Ek Tarfa Pyaar

Pehli Nazar - The First Glimpse

The first year of college had already begun two weeks ago.

By now, most students had settled into a routine. Friend groups had started forming, the canteen staff already recognized familiar faces, and the excitement of the first few days had slowly faded into normal college life.

For Kabir, it had already become predictable.

Wake up. Attend lectures. Sit with Adarsh. Go to the canteen. Go back home.

Nothing extraordinary.

Just another ordinary chapter of life.

That Tuesday morning felt no different.

Kabir was sitting in the second row of Lecture Hall B, his notebook opens in front of him while the professor explained something on the board. His pen moved slowly across the page as he copied down points, he knew he would probably never read again.

Half the class looked sleepy.

A few students whispered to each other in the back row.

Outside the tall windows, the campus trees moved gently in the warm breeze.

Everything felt normal.

Completely ordinary.

And then she comes in....

Kabir didn't look up at first. Late students walking in during lectures wasn't unusual.

But then he heard soft footsteps... followed by a quiet voice.

"May I come in sir"

Kabir looked up.

Two girls were standing near the door.

They looked slightly breathless, like they had rushed across the campus. One of them held her bag tightly while trying to stop herself from laughing. The other the one standing slightly ahead looked calm, offering the professor a polite and slightly nervous smile.

There was something warm about that smile.

The professor paused for a moment, clearly a little annoyed at the interruption. He adjusted his glasses and looked at them carefully.

For a second the entire class turned toward the door.

Then he nodded.

"Come in. But next time, be on time."

The two girls quietly entered the classroom and walked toward the nearest empty seats.

Kabir noticed how the girl who had spoken softly pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear before opening her notebook.

Her friend leaned closer and whispered something that made both of them smile.

Kabir stopped writing.

His pen froze above the page.

Something about her caught his attention.

Maybe it was the way she carried herself calm and effortless. Or maybe it was the lightness in her smile that somehow brightened the dull classroom.

He didn't know.

But his eyes stayed there longer than they should have.

One second longer.

Then another.

Then another.

The lecture continued.

Chalk scratched against the board. Pages turned. Someone coughed loudly near the back row.

But Kabir heard none of it.

For the rest of the lecture, his notebook remained half empty.

When the bell finally rang, students began packing their bags and leaving the classroom in small groups. Chairs scraped against the floor as conversations filled the air.

Kabir slowly packed his bag, but his eyes moved toward the door again.

The two girls were leaving together.

The one who had spoken earlier said something to her friend, and both of them laughed softly while walking down the corridor.

Kabir watched them disappear into the crowd of students.

He didn't know her name.

He didn't know anything about her.

All he knew was that she had walked into the classroom that morning... and somehow made an ordinary Tuesday feel different.

Much later, Kabir would learn that she hadn't been absent because she joined college late.

She had simply been sick for the first two weeks.

But at that moment, he knew nothing about her story.

All he knew was that something inside him had quietly changed the moment she walked through that door.

Outside the lecture hall, Kabir leaned against the corridor railing while his best friend Adarsh stood beside him scrolling through his phone.

But Kabir wasn't looking at the screen.

He was looking across the corridor.

The same girl stood near the staircase, talking with her friend — the one who had entered with her earlier.

Adarsh noticed.

He followed Kabir's gaze and slowly turned back toward him with a mischievous smile.

Adarsh:
"Bhai... tu usse itna kyun dekh raha hai?"

Kabir blinked and quickly looked away.

He adjusted the strap of his bag, pretending nothing had happened.

Kabir:
"Pata nahi... bas usko dekh ke ajeeb sa sukoon milta hai."

Adarsh raised an eyebrow.

Kabir instantly regretted saying that.

He cleared his throat and tried to act normal.

But the words had already slipped out.

And somewhere deep inside him, he knew they were true.

That evening, while sitting alone in his room, Kabir found himself remembering that moment again.

The way she walked into the class.

The way she smiled.

The way everything suddenly felt different.

He didn't know her name.

He didn't know anything about her.

But somehow, a quiet feeling had already begun growing in his heart.

A feeling that would slowly turn into something deeper.

Something beautiful.

And something painful.

But the words were already true

"Pehli nazar mein kuch kaha nahi,

par dil ne kuch sun liya.

Woh aayi, muskurai, aur chali gayi,

par meri duniya badal gayi."