A Very Strange Love Story

The following are a series of (love?) letters that were sent to a friend of mine [henceforth referred to as Jane] by her colleague [henceforth referred to as Tarzan Apeman (Tarzan = First Name, Apeman = Last Name)], who, in order to maintain anonymity, sent her these emails from an email account created especially for this purpose. The ID that was created was a concoction of their first names [tarzan_jane@xxxxx.xxx].

I swear that every single thing written in those letters is true to the best of my knowledge and has not been tampered with in any way, except for the names, which have been changed to maintain anonymity.

Though I’d love nothing more in the world than to comment on every single line he has written to her, I’d rather not add anything in the middle and spoil the experience [and the flow] for you. However, whichever parts I would like to stress have been marked in bold. And if I couldn’t resist the temptation to say something, they are within brackets, in italics.

Well, hope you enjoy these as much as I did. Here they are:

~~~

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Tarzan Apeman"
To: "Jane"
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:01:34 +0530
Subject: hi

Hi J[being a short version of Jane],

The day on which you are not there in the office is something very painful.

I always expect you to be moving arround here in this floor. Today there is something missing and I am looking at your seat always,
but you are never there in it, some people are noticing me looking at it. After looking at it I am noticing that you are abcent.

The most beautiful things that i had seen in my life is your eyes Jane , can never forget them.

I started seeing you from one year Jane. When I first saw you I thought that you are a HR executive.

Now its time to initiate the things if you are comfitable, or else I am afraid that my life will start off like an autograph movie.

I always feel like joining you while going home, but unfortunately there is always a big gang of your friends along with you. who stares at me when i look at you.
But they are necessary for you to help you go home in the night time.

Dont know whether mailing a female like this is right or wrong . one thing I know is that, asking a persons openion with out knowing what I am is definately wrong .

Never talked or interacted much with females. thought of mailing you from few months,finally did it. One day, i peeped into your book, you draw pictures very beautifully like a kid.

This mail is too confidential Jane.... if this is disclosed, i can never lifet my head in this company.

take care..

__________________________________________________
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~~~

My friend completely ignored this email. [Luckily (for us), she didn’t delete it].

A few weeks later, she receives this email, where he calls her a lion, of all things in the world.

~~~

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Tarzan Apeman" <Tarzan_Jane@xxxxx.xxx>
To: "Jane" jane@xxxxx.xxx
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:35:21 +0530
Subject: hi

hi lion,

How to start talking with u.

---

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(Hahahahaa)

~~~

Four days after the above-mentioned email, he sent these two short emails out of the blue, six minutes apart from each other.

~~~

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Tarzan Apeman" <Tarzan_Jane@xxxxx.xxx>
To: "Jane" <jane@xxxxx.xxx>
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 14:33:08 +0530
Subject: hi

Hey...

U are sitting like a kid on the steps.

---

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Tarzan Apeman" <Tarzan_Jane@xxxxx.xxx>
To: "Jane" <jane@xxxxx.xxx>
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 14:27:08 +0530
Subject: hi

Hey....

you are sitting like a small kid on the steps.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

~~~

She apparently seemed to have got very offended for being compared to a small kid, for she replied immediately with a short, curt email, asking him not to bother her.

~~~

"Jane" <jane@xxxxx.xxx>wrote:

I dont know who you are .But if you dont stop mailin me I'll have to report this to a higher authority .

So I suggest you do.

~~~

He replied to this email that same evening:

~~~

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Tarzan Apeman" <Tarzan_Jane@xxxxx.xxx>
To: "Jane" <jane@xxxxx.xxx>
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:09:53 +0530
Subject: RE: hi

Hi,

Apology, Don’t know that I am doing mistake, came to know after seeing your response. It was never done to harm you. Its not easy to mail also. Took six months to take this decision. Your response is proper.

Please forgive me.

Regards…
Tarz..

