In September 2016, I had joined a consultancy firm in Gurgaon. The work hours were long and the tasks challenging, yet this was my dream job and I was totally loving it. As for real love, I was really not in that place in life. I had so much to do, so much to achieve and I thought that a relationship would just be a roadblock in the process. October was nearing and Diwali was right around the corner. One month into work, I had become well acquainted with my senior Karan, given that I spent hours working under his mentorship every single day. He was a good-looking, smart guy. On the days we had targets with short deadlines, we used to end up ordering in dinner at work and chatting. However, both of us maintained a distance and respected the workplace ethics.
One Friday evening, Karan just casually asked me to come over for a Diwali party that he was hosting for his college friends over the weekend. I thought what could I possibly do with 30 something adults when I was just 25? But after some second thought, I decided to attend the cards party for a short while given the fact that he was my colleague at the end of the day and it would be nice to make an appearance.
I slipped into a simple gotta patti salwar kameez, styled it with my silver juttis and jhumke, slipped on my party bag and drove down to his place. I won’t lie, I was more than a tad nervous, wondering how it would be. A thousand thoughts rushed through my head – would it be awkward? I don’t even know how to play cards, would his friends be friendly, am I too young, does inviting me to his party mean anything?
If you are looking to wear something to a Diwali party, this woven design anarkali kurta (Rs 949) from Ahalayaa is perfect!
Karan introduced me to all his friends and poured me a drink once I got there. He offered me a place right next to him in the Diwali cards circle formed in his living room, after which I felt slightly relieved. He took it upon himself to teach me how to play a good game, financing my chips as well. The entire night, he was a total sweetheart. But before my thought process gained the momentum of a bullet train, I shooed them away. It was never a good idea to have a crush on a colleague.
The cards party was a lot of fun, even though I barely interacted with anyone other than Karan. That night, I also got to see the fun, happy-go-lucky side of him, as opposed to the serious demeanour he put up at work.
After that night, things changed. Karan and I started taking coffee breaks together and chatting more comfortably during order-in dinners at work. Even over the weekends, we started hanging out together. From going together for casual afternoon movies to brunches, as the weeks passed by, we enjoyed spending time with each other. We had never however, confronted each other or spoken about what we had with each other. This unsaid closeness, comfort feeling along with the sexual tension that we had made one thing clear to me – it wasn’t just friendship.
One day, I showed up at work with swollen eyes. Worried, Karan enquired what was wrong to which I explained that my parents wanted me to see a guy for marriage. After telling him this, I had a break-down and started weeping uncontrollably. Karan stood up and shut the door of his cabin, wiped my tears and held my hand. I got goosebumps when he did but I immediately stopped crying. I can never forget what he said next. Very shyly, he told me that he had fallen for me the day I had walked into his house, and the more time he spent with me, the more certain he became that I was the one.
He told me to take time to ponder over what he had said. As for me, I didn’t have to ponder over anything as I had the same feelings for him as well. So I held his hand more tightly and told him that I needed no time to think about his proposal.
We still had to figure out how we would deal with dating as colleagues in the same office. Eventually, in a few months Karan found another job and we started dating. Annual Diwali card parties are something we always pull off!
Helixer diya set (Rs 600) is always part of our decor. Would you add them to yours?
Images: Shutterstock
