My First Kiss

I had already read top 10 tips for first kiss and had done a lot of mental preparation before my first kiss, but when the opportunity came, I had a nervous breakdown and my lips refused to cooperate, and just like the curse of Karna (yeah the Mahabharata guy) I forgot all the tips and stood like a person affected by amnesia in my moment of truth. Perhaps the way the opportunity came was just too much to contemplate at that moment in time.

Me and my girl friend (who later became my wife, and the only girl I ever kissed) had officially just become ‘lovers’ in our college, and that meant we were free to roam around anywhere without being harassed by fellow hooligan college mates. Students who teased us earlier, now just waved at us and smiled whenever we walked up and down the college veranda together and wherever they saw us together.

Soon we gathered enough courage to roam outside the campus as well. One afternoon, we made a trip to Kanyakumari beach along with a few of our friends after bunking the class. Kanyakumari beach would later become our regular haunt as it was only 15 miles from the college.

That day the beach was unusually empty except for a bunch of North Indians who were playing in the water as if they had never seen a sea in their life before or had never taken bath in their life before. They were taking so much of attention that even I was very curious to watch their antics. In the meantime my girlfriend had quietly sat beside me. She wrapped her hand around my arm and gently rested her head on my shoulder. Like a dumb idiot I was still more interested in the northie gang that I failed to realize what was waiting to happen.

When our friends wandered away to dip their feet in the water, there was a moment of silence and then the soft and wet lips of my girlfriend touched my cheeks and stayed there for about three seconds. Needless to say I was shocked and least expected anything like this to happen in a place like that. Still in shock, I looked around to see whether anyone had noticed us. This was a place which usually has a lot of police people keeping a detective eye on anyone who is on the beach, but to our sheer luck no police were around and nobody looked like they saw her kiss me.

Now my girlfriend in her new found courage and confidence gently stroked my side with her elbow and asked me to return one on her cheek, and came closer, her left cheek only inches from my lips.

I’m a person who is known for my adventure streaks, but this was way beyond my range or perhaps I felt so at that moment and like I told before I was paralyzed in shock. But with every passing second, my girl was quickly losing patience. Her tone went from request to order and then to pleading. But I was still stuck. I stole a few glances around and suddenly imagined some members in the northie gang have started to show some interest in us. I told her “later – not now” and in anger she gave a strong jab on my ribs with her elbow and stood up to join her friends who were now as excitedly playing in the water as the North Indians.

I sat on the concrete bunk feeling like a moron and a coward. Then I promised myself that somehow I should make it happen before we leave the place for I felt Kanyakumari is a good place to start the physical aspect of the relationship. This is after all a place which speaks the legacy of Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Mahatma Gandhi and Kamaraj (don’t laugh at what the name suggests, he was a late chief minister of Tamil Nadu – a much revered political saint) and starting a stronger relationship with their blessing can only be wonderful, given the police gave their blessings too. But anyway police departments’ blessing can be bought for 100 Rs.

I stood up to sink my shameless feet into the water and hoped to emerge as a charged man. Well, something did charge me and I was a man possessed after that. I asked her to go with me for a walk around the shopping centers. We walked round and round the shopping centers with my girl still feeling disappointed. My intention was to find a desolate shopping lane and pursue my act.

After 15 minutes of walking we did find ourselves in an empty street. I looked around quickly. No other soul in sight. My girl was walking a few steps ahead of me without realizing my intentions. I ran to her, grabbed her hand and in one swing she was in my arms. I pressed my lips on her lips and then sucked her lips into my mouth; I almost swallowed her lips. The kiss didn’t work out according to the top 10 tips I read in internet and would straightaway go into top 10 bad kisses in the history of human race. Though the kiss would be accounted as a bad attempt, it did create the desired effect. She still remembers that kiss fondly than all the million others I would have given her till date.

When I opened my eyes after a few seconds, a man whistled from the top of Gandhi Mandap, the only building in vicinity as we were standing at a lower ground. Perhaps he was cleaning the large dome at the roof. So, despite all the precaution taken, my first kiss has a witness!! Once again my courage melted like ice in hot weather. My girl giggled merrily. I couldn’t make up my mind to look at the witness again. I walked straight to the bus stop.

Later I started to imagine the man on top of Gandhi Mantap to be Gandhi himself, whistling and waving good luck!!