“I met him at a party through a common friend. Long story short, we fell in love but our parents didn’t approve of our relationship because I’m Punjabi and he’s South Indian. 5 years ago, we ran away, drove to a temple in Kolhapur and got married. Even though I was wearing a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt, I was the happiest bride — I couldn’t wait to start my life with him! We obviously faced a lot of difficulty even after this ceremony to convince our parents, but we started a new life together, in our new home…just the two of us. We never borrowed any money from anyone and both of us were equally involved in building our home together — we cooked, cleaned and created our life from scratch. Even though our parents are okay now, I’ll never forget those days because they made me realize just how special having a ‘partner’ really is. It’s someone you can build a life with… who’s there with you every step of the journey and he’s been more than perfect. A year after we got married at the temple, he bought a Lehenga for me and said that he wanted me to dress up and have a proper ceremony. I was happy marrying him in any attire, but for me, he had another ceremony where both our families were present and I was dressed as a proper ‘bride’ that time. Even though I never said anything about another ceremony, he thought of it and that’s what’s amazing about him…I feel lucky to have married him twice!”