Along the Lines of Love | ✓

Interlude

Hi!

This not a chapter of this book but a dedicated part to discuss some issues I brought up in this book. I had thought I would do it after this book ends, but I changed my mind. 

When I began this book, I was just trying to experiment. I wanted to start off with characters who are not perfect, who are real, who don't fit into to stereotypes we found on Wattpad.

Nikhil :

He is  not your regular confident guy who fairs well in looks, shows off his wealth or is too proud of his achievements. He isn't the guy who knows how to flirt or basically how to go about a romantic relationship. 

I took clues from many guys around me. I tried hard to keep him real. He's smart but not confident and you'll easily find people like that. The silent ones are often the wiser ones, the socially awkward people are sometimes the one who've been hurt by people around them. 

Every time I read a wattpad book (including some of my own) the guy knows everything about sex, is confident about his masculinity and knows all the right things to do. I wanted to break that stereotype. Why should the guy always know? You'll hardly find a character around who is not good in bed. And hence, Nikhil was anything but that. 

Sharanya:

When I was sketching her character, I wanted her to be far from the stereotypical beauty. I also wanted to throw some light on PCOS. Surveys and Research says that 1 out of every 4 or 5 young ladies/girls have it. 

It is not a disease it's a disorder. It's certainly not because you did something wrong (unless your lifestyles involves a lot of junk food and no exercise, i guess) . It's a lifestyle disorder. It can be temporary  or a long term thing. It can have different symptoms for different people. I would suggest people, especially women to read about it and be aware about it.

Some of the symptoms of PCOS, (like being underweight, or being overweight, or having a lot of unwanted hair on various parts of bodies, and the list goes on) can leave women with low self esteem, and even lower self love. 

Our fiction — books and cinema —sets beauty standards, in terms of skin color, weight, size and again the list goes on. And often, despite being aware our subconscious accepts these as desirable traits and we begin judging ourselves against this benchmark. 

Coming back to Sharanya, I just wanted to tell the story of this struggle that I am sure many readers can relate to, via her. I have received so many messages both in comments and private messages from women and girls telling me that they relate to her on such a deeper level. 

I know it's easy to say, but please make small steps to love yourself for what you are. Do put efforts in improving yourself but don't punish or penalize yourself. 

It's sad that in our culture we can gossip about each other but not start support groups to help each other through similar struggles. It's upto us to normalize things that are taboo. 

It's your choice whether you want to work or be a home maker. 

It's your choice if you want to cook or hire a cook.

It's your choice if you want to wax/shave or flaunt that natural body hair.

It's your choice if you want to have a live-in, be married or stay single.

It's your life, you get to live it once and you must certainly live for yourself. 

Let's make small steps to normalize our choices. Don't laugh it. Don't comment. Just respect their choice. 

Sharanya is definitely someone who is forgiving more than necessary, who doesn't really take a stand for herself especially before people she feels she's obliged to respect or love. People like her exist...at least I have closely seen some who is like this. 

Relationships :

I will try to put this in bullet points, so that I don't go on and on writing (it's a habit!)

• There are always relationships that you give more in then you ever get back.

• There are always relationships, you take for granted. You may not even realize even after hard thinking.

• There may be relationships, where you let people cross limits, and still hold on to the relationships with all your life.

• There are always relationships that you protect... in the process giving up on yourself or your priorities.

• there will always be people you can't forgive, people you can't put oout of the grudge zone, people who have hurt you so bad that you can never forget.

• There will always be people you'll forgive a million times and even more and still admire them and love them just the same.

• There will be people you hurt, but you'll never know you've hurt them.

• There will be people who will make sacrifices for you, who'll win battles to be with you, but you'll never know.

 I have tried to keep it short and simple, I think the above pretty much summaries the dynamics of the relationships of the characters in the book. You'll know where the shoe fits ;)

I would love to read your thoughts. 

Do point out if there's any aspect about this book that I have left out and you'd like to read my thoughts on. 

P.S. : The last chapter was the first one to cross 600 votes! Super happy! And off I got to write the next. Meanwhile do vote on the early chapters of this book  they're still somehow around the 300s!

-Anami!♡