time one sees him or her, along with the deep desire to have an intimate relationship with that person. The stranger may or may not be aware that the other person has any such notion, and may not even be aware of the other person's presence (such as in a crowded place). Sometimes two people experience this phenomenon towards each other at the same time, usually when their eyes meet”.

Having nearly spoiled our love appetite, we move on to humans. The office, it seems, is a haven for those who believe in love at first sight. As Sachith, a software engineer from Trivandrum puts it, “Falling in love is never planned. I saw her step in for her first day at work and soon found myself praying that she be assigned to my team. For once, He heard my prayers”. The duo thus met, fell in love and are enjoying life post-engagement, to cut a long story short. I turn to his soon to be better half, but I am met with a blushing face that tells me I’ll have to imagine her side of the story. Sachith puts his arm around her and smiles wider.

To balance things out, I needed a woman’s point of view. I find the right person in Shruti, a call centre executive, who claims to have considerable experience in the field. A pretty 23 year old, she tells me that as many as six people have approached her with tales of love at first sight, but claims she herself has felt so only once in her lifetime. I look for an engagement ring, but find none. She giggles and says, “I never said he was one of the six”. I am still unsure of the amount of exaggeration in her tale, but felt it was worth a mention in any case. Quite a few people I meet echo her story, with the characters shifting directions at times. I realize I am digressing towards a feature on failed love and decide to backtrack a little bit.

It is over dinner that this man tells me how he fell in love at first sight. A thriving actor on the South Indian small screen, he speaks only on condition of anonymity. “I met her on the sets of a movie. She was simply breathtaking and I had to tell her I was in love”. A few clichéd romantic pitches followed before she confessed she had always had a crush on him…since she saw him on screen! Does that qualify for love at first sight? Although it was not at the same time, it was still first sight for both and so I would say yes. There is a pang of regret in his voice as he goes on, “but then I realized things were not as rosy as it seemed at first”. Having gone through a fiery divorce recently, I cannot blame him. As I realise his eyeballs have been taking detours in the same direction a number of times, I take a look and spot another possible avenue for him to fall in love ‘at first sight’ again.

A brief recap of my discussions tells me that if love indeed does occur at first sight, it is a little hard to believe that love is bind. Unless the protagonist of the love story is fairly well versed in the art of scrying and face reading, there is little scope for anything more than just looks to make a worthwhile impact. And of course, for the long life of any relationship, I am told it is important for both the man and the woman to convince each other that they did fall in love at first sight.

But let me not burst the bubble for the true believers. For one can’t deny, whether it be at first sight or the very last, it is indeed a blissful sensation to fall in love.

Source: Aravind Ramachandran / India Syndicate