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2 States: He fell for me first!
We asked you, our dear readers, to share your 2 States stories. Here is the latest set of responses.
Archana Chauhan shares hers:
Karthik and I were married on February 24 2012 and soon after the wedding I flew to Warsaw where I was working since 2010 and he continued to be in Chennai.
Ours was a Skype relationship until I moved back late last year.
But this was not the beginning of our 2 States story
It all began in 2006. I walked into the Chennai office of US-based growth consulting company and in one of the first training session walks in a smart BITS Pilani engineer who only managed to bore me with his session.
We were at loggerheads right from Day 1.
We were friends who used to hate each other and would keep picking each others fault in every possible thing we did together.
(We would find reasons to do things together nevertheless.)
When he emailed me to help him with an NGO model in 2008, we came back together to work for a social cause.
Both of us had our own ways of doing things and pulled the act together.
But it was only while we worked there along with the children that Karthik says he started falling for me.
I still maintain that he fell for me first! :-)
But yes, eventually we were at a point where we could not live without speaking to each other or meeting each other every other day.
He proposed to me in the middle of the sea after we had jumped from our catamaran realising that I would have no escape route! :-P
Soon we were discussing the wedding.
It was only then that I realised that Karthik came from a very orthodox Naidu family.
My parents on the other hand had a 2 States wedding in the 1980s -- my dad was from Delhi and mom was a Tamilian!
So everything fell into place perfectly for me.
My dad was always fond of Karthik and he convinced my mom, things were not so easy with Karthik.
I flew to Europe in 2010 and we kept the long distance relation going on for two years and tried not to fall apart.
Looking at our bond grow stronger despite living away from each other in two different continents, his parents agreed and finally we had the BIG Indian wedding.
Only this time the big was not just BIG but twice the usual -- as we had a fusion of both Rajput style and the Naidu style.
Today both the families sit together and enjoy the wedding videos and plan vacations together.
We realise while I am a person who loves Bollywood, all he knows in Bollywood is Vidya Balan.
He dreams of owing cars the names of which I haven't even heard about!
I love any temperature below 20 degrees Celsius and he can't stand anything below 30 degrees! :D
I love talking all the time and he loves to save energy to just make few clear assertive statements.
The list goes on.
That being said, we both love to travel, love to discuss every other topic under the sun, love the families a lot and both treasure our friends.
What matters is we are the best of friends who are not ready to give up on each other whatever the situation may be.
I always tell him the best gift he has given me is his support and freedom to do whatever I have wanted :-)
Read more heartwarming stories like this one here!
'We wanted our families to accept us wholeheartedly'
T Suresh Babu shares his story:
Our 2 States story began in January 2001 when we met at a DRDO establishment in Avadi near Chennai.
She had come from Kerala to do her MCA project and I from NIT, Warangal, AP to do my M Tech project.
We were assigned the same lab and one fine day she walked up to me to ask for my help.
I couldn't because I was busy.
The next thing I hear is she'd complained to her friends that I'd brushed her off.
In fact, she thought I was one of the scientists working at DRDO, thanks to the few grey hair! :-(
Eventually, we got to know each other better but it was on one particular day that she asked me if I could join her after work.
I wrapped up early and we began walking to the bus stop.
I was new to Chennai so I asked her if she had any idea about where we were heading. She said she had none but just wanted to unwind! :-)
So we ended up at a restaurant nearby and spoke about ourselves and our families.
And then we became real good friends and would hang out with our friends after work.
On women's day she and her other friends invited a colleague and me for a treat -- the Tamil movie Minnale!
The problem? I do not understand a word of the language :-)
So there she was, by my side explaining the dialogues!
Four months passed in no time; we completed our project and headed back to our homes.
We knew we were going to miss each other but neither expressed their feelings.
Even so we were in touch, speaking over telephones (there were no mobile phones then) and emails (I used to pay 60 rupees an hour at internet cafes!!).
Then one day, I received a surprise courier!
A t-shirt of my favourite colour!
For a moment I was shocked.
I just assumed it to be a gift for my birthday.
It had been two months since we'd parted. I was looking for a job and caring for my mother who was suffering from Parkinson's (since all my siblings are married and settled elsewhere) when she called me and finally said what she felt about me.
For a while I was totally blank. Then I explained her about the situation at my home.
She replied that she would be there for my mother, which touched me.
There is no instance of an inter-state marriage in my family.
To top it, being youngest among six children, love marriage and that too marrying a Keralite was never thought of.
I need to convince all of the family members, especially my elder brother who I fear more than my parents!
As both of us are Christians, religion was never a hurdle.
We wanted our families to accept us wholeheartedly.
It took us three years to convince our respective family members and eventually we succeeded.
In 2004, we got married in accordance with the Andhra tradition and when we went to Kerala the reception was in their style.
Unfortunately, my mother died a week before our marriage. That is the only black day in my life.
However, now we are a happy family of four.
Since both of us are non-vegetarians, we enjoy each other's cuisines.
The only thing that she is yet to get used to the spicy Andhra biryanis.
It has been ten years since our wedding and we really are living our dream and enjoying what God has given to us.
Read more heartwarming stories like this one here!
Are you a north Indian who's married a south Indian or vice versa?
How did you two meet?
How did your families react?
Was there enough drama for a Bollywood movie or a bestselling book? :-)
Tell us!
Email us the stories of your inter-cultural marriage!
Write to getahead@rediff.co.in (Subject line: 'My 2 States story') along with a picture of you and your spouse, and we will publish the best stories right here on Rediff.com!