Etched in time.

India is the land of kings and emperors. The erstwhile kings stayed in lavish palaces, ate lavish food (which eventually led to lavish waist sizes too) and splurged lavishly on the countless Begums they had. Almost every ruler in India built a palace for their beloved queens. Those who were a little lethargic built memorials. But all of them did erect a structure for their Queens to show off to the world how much they loved their Mrs. The love that would transcend down generations of kings and common people alike. The tablet outside these monuments of love would read "Built in the loving memory of her royal highness queen noor something something(followed by a billion adjectives) XYZ by (billion+1 adjectives) King ABC.

Welcome to the 21st century. Zamindari ends. Recession strikes. Forget lavish food. Even a trip to McDonald's drains your wallet. Ghar toh sach mein sapna hai. And once you do acquire a house, would you name it after your mother or your Mrs. or the family surname?

But being an Indian proves to be a boon-atleast when it comes to expressing love. The preamble starts with India is my country. So, technically I own everything that comes within the geographical and political limits of India. Next, since we form a part of the public so we can do whatever we want with the public property.

So all the modern day Romeo-Juliets and Laila-Majnoos think that since these Badshahs are archiac now they wouldn't mind sharing a little space on the tablet placed outside the memorial. So now Mr and Mrs. Emperor have to jostle for space with the creative 'Deepak loves Sweety' etched on the tablet next to their name. So now whoever comes and sees the monument would know that Deepak loves Sweety more compared to how much Shah Jahan loved Mumtaz. After all he made a heart with an arrow piercing right through the centre of it. And the pains it took him to etch a giggly, Mewad ice cream addict Sweety's name on the stone with a stone. It would last forever. And why would Shah Jahan mind, all Indians are brothers and sisters anyway....

And it doesn't stop there. Even the Carter Road promenade, the heritage sites, school desks(first crush you see), local trains, elevator doors are not spared. People etch them behind the doors of public toilets too. But since Sweety would never enter the gents toilet how would she witness Deepak proclaiming his love for her? Similarly Deepak would never enter the ladies compartment of a Local train to see Sweety's love for him.

But atleast etching them on monuments would leave a permanent impression unlike the ones on the beaches which get washed away...