Friends, Humans have taken their ingenuity and intellect to the limits. Nothing seems out of bounds and beyond the limits of human perception and achievement. Under such circumstances, if I were to think about something that has eluded even the most brilliant of brains, it would be an amour that would resist the onslaught of Cupid and his arrows.

Nations have been bought, wars fought, mountains climbed and thrones given up only for this four-lettered wonder: love. A boon for many and a curse for others, it brings out the highest in some and the worst in many. All-powerful and potent, it transcends all barriers and conquers all dimensions.

Love: no one is safe and immune from its advances. The mightiest of humans have fallen its prey, the meekest and the sly too. You give in to it and you lose, you resist and you lose even more. Holding back is just not possible; the dice is too heavily loaded on love's side. You somehow end up falling for it. It does make sense though to keep away as long as you can.

Looking at the way our society views love, it is especially hard for the youth. Any activity involving both the sexes is usually viewed with suspicion and doubt. That itself is one BIG reason for a lot of people clamping on their feelings and emotions regarding the opposite sex.

Sunita Rajbhandari says she does not have a boyfriend and the reason being that her parents would kill her if they ever got to know. She is holding back to refrain from hurting her family. As she says, "Other things may change but we start and end with family."

Sugam Pokharel says, "I like the idea of having a girlfriend. But sometimes it's really asking for unnecessary tension. I can't even call her freely for fear of her father picking up the phone."

I found a few simple reasons other than parental disapproval, why not to fall in love [at least temporarily]:

1. You have to be the one to answer the phone before your parents do.
2. Love's a cliché and you're such an original.
3. Long distance relationships are hard, on the heartand harder on the pocket.
4. You have to make a hundred excuses to get out of home.
5. It looks good to have a beautiful girl tagging along. But, a real pain having to tagalong during her beauty makeovers.
6. You don't have to compromise and commit.
7. "When you're in love with a beautiful woman, it's hard." Of course it's hard, when she gets the adoring attention and you get the stares.
8. The more you fall for someone, the likelier it is that she has a very aggressive and strong brother.
9. It's easier to hold on to your illusions.
10. The 'I' dissolves in the 'Us'.
11. Lust is more fun anyway!
12. You don't want to identify with that sap Michael Bolton.
13. Single-mingle-tingle sounds cooler than love-marriage-and-baby-in-the-carriage.
14. Romantic love ends with the honeymoon.

I have given you some very simple reasons why to keep away from love. Now if you wonder how? Sorry, I can't help you there! If you do come up with some way of doing it, we are all ears to you.

Sishir Rai
Kathmandu ...

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