__________________________________________________
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Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

~~~

Then, a few days later came this long email…

~~~

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Tarzan Apeman" <Tarzan_Jane@xxxxx.xxx>
To: "Jane" <jane@xxxxx.xxx>
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 21:13:00 +0530
Subject: RE: hi

hi Jane,

Please dont get angry Jane, and please dont give warning to me after reading this. Its my mistake only to tell you that your eyes look good and all in the emails, I tried to be close to you in a funny way, but that became a major flop. Now i understood that you dont like me, God promise [how long has it been since we heard something like ‘God Promise’ being used?] that no third person in our office knows that I email you or i see you. Even i mis understood you because you are looking at me. what ever, i have sent you wishes for two festivals from my official id, I did not get response, means , u dont like me. I respect your response and make it confim that I failed in love with you. But Jane, I enjoyed a lot when u are looking at me. those days were my best days when we were looking at each other. I thought that I will never fall in love with any one. what ever, I am very happy that you scolded me in mail, you are the first girl to scold me [I’m surprised], few girls in our office emailed me and one proposed me [I wonder what kind of a person she must be]. You are better you gave me warning , but i got scared of saying no. to them.. [huh???]

From past few days I was spending sleepless nights Jane. Its was one of my ambitions to become an enterprenuer, I am not getting any opportunity. I am not at all satisfied and i will never be with my software job. I dont want my software job to be my primary dependancy. job should be only for the security.. but a man should be physically strong and should earn in a challenging way in buisiness and put his family up. There will be defiantely one good way, I am trying to find it still.. I was passed out in 2000 [not only does he keep track of how many girls have scolded him till date, but he apparently also maintains the details of when he has fainted] from a very repurted institution in andhra. I am BE . Electronics [Now you know what inspired the movie to be titled “I am Legend”]. With one wrond step I had ruined my career... I was a merit student earlier, now i dont believe in hardwork... All my classmates are in USA doing great. few already started their own consultancies and bussinesses.

Please dont think that I am money minded, every month I give arround 20% of my income to a charity called parikrama which gives education for the slum kids. I will strictly follow this what ever i earn 20% should go . Jane, i give even though i dont have any property at my back [how about in the front?]. If I am not doing this, I dont feel like I am a man. I was working hard to convince others also to donate da [notice the change of tone]. but no one listens to me Jane. These software engineers never listens to any one. they only tell but they wont listen to others. along with this they are very practical always using the words like so what and then what... I always wont understand how to convince these innocent people...If they talk loudly they feel that they are very confident and bold, actaully what is the use of confidence Jane if our hands cant help the hungry people. Every week end i will teach in an institute called SRM radiant for free of cost. I will teach testing realtime i will help them to get jobs. Till now i helped arround 100 people to get jobs. you know one day one girl came in an auto and i was sitting in the reception. I had forwarded her resume to our company. she is from kerala, her husband left her, she came to bangalore with a kid. Our TL s got scared to select her as she is fake. but most of the testers in our compny are not genune. Though i gave indirect clue about her situation, they told me that they dont want to take risk.... like this so many painful stories da.... Most of them are from kerala.... but they will bless me and go .... you know There is a girl called ____________, she is the girl who gave me this idea of emailing to you. earlier she was with call center and now she is in ____.. she always asks about you. she also looks very very fair like tomato like you [first, a lion, and now, a tomato... read on to see what he calls her next].

I belong to a caste called Kshatriya from andhra. We are actually called surya vamsha rajas. This Id is my names prefix which is not there in record.

Jane, Since i was thrown ina hostel when i was kid itself I got used to lonely life . I got so many friends in between, but one day they will take my contacts [I didn’t know contact lenses were introduced in India way back then] and go away nd slowly I loose in touch with them. Actually its very painful to loose them.. Now when ever i talk to any one i will automatically feel that he will also leave me one day and hence i will not get energy to get close .... But i have few close frends, some are in india and some are abroad.

Jane, Actually i thought of leaving this company after completion of sixmonths itself, but i stayed back with a ray of hope that it will go well between us [she doesn’t even know who the guy is]. It is painful for me to leave you, but I even want you to settle with the person with all the qualities that you want [that was mighty considerate of him]. I might had proposed you, As i am not financially strong, I did not get energy to come and propose you. I did not have any strong point to garantee a better life to you. facial features might not be not be that good but apart from that I look better and stronger than any software engineer in bangalore.

