A few years ago, during an event at Nehru Siddhant Kendra in Ludhiana, Dharmendra reminisced about his school days and shared a tender chapter from his childhood — his first love story.
He recalled studying at Government Senior Secondary School, Lalton, where, as a young boy, he believed only in feelings that came straight from the heart. “I always write from my heart, never from my mind,” he said while reflecting on those early years.
Dharmendra was in Class 6 when he fell in love with a girl two years senior to him — an eighth-grader named Hamida. He would often find excuses to meet her, carrying his notebooks along just to spend a few moments talking to her. Their innocent conversations became the highlight of his school days.
But their young love was short-lived. As Partition tore through Punjab, Hamida and her family left for Pakistan. “She disappeared after that,” Dharmendra recalled softly. “I would often tell myself, ‘Dharam, this was the first innocent step of your romantic nature, and you will never forget it.’”
It was a memory he carried with him all his life — a small, pure love that stayed untouched by time.