As told by Deeksha Shereen.
“Love is a tricky thing. When you think of love, you think of the happy kind of love, the kind that is the beginning of something beautiful –something that breathes life. But our love story, while beautiful, was also different in so many ways. We witnessed a deep dark side of love for the only reason that we belonged to different religions.
“Aditya and I were college sweethearts and our story is no less than a Bollywood masala flick. It all started on our freshers’ night, when we held hands on stage as Mr and Miss Fresher! He looked cute, and just that first look was enough for both of us to set the ball rolling. I remember waiting in the corridor, just so I could catch a glimpse when he left his classroom. And just somehow, our eyes would always find each other’s in the college canteen. Very soon he was slipping little notes inside my notebooks, and before we both knew it, it was love. He’d write poems to me and dedicate songs, and each time I was bowled over by the intensity of his words. Thanks to all the mush, we soon earned the tag of ‘fairytale lovebirds’ from our friends.
“We always knew that our different religions would stand in the way of our happily ever after. But as our relationship grew stronger and even more serious, the thought of ‘what next’ kept bothering us. Soon after our MBA, I bagged a job in Bangalore while Aditya headed back to his hometown in Karnataka to spearhead his family business. Once home, he decided to break the news to his parents. We knew it would be tough, but giving up on each other was not an option. And neither of us wanted to live with the guilt of not even trying to make our parents understand. I can still recall that day when he texted me saying, ‘I am talking to my dad about this’.
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“Those one and a half years made for the worst time we’ve ever had to go through. I honestly don’t know where to begin, what all to share and how to put it all down. Aditya was disowned by his family…he was asked to leave home. They said I’d be treated as an untouchable in their hometown. When my parents learned the same, they too naturally discouraged me from the match. They were concerned and worried about the whole setup. They weren’t sure if Aditya would be able to take care of me, they were sceptical about our future and how I would ever win over his parents. We often had fights and my parents just did not understand why I was putting myself into this ugly situation.
“With no other option left, Aditya came back to Bangalore and picked up a job. He worked really hard to prove to my parents that he was capable enough to take care of their daughter on his own. His love, determination and commitment soon paid off, and my parents did give in. But that wasn’t enough. We knew we still had to convince his family. That’s when we approached a family friend of his. We told her everything, she counselled us and we even sought a marriage counselor to help us get over all the trauma that we’d both been going through. The family friend also spoke to Aditya’s father. There was no point in explaining things so she just put it to him as it was: ‘Either you lose your son or let him marry the girl of his choice.’
“Fours years of dating and an year and half of fighting for our love later, we finally got married on 4th April 2016. The day we got our wedding cards in our hands, that was the day when our entire journey came rushing back. The tears, the struggles, the criticism, society…everything. Aditya gave up his flourishing family business and chose to embark on a new journey that required him to start from scratch…but he did it for me, for us. And all this made us both realize just how much we love each other and how badly we both want to grow old with each other.
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“It gives us immense happiness and satisfaction today that we could pull it all off with our parents’ blessings. And it’s such a joy to see all of them get along well. From being Mr and Miss Fresher to now being Mr and Mrs Pandit, our love story is no less than a Bollywood masala flick!”
Watch this unbreakable couple’s wedding video right here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pzKagkh53o
Images: Deeksha Shereen
