I took a blank sheet of paper and a pen, sat on a chair and ordered my hand to write the definition of ‘love’ on the paper. I would have succeeded but my mind went blank. I was baffled and perplexed while trying to determine a definition for love. My mind was tipsy-turvy. Ridiculous as it may seem, I fetched a dictionary and looked up ‘love’, found the meaning, an austere meaning, which couldn’t satisfy me. It merely read “warm affection, fondness, adore…”Does this define ‘love’ properly?

I’ve come across many instances that gave me a number of ideas about love. My beloved grandfather’s love for me is much more than just fondness or affection. His love accompanies sacrifice. For instance, he doesn’t readily agree to buy a radio for himself but spends a lot more money on my CD player. Do you call it a higher degree of love or something more than mere fondness?

I know a poor vendor near my home, who earns little, and spends as little as possible so as to save enough money to send his child to school. He yearns to make his child’s future bright. He brushes aside his wish to eat good food, wear good clothes and the like. All these sacrifices in order that his son may have a good future.

Whether it is a sunny or foggy or raining, I find him standing on the footpath preparing chatpate and pani-puri for the passers-by. This is an example of love in equal proportion with sacrifice and care.

The greatest examples are those of Nepali families where the father and mother labour and toil, live with hollow stomachs and forget their dreams to fill their children’s stomachs and comply with their desires as much as they can. 

There is a visible difference between love of a father for his son, a businessman towards his business, a student towards his studies, and a patriot towards his country and countrymen.

Love may include devotion as well. The love between two compatriots primarily includes the feeling of sharing. Intellectuals say love and trust is the fuel of life and the world. So what kind of love is it that drives both life and the world? Is it the love between two siblings or spouses or two countrymen or…. I am really befuddled.

 With all the above incidents that I have encountered, I feel that besides adoration and fondness, sharing, sacrifice, devotion and care should also be listed with ‘love’. I have now finally come to realise that the definition of love is either implicit or it varies from person to person. I started to write a thorough definition of love but have realised that I have failed to do so. Would you mind giving it a try??? — Vipul Kabra, Galaxy