Relationships.....each one of them like a rainbow, with countless shades. We like to believe that some rainbows are lovelier than the others but is judgment really required everywhere? Some things are best left alone.

Anagha and Anant…..she the lone, pampered daughter after three brothers. Anant, brilliant and fiercely independent. She thought she liked this self-made man; he liked her illustrious family and the master’s degree she came with. Matters couldn’t have been more deceiving. There was his intellectual companion, a secret liaison to someone older than him and Anagha was incredibly slow-witted and incapable of doing anything efficiently. They decided to accept their handicaps and continue like nothing ever was wrong. The world spoke about the gross injustice to her and his poor wisdom. Nearly penniless and helpless today after name, glory and fame, she still likes to believe her husband was her God and some scenes from the past could have been chance nightmares.

Indrajit and Ira…..married in those times where choices and time for serious thought were not options. Horoscopes matched and in no time they were wed. She had never been sure she was the marrying kind and the cracks started showing soon enough. She felt that she had succumbed to social pressure and gotten married. She longed for solitude and wanted to get away from the ennui of ‘routine married life’. Children came but love or whatever emotion had been between them, continued to wane. She liked to make certain dishes or go for outings, but only for her children and not for him. He was not sure if he had done something wrong or he had just been unworthy of her love; he rather liked to believe she was amongst the intellectually eccentric and left it at that. In separate flats today, they really do not know what went wrong and when.

Ratan and Reema…..her parents decided the boy was ‘good for Reema’. Today, Reema has become a stranger to her family and is totally in Ratan’s control. Whether it is free will or under dire threats, is a mystery. Outwardly, she seems happy and contented by the superficial thrills of life, but her emotionless eyes tell a different story. Gone is the shy, sweet-natured personality that existed before she left for her new home.

Gayatri and George…..yes, the first thing people usually notice are the unusual names of the ‘couple’. Well, they are not, if that is of any consolation to the overly curious. Theirs’ seems to be a love too perfect. Forbidden to marry because of religious differences and egos, the two have remained single and loyal to each other. When one is ailing or hurt, the other suffers. There is a tacit bond between them which needs no legal endorsing and I suspect that by now, they are happy to let matters remain that way.

Vidya and Vaibhav…..he married her for looks and she for a comfortable lifestyle. Neither got what they wanted. He had ideas which seemed bright but led to nowhere; she learnt to adjust to his family. Adjustment and boredom slowly became a routine and she decided to cross the Rubicon – he was too harried trying to make a living, to notice.

All these examples have a common thread that binds them –talking people. They chose to get influenced by the unwanted tidbits and advice from people who were concerned for their welfare. For a few, the ‘well-wishes’ worked to their advantage, while for some, the end results came at a heavy price – children with deep emotional scars and prejudices.

Why do relationships always need labels and justifications? Would it not make life more colourful if we were to just accept facts and move on? Let people be and accept them as they are, without making speculations or accusations? Like that Bonnie Raitt song goes, ‘Lets give them something to talk about….how about love?’ Here's wishing everyone a bright and 'colourful' year ahead!