Chennai: Man kneeling down and giving bunch of roses to woman while proposing his love for her is becoming a passé. In this age of social media, many women are taking the initiative. News Today brings you the (love) story of two such couples.
When the answer to the question ‘How did you two meet?’ is ‘Tinder’, then you know you are talking to a new-age couple. Vardhan (26) and Anu (23) describe their relationship as a happy accident.
“We actually matched with each other on Tinder six months before he texted me,” laughs Anu. “Well, someone had to,” he says. “For the record, I asked him out on a date first so I think that makes up for it,” she shoots back and they both break into laughter.
Ask them what makes their relationship tick, and Anu says, “We believe the most important thing to make a relationship work is respect and finding common points. For us, it was travel and views on social justice. Today, when everybody is focused on growing as individuals, relationships mean finding someone who respects and supports the individuality.”
Anu then narrates how it all started. “I am a writer and he is a journalist. On our first date, I took him to my favourite book-cafe and he took me to Ennore where he was working on a story because he thought that there was a beautiful view I should see. In those few hours, we really hit it off. It has been a series of unconventional dates after that and that’s what I love the most, the spontaneity.”
“Once when I was having a particularly hard week he whisked me off on an impromptu trek. That’s when I knew this was going to work,” she smiles.
Plans for marriage? Vardhan grins and says, “We are helping each other career-wise and once we know we would be able to support each other’s individual goals financially, we will jump into the institution of marriage.” Anu adds, “The surprises the next moment holds is plenty. We’ve just decided to let time surprise us, together.”
Saravanakumar and Vijithra of Velacheri fought all odds to be together. “We both worked in the same office and he was handling a senior post. Initially, it was I who fell for him, and it was love at first sight,” smiles Vijithra shyly.
“The one year of love before marriage was a beautiful phase. Usually we met outside, mostly at restaurants, Besant Nagar and Marina beaches and in temples. Back then, we just had a basic phone with 100 text messages a day and had to use it carefully as I was not able to talk to him over the phone when at home.”
After a year, the duo got married without informing their parents. “My family is very conservative and did not approve of love marriages,” she says. The couple entered wedlock at Besant Nagar with just ten friends for support. It has been eight years since their marriage now and they have a daughter.
The word of advice they have for lover couples is that family support is important. “Although we are happy with each other, there is always a tinge of sadness, and that’s because we miss our family,” conclude the couple.