Jane, as i said that i want to start my business apart from my job, I can,t achieve this if i stay back here in ___ [the company where they worked] and even i have to get married by maximum in an year . Now i am padding up my five years of gap and trying for job. I already got through... I did my best to impress you Jane, I left all my ego before you and emailed you even though though you did not respond to me. now its time to leave you...[why does he sound like he's dumping her?] I got through in ____ [another company] with 5+ years of experience waiting for the offer letter and might be in next two months I might leave ____..[the company where they worked] But miss u alot...

Except in emails i felt lot of respect from your side Jane. I am very very happy for that. Actually its not very easy to find a girl like you. Actually my aim was not to marry an engineer, but after seeing you, i was flat....god promose da.. you are very good and a bit innocent too..

Please dont warn me Jane, bless me before i leave you.....I respect you a lot da, because of that only when ever you are close to me, my mouth will be shut. even i never expected that the story will end like this. hope that u understand my situation.

I will never bother you with my emails.

God Bless You Jane.

---

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~~~

… and three months later, a longer email…

~~~

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Tarzan Apeman" <Tarzan_Jane@xxxxx.xxx>
To: "Jane" <jane@xxxxx.xxx>
Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2006 18:35:14 +0530
Subject: RE: hi

hi,

From past few days, I am seeing you being very dull which you were not earlier, you used to be very active and lively. Now I am seeing you walking very dull. This should not happen, I know that this is happening only after my email. I am making you uncomfortable. When I came here you are very nice and active, very energetically moving around talking happily with every one. Now I am feeling that I am the person who has spoiled your happiness.. I will feel more than you if you are like this.

When the kids are not eating the food or when they are crying, we will tell them raj kumari stories and make them comfitable [ROFL!!]. As u are wise I shall tell you real stories . One is a small story and the other one is a painful family life story of myne. I am not luckey to talk to u daily like your friends, at most I can write a long mail. That too with lot of fear that you might get bust on me with anger. It took few days for me to write this, this is the only way to talk to you. When ever I feel like talking to you, I will open this document and continue to write. I know that you don’t like me emailing you, but for a person like me, this is the only way.

Listen da… Imagine that a good friend of yours is telling you. This small story is from mahabharata.

One fine day, lord Krishna and arjuna will be walking [note the future tense] on the sea shore, beside the shore there will be one village, a group of people will be gathering around the dead body before a small house, they will be weeping and crying like hell. Then lord Krishna will tell arjuna. See arjuna, how those poor and innocent people are crying with lot of pain………….. These people are crying thinking as if they are going to live forever. After few years we all will not be there on this earth, we will go to heaven, In heaven i dont need to get feared to talk to you. These are all the games played by gods. Gods come in different ways , with one hand they give and with another they will take away. Few months back I am in day dreams thinking that you will be my life partner and for all my next janmas, at that time I was scared to leave you for a month also, I was scared that company will ask me to go onsite [the first time I read this, I thought Lord Krishna was talking about an onsite trip to Arjuna, and wondered why he told Arjuna “I don’t need to get feared to talk to you” and "I am in day dreams thinking that you will be my life partner"], if they had offered also i might had said no. Now, I am facing the most painful situation of my life about which I cant express to any one that I am leaving you forever, except god I think no one can understand this pain. We are just normal humans who are part of his ball game. What ever decisions we take are not taken by us, they are taken by us according to gods wish. So we should’n t repent for some decisions and their painful consequences. What I am saying is, what ever decision is taken by you is very much correct. Because you are a good person and you never did any harm to any one.

My story…................................. Takes time to read. .read it for time pass when you are free [that’s what we’re doing].

If any one asks you what your family background is you might tell them that your grand father is a big officer or your uncle is a big renowned person. But I am a person who came from a very much rural and less civilized family. It’s a very very painful experience which no other families should ever encounter in their lifes.. Some people around our villages tell great about us and few tell that our families are very bad and cruel.

My grand father _____ [name of grandfather] is our village president, Our village is in coastal Andhra, It’s a very good village where every one is very good, people from other villages wait for the curd and milk of our village, we never used to mix water in it. Like that only most of the people are. People are very innocent, if you joke, they will keep remembering it through out the day and keep on laughing.

