“With Roopa, it was love at first sight for me. We used to work at the different outlets of the same café and eventually ended up meeting at an outdoor catering event. She was honestly the happiest person I’d met– she’d laugh at her own jokes. And she had the most melodious laugh–I was so drawn to her.
I wanted to speak to her but I was shy. So instead of talking to her, I started working closely with her, even though she wasn’t in my department. As the event progressed, I tried to approach her via her friend. And it worked– by the end of the night, she was talking to me and laughing at my jokes!
Before leaving, I mustered the courage and asked her for her number. I did a happy dance when she readily gave it to me. We started speaking every day– that’s when I learnt that her parents died when she was a kid and that she considered her work family as family. I liked that she felt comfortable enough to share this with me. This was new to me as well, opening up to someone and actually looking forward to the conversations. So even though it had been only a week of knowing her, I proposed marriage!
But there was some heartbreak to come my way because she refused. Not once, but twice! In her defense, it was too soon. Moreover, the idea of love scared her. But even then, I didn’t lose hope– I waited; I knew I was waiting for my life partner. But at the same time, I didn’t want to ambush her into something she wasn’t ready for, so I was happy being her friend. We would meet from time to time, speak over calls and slowly I gained her trust. Once during the lockdown, she had a high temperature. I dropped everything and went to be by her side– I got her the right medication and treatment she needed. I didn’t leave till I nursed her back to health. I think that really stuck with her, because a few days later, she asked me to meet her at a garden and said, ‘Marry me?’ When I asked what changed, she simply said, ‘No one has cared for me this way.’ I was so happy that I broke into a dance but well, that got her to laugh!We got married a month later. My family couldn’t make it, so we had an intimate ceremony at a temple and an after party at our workplace. Our boss did our Kanyadaan and Roopa made the happiest bride!
It was surreal, seeing her walk towards me, as a bride. I never thought I would ever have this moment, but Roopa made it come true by choosing to spend the rest of her life with me. And I have vowed to keep her happiness above everything else, even if that means breaking out into a dance and making a complete fool of myself, just to see her smile.”
(Collected from Humans of Bombay’s Facebook page)