About Love

Since my adulthood, i am quite confused about the definition of Love. Some say it is mysterious, magical, joyous, and immeasurable while other say that it’s something intended to display solidarity and well being towards another person.

Here i am talking about the love expressed in a relationship. Whenever i think about it, it reminds me about one story. A story told by the chief guest of Annual Gathering function held during my graduation days. The followings are the excerpts from it:

Once upon a time a well known hunter went on a tour to Africa. The African jungles are well known for the rich heritage for all kinds of wild animals. The hunter was particularly looking for a deer to kill. Deer was the only animal he could not kill until that time. The reason was deer are very quick and alert and hence are difficult to hunt.

One fine day, the hunter went to a jungle nearby Nairobi, Kenya. He went on to meet the local tribe men who, the hunter thought would help him to find a deer. After discussions with them, he found one guide who was well versed about the Jungle and the preferable location for hunting. Accordingly, the hunter went for hunt that night along with the guide.

They decided to build a shelter next to the nearest water reservoir. After building the shelter, they started to wait for a deer to arrive. The hunter saw on the other side of the reservoir. He could see the local tribal group was gathered in front of their huts. They had set the campfire and were dancing on the beats of drums. Some of them were singing.

In between, the mid night arrived. The hunter was very cautious. He sensed that a deer was approaching the water. The hunter removed his gun, set the target and was waiting for the right moment to shoot. After few moments, the deer came closer. The hunter put a finger on the trigger. Just before he could shoot, the guide deflected the barrel of the gun. The bullet from the gun pierced through the air making a loud noise. The deer got alert and ran away from the reservoir.

The hunter became irritated and asked the guide for his strange behaviour. The guide apologized and said to hunter “Sir, please do not kill that deer. You can kill any other animal from this jungle”. Hunter felt strange but did not ask any reason. They waited for the whole night, but could not find any other deer to kill. The hunter went back to his residence, a bit frustrated with the fact that he missed an opportunity to kill the deer.

The next night, again the hunter along with that guide came back to the reservoir. As usual the local tribe’s men were beating the drums and were dancing on its beats. The hunter could hear that music. Past mid night, a deer came to the reservoir. The guide sensed that it was the same deer he saved a night before. The hunter set his target and was about to shoot. Again the guide deflected the gun barrel and bullet was fired making a loud noise. Again the deer sensed danger and disappeared in the jungle. The hunter became very angry and asked the guide about his strange behaviour. The guide gave the same reply as the previous day. “Sir, please do not kill that deer. You can kill any other animal from this jungle”.

The next night, same thing happened, the hunter missed his target and the deer got disappeared in Jungle. The hunter had enough of it and got very upset with his guide. He shouted at guide and said that why the hell he was doing it. The guide as usual apologized to hunter and told the motive behind it.

He said, Sir last month another hunter like you came to this jungle for hunting. That time, the hunter killed one of the female deer. He took the deer’s head off to showcase his bravery and went back. The local tribe’s men ate the flesh of the deer and removed its skin. They used the skin for making the drum so that they can enjoy the drum beats.

The deer which is coming on this reservoir is the companion of that dead deer. But still he can feel the presence of his sweet heart through the drum beats. He can realize her presence through the sound of those drum beats, the drum which is made up of her skin. The hunter became speechless.

According to me, love is an eternal feeling, the connection of two souls. It doesn’t matter whether the person you love is with you or not. The only thing you expect is the well being of your partner. It is an emotion expressed towards a person we like, that he/she is being cared. There are no conditions, there are no boundaries. It is a divine feeling where everything looks so pure, bright and serene. There is no need of any words to express that feeling.