One day one quarrel happened because of females. I shouldn’t tell you, it’s a very bad reason. So the village got separated in to two. Its not exactly two, but one party is only our family and another party consists of many other village members. Our families are very big there are 150 males in our four big families with the same initial with which I am called here.. At a time they used to attack each other in the night times when the opportunity come. My grandfather has six brothers , My father is the elder son. I am the only son to my father. And he is very very strong person, he weighed 120 kgs I heard. He was the only educated person in our villages. He married my mother who is very poor. They were in love with each other, and got married. . heard that she and her sister are the most beautiful girls in our village [he hasn’t seen her???]. He usd to come to town and study.

In the clashes a group of 200 to 300 people used to attack eachother in the night times. If they report to police, they used to come to the village and eat well including money from both the sides and go away. Few people used to get killed on both the sides..

One day, the other party members removed my three grand fathers brothers heads in the middle of the village.In the day time,, Their names are ___, ___ and ___. When they are trying to kill one the other two went and they were also killed. At this time our families got wild up, the other party people got scared and they ran away to the forest and other places of the district. In this situation, not knowing what to do, my father taking his all relatives and brothers almost made the village in to graveyard they killed so many people, at this time they killed so many good people also. At this time 150 reserved police came to our village and they were there for few days. After few days the was a situation where no one knows what happens. Two parties are growing more powerful. No one knows what happens. Every one from both sides used to get scared. All our females in our families used to hug the small kids and they used to cry like anything. If a male goes out no one knows whether he will come back or not. That’s why they used to go in groups. Though the men are fighting, our females are the most daring people. They faced the most problems than any other females. Our family males are very very arrogant, they never used to care any one. The only thing they know is killing. There were police cases on many people from both sides.. Our family people needs to sell of our agricultural lands to fight for the cases. Our families used to earn from one side and from one side it used to get melted to bribe the police and lawyers. Here the people who actually killed our grand fathers fled to the city and they were later caught by the police and they got life sentence.

At this situation my father told his father that he don’t want to stay there and he along with most of my family members came to a small village close to town, there those village people didn’t allow us to enter in to the villages, those village people told that if we enter we will convert those villages also like graveyards. In that situation we all of our group of our families constructed small small mud houses in an open space between two villages . Here one village is of yaadavas and another is of our caste Kahatriyas, and stayed. Here agrahaara is close to us where only bramhin pandits stays, they are the people who helped us a lot during that bad situation, that’s why till now we will protect and respect then, we will not let a feather falling on them under any circumstances. When most of our family members came here, our other relatives became very weak there, so the other party people used to attack them and our family members used to run away and come to our houses to this village, stay here for few days and when the situation goes well they used to return back to my old village.

Here these village people around us used to show lot of partiality with us, they always used to try to quarrel with us.They used to always consider us as uncivilized as most of the people in this village are connected to the town near by. Actually they know that we are very strong, but they are very large in number, they don’t want us to raise again. But my family members are very much ferocious they never get scared of any thing. They are like lions like you. A cold war used to go [where?]. They never allowed us to construct the houses in their villages but we used to go inside for other activities. The male people in our families used to get worried because the area in which we have constructed the houses was not having power facility. We used to lit lamps in the night times. At the same time the females kids were growing in our families. So, they tried to discuss with them the situation and enter, but it became futile.

One night time at around 8 o clock, me, my father and my sisters and mother we were having dinner, out side the neighbour village people were beating one person because of some reason. When they ere trying to kill him, my father went to stop. That’s it, there were around 500 people, who bet my father, we thought that it will be very difficult for him to survive and get up from the bed. His two ribs were broken. He picked up a little and they gave him very strong food which made him again pick up. After becoming fit when he was about to go out side for the first time, my mother begged him not to go out, she had fallen on his legs also, he told that no one will do any thing as they already bet him. He went out and we got a call saying that he is in a dying situiation. They again bet him.

