It was not until after three months of texting that he expressed his desire to meet. I dawdled, tried to squirm off that eventuality. Yes, we would plan, I would say, off-hand. I was afraid of another disappointment and dent to my self-confidence. It emanated from the fact that guys used to meet and then never got back in touch after saying, “Nice to meet you.” Always reminded me of the romcoms when the hero in denial of his love for the leading lady tells her the same when she narrates an incident of being ghosted by a prospect. I tried to dilly dally, until one weekend he declared that he would really like to meet me and would soon be on his way to Pune. I had to relent. He was being so proactive. I could not say no. It would not have been a nice thing to do on my part. So, one Saturday evening in the summer of 2019, we met. It was just 150 kms. But it took months for us to conquer that distance. Nevertheless, I had decided that I will enjoy myself and went with absolutely zero expectations. We ended up chatting for more than three hours. It was a first for me. And apart from the first few minutes, there was no awkwardness. We practised the good old art of conversation over great food and cocktails. It was time to say goodbye, eventually. We bid adieu to each other and I got back home with a feeling of Saturday evening well spent and nothing else. The next morning bore a pleasant surprise for me as there was a text on my phone from him wishing me good morning and how he enjoyed himself the previous night. 

I think that was it. That was unexpected but pleasant. Like someone ordering a brownie for you, without your knowledge, after a spicy meal. Looking back, I think he fell for me the very instant he saw me. For me, it was like a slow-cooked, Dum Biryani, where the spices gradually create their magic. And this message the next morning was where it all began as far as I was concerned. I realised at that moment that this guy seemed genuinely interested. To start off, he was not looking for hookups, but for friendship. We met twice probably after that. It wasn’t long before he gave me a switch word to help me find that someone special. He had consulted someone well-versed with the technique, for me. He knew I wasn’t getting the right match from the matrimonial portals I had registered myself on. We had just started getting slightly comfortable with each other. All this while, I had been chanting the switch words as suggested. I also told him about how I had gifted myself a trip to the USA for my birthday that summer. I was also supposed to meet a prospective groom. Later, I also travelled to Delhi during late summer in 2019, for a one-month screenwriting course. 

Somehow, the universe had decided to get us closer to each other, despite the actual distance. It so happened that my partner, an established physiotherapist in Mumbai, was studying for an exam and used to have half a day free. I was also free in the evening after my classes were over. Our spaces during that period were determined by our fields of work, coincidentally. And that was the time, when we actually started calling each other and talking, instead of texting. Our calls lasted for hours together. That was one more defining milestone of our relationship. It was like it had changed gears, from third to fourth and then perhaps the fifth one. The increase in the physical distance brought us closer. Don’t they say that distance makes the heart grow fonder? 

A couple of months after I was back, I bit my lip one night while talking to him and thought, “Should I float the idea of us dating officially to him? What if he is alarmed and the entire relationship is jeopardized?” Despite the hesitation, I finally mustered the courage and asked him if we could date, and be sort of like in a relationship? I waited with bated breath for his response. Meanwhile, I hastily added that let us just give it a shot, no strings attached, no commitment. If we feel after sometime that we can take the relationship a level up, we will think about it. Looking back, I think the thought that I might be with someone else — reference being my meeting with a prospective groom in the US — was slightly disconcerting for him. He was by then I think involved enough. And finally in his usual calm manner he said he would like that. But let us not think about anything serious for now. I agreed, albeit with a lump in my throat. But just like that, my switch word chanting had stopped. I didn’t realize when, how, and why. It just seemed to have had faded out. I had fallen for the person who was apparently helping me find someone. When Kundan later told the switch word consultant that we both were together, she almost fell on the floor laughing.

As the time progressed, we had countless coffees and conversations. He showed me the places where his life had led him to till then. I took him to almost all the places in Pune I grew up in. We frequented a restaurant in the Kothrud area of Pune. It was our hangout — a place where we opened our hearts to each other, shared our hurts, disappointments, struggles, and made memories for a lifetime. I guess even before my parents came to know about our relationship, the waiters at that restaurant got an inkling of it. After my dad came to know, he went about joking, in Hindi, “dukh to iss baat ka hai ki waiters ko humse pehle tum dono ke baare main pata lag gaya.” The lanes, the cafes, and the highways in Pune and Mumbai were a witness to our slow, grilled, shy love story. They understood our heartache every time he went back to Mumbai from Pune or I came back to Pune after visiting him in Mumbai. 

And by the end of that year, to his surprise, and mine, we decided that we want to take whatever we had, a step further. Ours was never a mushy, ‘babu-shona’ type saga. It was quintessentially an old school love story: simple, pure, and genuine. I never had to pretend to be someone else in front of him. He did not endeavour to present himself in a way so as to create a certain impression about him. Our hearts had gotten tangled and mindsets had matched. But it wasn’t before the final twist of his parents’ approval. The suspense after he told his parents about us, asking for their acceptance, almost killed us. But love triumphed and it ended well. Ultimately, with the approval and blessings of our parents, we got hitched in the spring of 2020. Before Covid upended the world, we took our vows and bonded for life.