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Mugdha Slim, fair, brown-eyed Maharashtrian girl with post-graduate degree from US, currently working as a computer systems professional in a Pennsylvania-based consulting company. Mugdha enjoys the outdoors and nature, loves animals, and is rediscovering her drawing skills. |
Lyndon Tall, witty Christian boy with an MBA degree, he was a well known columnist / author in India before he moved to a consulting job based in New York. Lyndon enjoys writing, amateur photography, and playing with his electronic gadgets and toys. |
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"Let's Just Remain Good Friends" Mugdha and I met each other in engineering college in Bombay, India in 1994 - she was two years my junior and was part of a large circle of friends. As months passed by, we started spending more and more time with each other. When I first let her know that I "liked her more than a friend", she turned the tables with the "let's just remain good friends" line. I was heartbroken, but she was still enjoyable company, so we remained friends even after I graduated and started working. Let's put it this way - when I first bumped into Lyndon in the college library, it was an appalling experience! To me, he looked like complete lafanga (hooligan) - with long hair and what not. That explains my "Let's just be good friends" line. However, after days of spending time with the gang, I began to develop a soft corner for Lyndon. He was witty and hilariously funny. I do realise now, that being the sensitive person he is, he must have been heart broken to be turned down by the only girl he "liked more than a friend". Some Girls Have Romance Flowing In Their Blood We slowly grew closer to each other with passing months. I wanted to let her know where I would like this relationship to head, and it took weeks of planning and hours of practicing in front of a mirror before I was ready to tell her I loved her. I chose what I thought was the perfect setting - we were sitting on the green grass on a river bank on the outskirts of Bombay, under a clear blue sky, on a lazy July day when I blurted it out. Not getting any reaction from her, I just hoped that she heard what I just told her over the loud drumming sound my heart was making, since I was in no condition to repeat it then. And I waited, since she did not get up and walk away either, leaving me clinging onto that solitary straw named hope, while I counted the minutes. 54,720 minutes later (38 days for the mathematically impaired), in a dark haunted hotel in an amusement park, between the screams, howling and crying, I heard a whispered "I love you". To be sure, I grabbed the nearest hand, and the gentle squeeze reassured me that I was not hallucinating, and more importantly, that it wasn't a prop I had heard and grabbed. What was I thinking when I thought I had the perfect setup for those three little words? Some girls have romance flowing in their blood! It sounds silly, but I had no idea how to react when he said those three little words! Having watched Hindi movies felt like a total waste of purpose then. It didn't occur to me that I should reciprocate too. It took me time to come out of my zombie state. And then when I did come out of that daze, I reciprocated and it didn't matter where we were. Now of course, I know a haunted house isn't the best place to tell someone that you love them...Well, what the heck! Love and Mixed Marriage Love wasn't something we rushed into, and we spent countless hours examining the implications of marriage, specially since ours would be a mixed marriage (or to be theologically correct, a marriage with a "disparity of worship") - where we belong to different faiths. Mugdha is a Maharashtrian Hindu and I am a Roman Catholic. While there has been an increase in the number of mixed marriages in recent years, it still carries a stigma in India where we lived then. We had many roadblocks and hurdles that we crossed before I could pop the question and a diamond ring in 2001 (note the guy taking the initiative yet again). A year and a half later, after convincing everyone involved that this wasn't "puppy love", "infatuation" or something impulsive, but that we had thoroughly thought this through and examined all the implications, we were finally married on June 28, 2002 after 8 long years. A mixed marriage requires lot more patience and understanding than a conventional marriage. Lyndon and I had to cultivate a tolerance for each others beliefs. Our parents may have had to sacrifice a lot of their dreams to accept both of us. While the road looked a lot more bumpier before we were married, making the road smooth is an ongoing process... Looking back, we realise what an uphill journey it has been. Would we recommend it? I think we will. You're Still The One I Want For Life... We sometimes felt as if we were in the middle of a movie - college sweethearts falling in love, the difference in religions, parental opposition on one side, emotional blackmail, quiet commitments, relationship breaks, and a story that was eight years in the telling, spanning two continents. But on our wedding day, everything we had been through during the past years suddenly seemed insignificant, and the only thing that mattered was the fact that we were finally married. Little wonder then that our wedding song was Shania Twain's, Still The One, and will be our theme for many anniversaries to come. Eight years is a long time for couples in a serious relationship - more than enough to realize if they are meant for each other or not. Even today Lyndon and I remain each other's best friends. We have gone through some rough times together and have learnt a few lessons of life. In this long journey together, we hope to take the good things with us, and leave the hurtful memories behind. |
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