Cupids on campus

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Short lived crushes, dating and the thrill of having a boyfriend or a girlfriend are an intrinsic part of a teenager’s life. Chick-lit and chick flicks add their two bit to the whole aura of romance in a youngster’s life. But there is this one type of young person who perhaps exists in every group of friends — the match maker.

While Cupid’s self appointed representative on campus could be seen as an interfering busybody, usually, they are the ones who are adored for pairing a guy up with the girl of his dreams or helping a shy girl convey her feelings to the guy she has the hots for. It could be a guy but it is usually a girl.
There are several examples of young people playing Cupid in literature and the movies. From Jane Austen’s Emma to Alicia Silverstone as the popular Cher in the film Clueless, the matchmaking is taken on with a belief that their ideas on great matches are fail-proof. Even the movie Aishaa, which is to release soon is an adaptation of Emma. City youngsters too don’t lag behind in taking up this part time activity. You find them batting for their pals or cousins to help them get hooked.
When 19-year-old Krupa Patel, a B.Tech student, found her best friend, the soft-spoken Ragini in love with her classmate Ketan, she planned to bring the duo together. “Ragini was too shy to approach Ketan, a guy who never spoke to girls much. So, once when she was absent, I egged her to take class notes from Ketan instead of me. After some hesitation, she agreed. That was the first time they spoke and shared notes after that. Still, a spark was missing. Luckily, it was the time of Navratri and I invited Ragini and Ketan to our dandiya party. With a little manipulation, I made sure that Ragini danced with Ketan, and dance did the final trick,” she smiles.
Nowadays, Krupa just can’t stop them from chatting all the time. “I can’t believe it’s the same shy Ragini. But I’m happy that they plan to get hitched once they complete their studies.”
Nineteen-year-old Bijal S., an undergraduate student of St Francis College too has been very successful with her match-making efforts so far. Bijal says, “My friend Komal was interested in my cousin Nitin. She found Nitin very cute. Nitin on the other hand, was interested but pretended he wasn’t. Every time we met, he would casually ask me, ‘What’s Komal doing nowadays? Don’t see her much. Is she busy with her boyfriend?’ That told me he was interested in Komal. So, whenever there was a get-together, I would make sure that both got to talk to each other. And love blossomed. It was almost two years ago and now they are in a serious relationship,” she reveals gleefully. Bijal also played a vital role in convincing both sets of parents to give their nod of approval to their relationship. As soon as they settle down in their careers, wedding bells will ring.
Not every attempt ends in a happy ending though. College goer Roshni Ahuja has bitter-sweet memories of playing Cupid.
“Once I tried to bring my friend closer to a guy whom she liked. When I told the guy, he in turn said that he liked me more than my friend. I wasn’t interested in him and stopped acting as the go-between,” she says.