THOSE IN LOVE ARE DESTINED TO MEET

We have all heard the saying, “Marriages are made in Heaven”, many of us believe in them and many just brush it off. The fact is two people may love each other very much but may end up not marrying each other, while two people may have just met and within months of meeting end up marrying each other…. this goes to say that God is very much in the business of match making it is just that most of us don’t seek his advice and blessing.

The story I am about to tell you all is a true story and I am sure by the end of it readers will admit that yes, “marriages are made in heaven”

This goes back to about 20 plus years back in Pune, I still remember the first time I heard the name “Ranveer”. I was in Goa for my holidays and one evening I get a call from my colleague and best friend, I picked up the phone and the first thing I hear was an excited voice, “guess what??” I immediately replied laughing, “don’t tell me you are in love?”. She replied, how did you guess, I have just met the most cute, adorable man and I want you to come as soon as you can and meet him too, I am sure you will love him too.”

I told her to relax and tell me more about him, she said, he is Anil’s cousin from Indonesia, works in a jewelry shop there and has come down for a vacation. I have been spending time with him and he is really a sweet-heart.

I said, okay but aren’t you forgetting that you are engaged to someone else, what about the poor chap, she replied I don’t know, but all I know is I am in love.

After a week, I came back to Pune and I still recall the first time I met Ranveer my first impression was… hello what did she find cute in him I wondered. I could see that Ranveer also was totally smitten with Meher and they just couldn’t keep their eyes off each other. We went out for a coffee and started chatting.

That is how I met the man who in due time became my brother and married my best friend. We were always seen together, the three musketeers after work having coffee, ice-cream or zipping off in a kinetic all over Pune. There were times I would feel I was like a haddi in a kabab, especially when we were in a café and they would be sitting in front of me, coffee getting cold, as they stared deep into each other’s eyes, totally lost and I had to poke them to say,” hey I am here too”

Our friendship grew over the months and we became not only the best of friends but life-long friends, Ranveer was shy type of a guy and I knew he wanted to tell Meher that he was in love with her but was unable to.

One day we were in Meher’s’s house and I told her to make some coffee, she got up to go to the kitchen and I told Ranveer, “You are madly in love with her”, he smiled and I saw stars in his eyes, I said what are you waiting for, tell her, before it is too late. He replied, I am scared I said ok wait, Meher came back with the coffee and she felt something was wrong and asked, what happened,

I smiled and said nothing, “Ranveer is madly in love with you” , she almost spilled the coffee over me and we all had a good laugh and ice was broken, I then told Ranveer that Meher was in love with him for a long time too…

Things were going on fine for all of us, when one day Ranveer suddenly realized that he would have to go back to Indonesia soon, and he told me, I don’t want to go back without marrying her, I don’t want to lose her.

In the meantime, Meher’s fiancée from Raipur Manav was in a hurry to get married to her and to add to the trouble, she had one more guy who was madly in love with her …. Ranveer’s cousin Anil. Yes, a triangle and I was the band master of it all.

Everything was in a mess and we were trying to come out of it when one day Ranveer calls me when I was at work saying come out, I left the office to find him waiting for me on the kinetic, he said come with me, I asked him where, he said, to the marriage court, I said, what…. He said don’t ask questions just come.

I went back to office told Meher I had some work and will be back soon, and off we rushed to the court and it was as if God had a hand in it as normally, we have to wait for a month but here the date and time was fixed immediately, for yes, next day at 11 am.

 Our joy knew no bounds and I rushed back to office smiling like a Cheshire cat and Meher asked me, “why are you smiling like a cat” I took a deep breath and said, “Guess what, you are getting married tomorrow” She looked at me as if I had gone mad and yelled, “What” . Our boss jumped up from his seat, coffee all spilt all over and he yelled,” what’s wrong with you girls” I turned towards him and very calmy said, “sir can both of us take a half day leave?” . He looked at me with his glasses half way down his nose and said, “have you gone mad??” 

Anyways we managed to get leave and I rushed her to the parlor and Ranveer and I rushed to Zaveri to buy her Mangal sutra. In the meantime, we called up her mom and said we are coming over with chicken biryani and beer, she said what happened. I replied, “get ready mom, your daughter is getting married tomorrow, the poor thing thought the guy was Manav, I told her, not Manav she is marrying Ranveer. That day I heard all the Parsi gallis I could.

The whole afternoon and evening were spent is haldi ceremony, singing, dancing and at night mehndi, we had to kick Ranveer out at 12 am and we sent the poor chap off on his kinetic.

The morning 18th February dawned and we were having our morning tea, when the phone rings and it was Manav, I can still recall Meher with her cup of tea, hands shivering and nervous. I held her hand took the phone and very calmy said, Hello Manav, Meher is getting married in a few hours, so I am sorry but you just have to let her go” There was a stunned silence for a few seconds and then a voice boomed, what rubbish I am coming down by the next flight.

I told Meher to relax as this was her big day and we all managed to get dressed up and reached the court by 10.30 . Ranveer was there with his mom and sister and by God’s grace and blessing this wonderful couple got married amidst all the chaos and uncertainty and the secret of who would be Meher’s husband was finally decided and revealed on the marriage certificate… Ranveer Jewani weds Meher Batliwala.

In between the phera’s my phone rings, it is Manav, I am in Meher’s house, it is all locked up where is she, I looked at my bestie as a beautiful bride and brother as a handsome groom and said, she has just become, “Mrs. Jewani” You missed the bus, Manav.

Then again, my phone rings, it’s my boss, “where the hell are you two girls” I cleared my throat and said, “sir we are at the marriage court”. There was a pin drop silence and then the voice roared, “who the hell is getting married”. I said sir, Meher has just become Mrs Jewani”.

Yes, a Sindhi marrying a Parsi, two different communities, two different religions, two different languages but one heart that beats as one even today.

Even today whenever we think of this day, we smile, laugh and celebrate their relationship and I keep blessing them as on this day I got a brother I always wanted and my bestie was now related to me.

Always remember that life and marriage are like the pages of a story book. We keep turning the pages sometimes forward sometimes backward but the last line of the book will always be “they lived happily ever after”