‘you are the poem
I never knew how to write
and this life is the story
I have always wanted to tell.’
-Tyler Knott Gregson
The title seems odd.
Why 35th... What is so great about it. We were thinking the same when we were approached for this book.
Our client had a different thought process, and I believe he changed our's as well.
In his words -
"It was my 35th anniversary. We were 5 years shy of the big 40th, or 15 away from the big 50th. Just a number game. In my head, it seemed like yesterday when I was getting her home after the vidai ritual of our wedding. I cant even look at those pictures now, I had so much more hair.
We had a small flat, in the same building as that of our parents'. We were close yet to them, yet we had our privacy. You know the small things that you can venture in if you live alone, surely I can't name them here. Well, I can share one of the story.
My favorite were our dhaba dinners - a 25km drive from our home to the highway for a butter garlic naan and dal fry. We used to take turns to drive. The non-driving passenger was allowed a beer for the road. The driving passenger was allowed to control the music playlist.
The trips, dinners, chores, mixing them up in a big pot, and you get to know that you have lived the life. The business did well, she got her Phd, we had two beautiful kids, and all that jazz.
In the years that have passed, when I look back, there was more of US and less of ME. I believe that is how you get used to living with the other person. Your spouse becomes your companion. You know, I feel like home around her. She is the locust of my children and my being. She knows me so well, rather I know her so well that there wasn't much space for me to surprise her. I had to move out of my comfort zone to plan this.
I am nearing 58 years this year. She is almost 53. If you look at our faces, we might look like a normal old couple. There is more to us what meet's the eye. I still have a heart of a 25-year-old with the restrictions of a 58-year-old body.
Thirty-five years… I can’t fathom how much time has passed since we got married!
A grand gesture is in order. I can’t wait to remind her of the days of our youth and how we are growing old together-side by side; hand-in-hand. I can’t wait to reminisce about the moments of our marriage with her.
So, I pondered about it, this year's anniversary gift. What if I could collect all the moments that I have been married and present it as a book to her.
A gift that will not age. A gift that will surprise her.
Essentially, Kagaz ke Phool does the magic compilation of blending memories into words- putting together a memoir of our lives. All I had to do was to sit down with them for an interview to tell my story. That lasted about a couple of hours. I gave them a few pictures to be included in the book. In the next 10 days, I got a draft to edit, a book cover to approve and finalize the name of my story. Sounds surreal. Trust me, it actually was."
Written by a past client.
Edited by Ananya @yoursoulstories on Instagram
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