Time : The 1980s

Its a story of four friends, three boys named Samar, Karan & Kabir  and one girl Tara. They are in school together since the 6th standard and life is fun. The foursome are the best of friends. Always together, always having fun. They are literally inseparable

As time passes Tara grows into a beautiful lass. While she was hell bent on becoming a doctor, the boys had different aspirations none of which were consistent. Sometimes they wanted to be a doctor, sometimes they wanted to be an astronaut, and sometimes they wanted to plainly be doing nothing.  Only Tara seems to have her nose in the books all the time. She was constantly feeding her desire for being a medical student and was clear that it required a lot on her part to accomplish that.

Being beautiful, Tara attracted a lot of attention from other boys in schools. Specially the seniors in the 12th standard made her very miserable. She could never cross one without an unwanted remark taking place or something happening that she did not like.

The three boys noticed and stood by her, but Karan always picked up fights in a bid to protect her. He got bullied badly many a times by the seniors. He realised that he needs to be physically strong and not a weakling like he was who got pushed around everywhere. He began gymming very religiously. Deep down somewhere Karan wanted to protect Tara.

Karan wanted to do so many special things for Tara all the time, while all she wanted to do was read her biology book. What ???

Karan was always there for her. In the school canteen he bought coffee for her. It was just something that happened as a daily routine. If Karan was not around for sometime Tara kind of started looking for him a bit more than she would for the other boys. Love was in the air, but they did not realise that then.

Just as they were to begin the 12th standard Tara’s dad got transferred to Bangalore. Tara was super excited. She had heard that Bangalore was a great place to be. She had the landline number of her friends. However, only Samar seemed to be in town to receive her farewell call. She told him the great news excitedly and asked him to tell the other two too. She took Samar’s postal address such that she could send him letters and forward her address and left for her new place of living soon enough.

Tara could not meet Kabir or Karan, or even Samar before leaving. In Bangalore, a new life took over. Twelfth was very demanding. With the boards coming up and then the preparation for further studies consumed her fully. She did send her address to Samar. The boys got busy with their 12th board preparations too. Soon after exams her father got transferred to another big city.

Tara got into medical college. Life became a rhythm of tasks to be done daily. But she missed the boys so much. After the twelfth exams the boys had moved on too. She had lost touch over time. She attracted a lot of attention here too. However, each time someone tried to get close to her she could see Karan’s face rise in front of her eyes. She could never connect with anyone else.

She met a school friend once who was visiting Bangalore and asked about her friends. The friend vaguely said that Samar and Kabir went to a college in Delhi and Karan went to a college in Dehradun. Dehradun ??? What college could be there in Dehradun to go to ?? Hmmm.

Late 1990s

Kargil war is on. The nation is in constant alert. Tara is an Orthopaedic Surgeon posted in Delhi. Life goes on. She tried to locate the three boys a few times. But could not. There were some good marriage proposals coming her way. However, she could still not really connect with anyone. She kept hiding behind her work. Each time she looked up and tried to forge a bond with someone, she could never find the same love and bonding as she experienced with Karan. She did not know how to deal with the situation. Karan was so much there with her, but she did not know how to find him.

Late one evening as she was taking her dinner and vaguely thinking of a new tricky case that has come to her in the hospital, her ears caught Karan’s name coming from the TV. Instinctively her head turned towards the TV screen. There, on the TV screen was the picture of Karan, Capt Karan, and the newsperson was saying he was hurt in Kargil. Tara felt her heartbeat stop for a few moments. As the news sunk in she alternately experienced the joy of having found Karan and the pain of having him being hurt badly with his life being in danger. It took her some time to compose herself.

Now Tara knew that Karan was in the army and was in some army hospital for recovery. She connected with her batchmates who went to AFMC, Pune and went on to join various army hospitals to find out Karan’s whereabouts. She could finally locate him.

Tara took leave from work and booked her ticket. While travelling in the train she wondered what she was really doing. She had not met Karan since school. She had no idea when and how he became so important to her. She had no idea how life showed up for him. Maybe he is already married. Tara was confused but she moved on anyways.

As she stepped into the hospital a different sort of anticipation flowed into her. She asked for Karan and introduced herself as an Orthopaedic Surgeon and his friend. She saw Samar and Kabir waiting outside. So… the boys at least were in touch with each other. She was so happy to see them.

As she stepped into Karan’s room she looked at his sleeping face. Same face, but he had turned into such a handsome and fit man. Tara recollected how Karan had suddenly started gymming in school and how he used to protect her with his growing strength. She still did not realise it was for her.

She looked at Karan’s records. As she read her heart lost a beat. She could not believe. Karan’s left leg had been amputated below the knee. It had become badly injured in the exchange of fire and there was no way to save it. She looked for a place to sit down and compose herself. She had found him, but how.

As Karan gained consciousness he saw a beautiful Tara looking at her. In his medicine induced grogginess he thought he was dreaming. He tried opening and closing his eyes but each time she was still there. Karan could not really believe that.

Karan had tried to keep in contact with Tara but her father’s transfers had made him lose track. He was always longing for her. He did not really know when in school he had fallen in love with Tara. He really missed her when she left. For Karan there was no one else but Tara.

As Karan and Tara got talking she realised he too did not marry. Deep down they were waiting for each other to show up. And look…. They were together now. There was so much to talk about…. So much to share….. So much to care…. For the priority was to get Karan off the shock of losing his leg and to heal him.

Tara applied for a long leave from her hospital and decided to stay back in town to help him heal. With her training she was able to really be there for Karan. She would look forward to visiting hours every day when she could be with him.

Time was flying. Life was getting filled with the vibrant colours of love. Oh ! Her world turned so beautiful with Karan in it.

Karan got fitted with a prosthetic leg. Doctors said with practice he would be able to walk around looking normal. But Karan, the fitness freak, did not want to walk, he wanted to run, run and run….. And fly. Karan did not want to limit himself. With Tara by his side with her deep seated love and expertise Karan started walking, then jogging and than participating in races.

Eventually, Karan participated in the Paralympics and won medals for the country. With love by his side he actually flew….. !!!!