23/08/2022
“I was 22 when I met Chaitanya at a chai tapri. I was with one of my friends sipping tea, & he happened to come to the same stall. Coincidentally, my friend knew him, & that’s how we met!
After our 1st meeting, we often began crossing each other’s paths–at our mutual friends’ parties! He was the life of the party; he could easily make friends & whip up a conversation with an absolute stranger. At one such get-together, we had our 1st conversation–from discussing our shared love for theater to our favorite movies. He even told me about how he lost his eye due to a tumor when he was young & how challenging it was for him & his parents to deal with the partial loss of vision. He’d say, ‘I don’t want my personality to revolve around this issue.' That night, conversations just flowed!
So, we began hanging out often until one morning, he asked me out for breakfast! He said, ‘I like you.' It was so cute; I couldn't help but say ‘Yes!’ After that, we began dating! The next year was magical–from eating till our stomachs hurt to watching our favorite plays, we had a ball!
And then a year later, Chaitanya said, ‘I feel we should tell our parents!’ While his parents accepted us instantly, I was petrified; I didn’t know how mine would react. And when I told my parents, they said ‘How are you going to adjust with him?’ & ‘What will people say?’
I was shocked! I grew up among loving parents in a liberal environment. But for the 1st time I could see that they were more concerned about what people would say than what I wanted. It took me 5 months of convincing until Baba said, ‘Okay. I’ll meet him.’ Chaitanya impressed them & they showered us with their blessings!
So, roughly a year later, with friends & family beside us, we got engaged!
You know, all throughout the time when I’ve known him, people have said, ‘But he looks like this!’ Initially, it’d affect Chaitanya. In fact, once he even told me, ‘I’ll get a plastic surgery done.’ But I just said, ‘I love you for you!’ Because when you fall in love with someone's soul, the body is just the medium… you love what's on the inside."
Article Credit
-Humans of Bombay