Romantic India

Sorry, Right Number!

One day my cellphone buzzed—a strange number. When I called back, the girl who answered told me apologetically that she must have misdialled. I didn’t mind, because she had a lovely voice. The chemistry must have been mutual—the very next day Rinki called me up again, saying she just wanted to chat! We then started talking regularly and getting to know each other. It was fun.

I suggested that we meet. We finally did, and she was as beautiful as she sounded! We met a couple of times a week for the next six months before I proposed and Rinki smiled, “Yes.” We got married in October 2008. Today we have an adorable six-month-old son. Who says wrong numbers can’t turn out to be right?         Amit Das, Kolkata

Ancient Indian History

According to my dad, the stars foretold that I’d have a “love marriage.” In the early 1980s, that meant I’d elope or something. So Dad refused to let me go out on my own. Although I was a trained classical dancer, he also forbade any out-of-town performances. And I was allowed to apply only to the nearest college—an “orthodox” one run by a South Indian trust.

Ancient Indian History classes were the most interesting. Our teacher was the popular, handsome “Sahu Sir,” who seemed to look at me like I was the only student in his class. I too started to admire him. One day in
my second year, finding me alone in the History Department room, he mustered the courage to pop the question. I told my parents, but Dad was not amused. “Marrying your teacher!” he spluttered.

But I did just that, after the final exams. I continued studying and became a professor too. Our first momentous meeting, 26 years ago, might seem like a tiny footnote to ancient Indian history. Yet it still feels like yesterday. Gayatri Bhagwat Sahu, New Delhi