So basically my love for both, Bollywood and dancing is just insane. If you too are a 90’s kid, you’ll understand why I jump in excitement every single time I watch Anjali in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, say, ‘Mujhe singing aur dancing ka bahut shauk hai.’ And in line with my interests, I joined Salsa classes when I was 24. The reason for joining Salsa classes was obvious. Over the years, I had managed to strike off Jazz, Zumba, Bharatnatyam and Hip Hop off my list. And ever since I had watched Katrina and Akshay take Salsa classes in Namastey London, I had been itching to learn the dance form myself. So I put my energies into finding a good dance academy and enrolled for it, even though it was located far away from my place. You see, for learning an intimate dance form like Salsa, being a girl in Delhi, I wanted to opt for a good academy with a decent crowd.
So the classes began. Our instructor was absolutely amazing at the art. His Salsa moves and the way he swayed were just too good! The dance lessons also gave me the opportunity to meet lots of enthusiastic dancers like myself. As the lessons continued, we kept learning while exchanging partners after every few moves. All the guys seemed decent, but there was this one guy with whom sparks flew, every single time we were partnered together. After the third class, I learnt that his name was Mayank and he had just graduated from The Durham University and returned to India to join his father’s business. He was just 21 years old. I was slightly taken aback after finding out his age – I was 3 years older to him. I made a mental note to keep at an arm’s length from him. During the next few classes, the more I tried to stay away from him, the more I felt drawn towards him. And it wasn’t just me. He seemed to be making a conscious effort to chat with me during the breaks and post class as well.
After our sixth session, without giving him a chance to speak to me, I raced to my car. To my horror, I saw that I had a flat tyre. Super dramatically, I saw Mayank standing right behind me (as he had raced out after me when the class had gotten over), offering to fix it for me. Far away from home on a dark winter evening, I had no option but to agree to take his help. After all, he was the only known person around. I quietly waited as he started changing the tyre, and once he was done I thanked him for being so helpful. The next class, I bought him some cupcakes as a token of gratitude, but Mayank refused to accept my present and asked me to treat him to coffee instead. Unable to control the feelings that I had silently been developing for him, I couldn’t help but say yes. In this manner, one coffee led to another and the Salsa course came to an end, providing me with a new beginning. I had fallen head over heels in love with Mayank, just as he had for me. The fact that he was younger, instead of this becoming an issue, it was working well in our favour. I used to listen to his problems, advise him on various occasions, whereas, he was way more mature than any 21-year-old guy, both of which worked well for us. Unlike what I had feared, I never felt like I was babysitting him, or that the age difference could be a problematic factor. I was in love with a younger guy and that just didn’t seem like an issue for me.
It’s been two years since Mayank and I have been together. All I’ve come to conclude is that relationships and love should have no rules. My apprehensions about our age difference would have kept me away from Mayank, had he not been as persistent. In retrospect, that would’ve been the biggest mistake of my life. I would’ve never had the chance to experience the level of compatibility and understanding that I share with him. Looking back now, I thank that flat tyre for making things happen, for being a medium for love to enter my life.
* Names changed to protect privacy.
Images: Shutterstock
Have a story you’d like to share? Just drop us an email here with your story – don’t forget to put #MyStory in the subject line. We’ll get back to you about whether we can feature it.
