« Back to article

Print this article

2 States: It was a fairytale wedding

We asked you, our dear readers, to share your 2 States stories and here is Pillai Vineet Janardhanan and his wife Amruta Bansode's tale:

I am from Kerala though my parents have been settled in Gujarat.

I completed my Engineering in Pune and got a job in an IT company in the city.

My wife comes from Solapur but lives in Pune, which is where I met her.

She was deputed to our offices and share my cubicle.

We both were working on the same project and we started talking casually.

Though I liked her from the very first day itself, I was too shy to talk to her.

So most of our interaction was restricted to a casual hello and our outings restricted to team lunches.

This went on for over a year and I tried to ask her out on weekends but none of it worked.

She never realised that I liked her!

I was never too convincing it seems :-)

Then her contract ended and she left the company.

I still used to chat with her whenever I got the chance but there was no progress.

After a year, my parents had started searching for a bride for me and I was confused about what to do, so I decided to go with the flow and forget the rest.

Meanwhile, her parents were looking for a match for her too.

During this time, I got an opportunity to go onsite to the US for a couple of months.

A week before I was about to leave for US, she called me to tell me she was returning on contract with my offices again.

I cursed my luck and went to the US.

I suspect USA worked its magic on me and I became tad bold and while still there, I casually told her what I felt.

She took it well and I finally asked her if she would marry me.

That was when things became serious.

For the rest of the time that I was in the US, we spoke on various issues -- children, family etc -- and discovered that we were in fact made for each other.

So I returned and proposed to her formally. She said yes, of course.

Then was the tough task of convincing the parents.

My parents were against it but her family was ok with it.

I met up with her brother and asked him for some time to convince my parents.

By the time my parents agreed, her family had gone against it.

This went on for quite some time.

After several melodramatic moments, serious tensions from both sides, several arranged marriage proposals (that we turned down) and six months later, both the families agreed and we got married.

It was a fairytale wedding that both the families still talk about.

It has been almost two years now and we also have a lovely daughter, Ananya.

We are happy that we stuck to our decision and fought to get married.

ALSO READ More heartwarming stories like this one!

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!