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2 States: 'There are differences, but that's the charm!'
We asked you, our dear readers, to share your personal 2 States stories with us and we've been inundated with your responses.
Here is Prodipto Roy's story:
We met in 1987 in the medical college where we studied.
Jayashree (Ayer) came from a conservative Tamil Brahmin family in which no one ever dreamed of marrying outside the community
I, on the other hand, was a typical Bengalis from Kolkata.
Life was tough right from beginning and our families eventually accepted us.
After 27 years of a wonderful life and two fabulous grownup kids, we still are discovering new things about each other.
There are differences, but that's the charm!
I am grateful to god that we never hesitated choosing each other.
Life is beautiful!
2 States: 'There are differences, but that's the charm!'
Meenakshi Prakash shares her story:
I belong to Uttar Pradesh, having been raised in Delhi-NCR.
Prakash is from Kerela brought up in Chennai.
I was in his team for over two-and-a-half years but we'd never met because he was in Dubai and I was in Delhi.
All our project discussions were done over the telephone and emails.
We first met on May 26, 2011 for a project review but no sparks flew -- he was the team leader and I was in his junior.
In a few months, the rest of my team members went on-site and I was solely supporting the project from the back office.
And so, our frequency and medium of communication changed -- from official email ids to personal emails, chatting and desk phone to mobile phones.
"Love should knock your head before your heart!"
Back home my parents were desperately looking for a suitable match for me.
I mentioned this to Prakash but nothing happened.
Then on February 8, 2012, very outrageously I announced my love to him, which worked!
Next morning he met my parents over a breakfast table in a hotel.
My father, whose only wish was to get me married to a fair skin guy, was disappointed by a south Indian dark-skinned boy.
And while he made his dislike visible, eventually my father hugged him and invited his parents to our home.
Back in Chennai, his parents too were looking for a match for him.
When he told them about me, the usual questions came up:
"Are their no girls left in our community?"
"Can she cook sambar?"
"When we named you Prakash, we knew that you will do something like Prakash uncle (who married a Gujarati)."
Finally with the help of his sisters and father (who was constantly making light of his son's decision), all went fine.
Our parents met in Delhi on April 20, 2012 and our wedding dates were finalised -- October 21 and 22, 2012 when we were married according to the rituals of both cultures.
This month we were blessed by a baby girl.