Rituals of love.

 A family brings their daughter back from the matrimonial home. The moment is celebrated. People troll the act. I am not saying anything against the family or the boy. “She is my part, she is my atma,” says the father. They didn’t get along, and we accept that. The mother supports the girl by giving her the choice to make her choices. No blame, no bitterness....just a place of dignity and love.

A bunch of flowers lying on a table in Blue Tokai. The book 'The Universe has a Plan makes the table look like a moment of celebration. A few minutes later, two young girls come in and sit. Prabhsimran,dressed in a beautiful light and dark toned checked saree, Vasundhra with her wavy locks and smoky kajal. The girls have gifted these flowers to each other, just acknowledging each other’s presence, supporting each other through life’s different phases, and very gracefully acknowledging that giving flowers is a way of saying to each other, I love you. No grand declarations, just a soft, intentional acknowledgement.Celebrating someone without waiting for a crisis, a birthday, or a breakup.

Reetika, who has seen me through different phases, will always say one thing—“Gargi go touch the star.s”

She doesn’t give long speeches. No TED Talk energy. She simply says:

“Go, Gargi… go touch the stars.”

That’s it. No follow-up instructions. No performance review. Just belief… delivered in one line.Just her presence. And that makes it so beautiful.

Maybe this is what life is really about.

Not perfect relationships.But the way we hold each other through it all.

And the tenderness to celebrate—not just the milestones, but the mere fact that we are here.

Falling apart. Coming back together. Ordering coffee in between.

In the end, it’s these small, human gestures that become our real rituals of love.