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Jab We Met: 'We had nothing in common'

Last updated on: January 21, 2013 17:11 IST

We invited you, our readers, to share your love stories this Valentine's Day. Sachin from Mumbai shares the story of how his office colleague became his life partner. Illustration by Uttam Ghosh

I was working with this company for five years where a girl called Priya was appointed to assist me in the export import department.

We had nothing in common. I was always an introvert and shy guy whereas Priya loved gossiping, was an entertainer and bossy too.

As my family had already started looking for a girl an arranged marriage was on my mind.

Priya and I had a common office friend called Vidya.

Priya used to talk about me to this friend enquiring why I was so quiet, shy and just concerned about my work.

Meanwhile, through my parents, I had met a girl at my home. She liked me but I did not like her. Due to family pressures, I started talking to her over the phone to know her better.

When Priya came to know, we had a fight as usual at work. She said that I kept important things to myself and did not share it with her.

Days passed by and on August 19, 2011 we'd casually exchanged our Yahoo ids but we'd not started chatting. On August 24, Vidya gave birth to baby boy.

Over the chat, Priya and I decided to visit Vidya after office.

I remember very well that it was a stormy night and I had forgotten to bring my umbrella.

It was pouring heavily when we left the office.

Priya asked me to come under her umbrella. Still I was getting wet and our hands touched each other casually as we walked close to each other on the street under one umbrella.

My heart was beating heavily, I felt a bit awkward too.

The next day, on August 25, I got back home from office and logged in my Yahoo messenger around 10.30 pm.

Priya was online and we talked about office, Vidya, hobbies, family, marriage etc. By the end of it, the clock had ticked 3 am.

As I bade her goodbye, I felt I wanted to know her better.

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'Should I listen to my family or follow my heart?'

Last updated on: January 21, 2013 17:11 IST

The next day at office was pretty normal.

However, since then, we'd started talking through yahoo everyday for at least four to five hours at night. As each day passed by, we were getting to know each other better.

On one end, my parents were forcing to me marry that girl and even the girl was interested in me.

But I was in fix, I did not know what to do -- whether I should listen to my family or follow my heart.

I was not prepared for a love marriage but things were progressing so fast everyday. we were longing to spend time with each other, hold each other's hands and gaze at stars after office.

We'd even run to some quiet place where we could talk and share our feelings.

The passion and love was so intense between us that we eventually decided to get married.

I was from Gujarat and she belonged to Nepal.

When I discussed this with my sister, she was shocked to hear the news as ours is a conservative family and my sister was certain that love marriage was not our cup of tea.

There was family pressure from both sides to get married to somebody from the same caste. Priya was determined and first discussed with her mom with whom she was very close.

Although her mother cried upon hearing the news, Priya was strong enough to convince her whole family single-handedly whereas I had not even managed to convince my sister.

At the same time, the girl my parents had arranged for me was asking my mother to convince me for marriage.

Not knowing what to do, I contacted my brother in law and shared all the details about Priya and our affair with him.

When the three of us met at a hotel, my brother in law was convinced that Priya was the girl for me and I should get married to her. He immediately called my mama (uncle) in Ahmedabad and discussed the situation.

The very next morning my mama came home and informed my parents who were shocked and started crying. But I had made up my mind -- Priya or nobody.

My uncle convinced my parents after laborious efforts and Priya's family came to our house few days later where we discussed about how to go ahead with the marriage.

We performed an Arya Samaj marriage and held a grand reception on January 29, 2012. Both of us were so happy, we felt like we were on the moon

None of us in our wildest thoughts had imagined that we will get married.

As we head for our first marriage anniversary next week, I'd like to add that Priya is a gem and a beautiful girl. I love her a lot.