Can u imagine the situation. We were all crying, I was too young at that time, this is a 25 year old back story,, from one side our old village, from one side these fellows. That was the situation still now I remember my family members crying. Dieing is better than living like that. Our people used to get scared to go out, full of enemies around. No one goes out with out a weapon. And a stick, here every one learns stick and sphere, I also learned for four years continuesly [huh???]. My mother only forced my father to teach the art to me. When these kind of things are growing more. One day our family members attacked our neighbouring village and entered in to it, my father tried to chop off this new village presidents head, at that time the new village people only scolded their own president because of his cunning nature.. This is the village in which my family is in now at present. I was thrown in to a hostel in the town it was a missionary school.. my father want me to become an officer.. but my family member want me to become an inspector. Some used to ask me to become a lawyer to fight for their cases.

After few years, my old village people killed my fathers elder brother ___. And in our old village my grand father expired, his death was safe. After an year all my family members went to my old village to put salt in my grand fathers grave. I did not go. At that time they stabbed my fathers fourth brother ___. They stabbed him 17 times. But he survived. Now he is the richest man in our families. But over all our families killed more people than we lost. I cant tell that my families are always right, but they did not kill any one just like that or for the sake of name. The only thing is that they are very very ferocious. The quarrels ended and these people started businesses, some are successful and many failed. Now soo many differences among our families itself. If we go to town people will get feared of my families, political people like MLA s and MP s s will come and meet all our relatives. They will use us like anything…. You might be thinking that the ministers are good people who want to serve the country, please don’t innocently believe them, during elections they will get bombs and put them in our houses. Its true da. God promise believe me. That’s the reason why I will not vote. My families will not care them also. They are very arrogant. Politicians will come to us because our families are powerful and can fight. There will be so many things going on between them. … Now every one tell that we are the people who killed, no one knows our pain, how many females lost lost their husbands, no one think all these, every one points us, they tell that we are not humans,. Very pain ful it will be. But my father is having very good name as a good person, he helped many people with money and land. Now he is not having anything to give to his own son, I don’t want anything, he made me an engineer, I am greatful to him, if I can help few people in need and later if I can make my kids useful to others , I shall be happy..

Coming to my mother, she is very good and innocent, she calls every one with the names Amma and ayya. Amma means mother and ayya means father. She never call any one with names. including kids, She is very shy person, she is old, a bit blind, she cant recognise me, she dont know how i look now. If you come to my home, every one will go behind the doors and they will be peeping at you. If you go out also so many of my men will accompany you fopr your security, they are very strong to protect you.

Any way, after few years I got in to 11 th class and joined in a residential college in the town, I got in to engineering. After that my US visa got denied for my MS, I got admissions in five universities in US and the next year the software came down, at that time I worked with an R& D Firm on some GNOME tool.. as developer . that is some proprietary language. I worked there for few months only because the work will be like 18 to 20 hours per day. Any ways under bad circumstances I was in depression before joining this company at that time I became very thin.

I joined here and I saw you. Finish, there was lot of life and energy in your face and you are just moving around and talking and laughing with every one. Some thing like you wre very happy all the time, lot of people used to come and talk to you. You are like james bond. When I saw u I thought that you are some HR executive and slowly I found that you are a developer and in a better position than me. That is also ok, I used to prey to god that you should n’t be rich so that I can easily convince you for marriage, unfortunately I saw you one day driving car. I lost hope completely that you will like me, but I tried still. Some times I used to think that trying to propose you is a mistake as you are well deserved person than me, but I finally became selfish and possessive with respect to you.

