Age no bar for Cupid to strike

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A still from Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi

“I am 49, and I am still waiting for love to happen,” said Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali while promoting sister Bela Sehgal’s Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. The statement is not misplaced, as there are many like Bhansali who wait for love to happen even when they cross the permissible age bracket to settle down.

Rashmi Narang*, a college professor, was not too different from Bhansali. She waited for love to happen till she reached her forties. The day she came across the man of her dreams, who was some seven years younger to her, she decided to settle down despite the raised eyebrows and concerns.
“For her, falling in love was most important. She got many proposals when she was in her prime, but she did not believe in the concept of ‘falling in love after getting married’. She decided to wait for love to actually happen,” disclosed her colleague on condition of anonymity.
There are some firm believers who wait for the fairy tale moment of love-at-first-sight to happen. Mohini Malhotra is one of them. A banker and scholar, Mohini is fast reaching her forty, but still firm on her decision that she will wait till she finds love.
“It is very rare that you meet someone and fall in love instantly. Lucky are the people who find their partners soon in their lives. But I have decided that I will wait till I actually fall in love one day. And age is certainly not an issue,” says she.
Designer Malini Ramani is living her beautiful 40s and waiting for love to happen. “Of course I believe that love happens at any age. My mother got married when she was 53 or 54. And there are so many other people who wait a long time for love to happen. I too feel that age should not be a concern when it comes to falling in love,” says she.
Declining that ‘waiting for love to happen till you are forty’ is a Western influence; industrialist Vikrum Baidyanath feels that love should happen once in your lifetime.
“It has got nothing to do with age or the tag that it is a Western concept. People can wait for love to happen till they want. But my concern is that one should be single if waiting for love to happen. In case you are married, you should keep falling in love with your partner again and again,” says Vikrum.
Like the way Shirin and Farhad finally find each other, Mohini is sure that her chances are bright. “It is better late than never. I am sure I will not have to wait till I turn fifty,” she says.