We invited you, dear readers, to share your love stories this Valentine's Day.
Here, Narendra Londhe tells us how he first met his future wife on a social networking site in the year 2008.
My name is Narendra and her name is Aboli.
When I found Aboli’s profile on Orkut in 2008, I felt her name was strange.
I was very fond of surfing on social sites and making friends particularly girls.
I was always hoping to find the best girl who could accept me the way I was.
I am handicapped and was suffering from Psoriasis those days.
I don’t know why but I always felt that no girl will accept me given my shortcomings.
Before I met Aboli, I had met lots of girls but I could not think beyond friendship.
Then I met Aboli.
Since I liked her name, I dropped in an appreciation note: "Nice Namo".
I had spelt the word 'name' wrong.
I was not expecting her to reply but she did.
I was pursuing my PhD at IIT Roorkee and she was pursuing BCA in Nagpur.
We started sharing posts and soon moved to chats.
When I came to know that she is nine years younger, I had my reservations.
We continued to chat for hours and revealed almost everything about each other.
In Diwali we couldn’t chat as both of us were visiting our respective families and I did not have internet connection at home.
During those days I realised that we shared a special bond.
I was still hesitant to express my feelings.
Some days later, I managed to convey my feelings for her. I was also prepared to face rejection.
However, she was the one. She accepted me and we started talking over the phone.
Gradually we realised our affection for each other was growing stronger by the day.
This affected her and she grew reluctant.
We stopped chatting and talking over the phone for the next few months.
I would still call her from my land phone to just hear her voice.
When she realised it was me, she’d fight with me.
I understood it was an emotional outburst.
Once, she called me from her naani’s (grandmother’s) cell phone and that’s how we started talking again.
She moved to Pune to pursue her MCA and I took up a job in Raipur.
We exchanged photographs and were very happy talking to each other.
When I started receiving a lot of marriage proposals, I decided to meet her personally and propose marriage.
I went to Pune and met her for the first time at Manpa PMT Bus Stop in Pune.
We were very happy to see each other and soon decided to go ahead with the relationship.
I stayed for a few days in Pune so that we could spend some time together.
I informed my mother about our relation and she agreed to talk to my father.
I showed her photographs to my father who was living in Akot.
My father could not deny as he could see I was very happy with the relationship.
It was exactly what I had expected of my parents.
Next, we had to inform Aboli’s parents, so I went to her home at Bhandara.
Her parents rejected me because I was handicapped, had a skin disease and we had an age difference of 9 years.
I left her home with tears in my eyes.
I had wanted her parents to accept our relation.
My parents, brothers-in-law also tried to convince them but nothing worked.
The incident brought us closer and we grew further strong in our relationship.
We decided to get married against her parents wish.
My parents agreed for a small marriage ceremony on November 12, 2009.
I booked her tickets and asked her to come to my home at Akot.
It was a cloudy, stormy night when she reached Akot.
We finally tied the knot in the presence of a few close relatives and friends.
We missed the blessings of her parents.
Post marriage, my wife continued her MCA at Pune and often travelled between Pune and Raipur.
Her parents gradually accepted me and now they love me like their son.
We have married for over five years now and we are very happy.
She has taken good care of all my problems.
I feel that we were destined to meet. I never thought I would meet an angel who would flourish my life with happiness, health and prosperity.
I have realised that looks, education and age does not matter; if you are good at heart you’ll find someone who will accept you against all odds.
I am happy that I could find my soul mate with whom I could share my vision for bettering the globe.
Click HERE to check out our Valentine's Day Special!
ALSO SEE
Jab We Met: 'I called her up at the stroke of midnight'
Jab We Met: It was love at first sight
Jab We Met: I was ten and I knew she was the one!
Jab We Met: Our friendship blossomed into love
Jab We Met: It started in a chat room
Jab We Met: A touching love story
Jab We Met: 'She had tears in her eyes'
Jab We Met: 'His words touched my heart'
Jab We Met: 'She loved someone else'
Jab We Met: 'I secretly nursed a crush on her'
Dear readers, do you have an interesting love story that you want to share?
Tell us where you first met your partner and how the two of you fell in love.
Write in to us at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject line: 'Jab We Met').
You can also include a photograph of you and your partner and we'll publish the best entries right here on rediff.com.
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