After that I think you know every thing, Daily getting up in the morning at 8:00 , coming to office and taking your darshan, joining you for break fast , tea, lunch, and while going out home also. I did it with out your notice, later you came to know that I am following you. After that 8:30 to 10:00 gymming and having dinner and sleeping at 12 o clock. I forgot, in between few warnings from you through emails. That day I cried in the bathroom. On the week ends I will go to the charity parikrama to meet my dearest darlings, my slum kids. I sleep for two days on the bed on week ends lazily, and I never go out into the city. I don’t know anything in bangalore except my room, office and majestic. I like to go to late night movies with families. I am very very soft person, I don’t remember when I got angry in my life. My life has become a compromised and full of sorries, if any one gets angry on me I will just tell sorry and come out of the ring. I am from village, but the city environment is a bit practical, which will hurt me some times. I am very sentimental. for joke purpose also, I never hurt any person. Actually you never allowed me to come and talk to you , under and circumstances if you give me your hand to hold, that’s it you are out I will never leave it through out my life. You will come to know how Sentimental I am.

Dai, I got fed up with this lonely life from the child hood, if I have friends also they are leaving in between, now I am looking to marry an innocent girl like you and stay with her family because my parents are not ready to move out from our village. If I can get a girl like you, I shall stay with her family and I will treat her parents like my parents. I want to live with family da. I am alone, now you are also leaving me, I don’t have any one. I am alone. I will be 29 years old on the coming December __^th , I hardly have one year to get married, If I am not getting married for one year[!], I will get out dated [!!] and no one will marry me da. Now no love, I loved you and I will protect these good and very precious mements. I cant love anyone apart from you. I don’t want to also. I don’t my love to become impure, If any girl other than you is seeing me I am not feeling comfortable, I want only you to see me. I love only my tomato lion. I renamed you are tomato lion, which means a lion who looks as fair as a tomato.

I want to live the life like you, having so many good people around, living happy life, every one respects you,. Can I tell u what is ther in my heart, A person who is very clever, serious, earning more money, having ego, who always wants center of attraction among every one, who talks more, who always points others to prove his greatness, and especially who will get a bloated belly after 30 years and impatient Now days guys will wear an allen solly shirt if we remove it they look like a cycle tube filled with air. These are not the right match for a kind of person like you da.

You are a person living a very good life, you are respectable and innocent. Its really true, I am noticing it every day. I notice every step that you take. You are talented and you work like a bull in the office, you will never try to change the companies for money, you work more than a man. You talk with every one nicely irrespective of whether he is good, bad, or what ever he is [ugly???]. I always notice you cheering up with every one. You have soo many ghuts [huh???] also.. A good person like you need a person who knows what you are in your life da, who can see your 26 years of long struggle for your career and goal, who will understand your want and what you feel by looking into your eyes itself, who is very much balanced in mind even during his worst situations, who stands like a strong man beside you like a commando and who can stay fit and strong till his 50 years of age, who knows the value and gives respect for good of others also.. Who after marrying you will treat your parents as his parents and who will not live for his selfishness and who also helps your family relatives who are in need and he who gets more respect for you in the family and who even know the taste and pain of hunger. Even he should have the goal in his life to come up. …

Coming to my situation, I am getting scared to talk to you, actually I will never get scared of any one, its happening with only with you. If you come close to me my heart beat starts fast, That day in the lift after lunch during the afternoon time, ohh god, very much tensed, I think your friend enjoyed both of us. None of our collegues were able to help me also in this regard. One of your best friend is there who comes with you for the walk after lunch, some times I will be thinking why at least she was not able help me out. She is a nice person. People from kerala are very soft and good. Thinking that you might get bad name, I did not disclose your name to any of my best friends also. I just told that you are from kerala.

Any time in the future gimme one message, I will leave every thing and come for you and take you away. And I shall live according to what you wish. Nothing can be better than having a wise person like you as wife.

Now you will be very much angry with me for writing this mail, I know it very well, you will be waiting for me with sword on Monday, that’s why I will not come on monday. Don’t know when you will come to me and bust off. Getting scared, but don’t want to loose you, I always think about you from the morning till night. But no one helps me. Many times tears come out of my eyes.

The people who are successful in love are the luckiest people.

---

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~~~

Sadly [for me], he never wrote to her after that. I guess some love stories unfortunately end as abruptly as they start…