how we met
Little did I know that I’d be introduced to someone during a Diwali event that took place couple years ago at our Dallas Community Hall. The event is known as India’s most important holiday of the year. In all interpretations, one common thread rings true – the festival seeks for divine blessing and luck in the coming year.
And looking back, that very event I attended is exactly what happened! A family–friend had everything planned for us to meet. Narayan and I had our first quick glance at each other in the large crowd that filled the hall as hundreds of people gathered to celebrate an event filled with performances (and when I say quick, it was a quick second, as I didn’t want to stare). It was hard to see in the room, as the stage light was focused on the performances. Little did I know he was looking at me too as I walked past him with a family-friend (he was pretty sneaky with that as well as I didn’t even notice him looking at me!) At the end of our walk, I was asked if I wanted to meet him right then and there. My answer was no. I didn’t know that was about to happen and second, I was overwhelmed at the moment. I was also focused on completing my nursing school at the time and was hesitate to start a relationship.
A couple weeks went by and I got to thinking….I don’t want to look back and regret not giving it a chance, so I decided to give it a go and meet him. It was almost as of a blind-date since we didn’t get to see much of each other during the Diwali event, and we knew nothing about each other and our families. Now I had to find a place to meet. I thought mall…..umm no would have too many people around. Dinner…no I don’t want to be munching and be a mess in front of someone I was going to meet for the first time. So coffee it was! A family–friend notified Narayan of the location I had decided and we met up at a nearby Starbucks. What I thought would have lasted thirty minutes instead lasted for nearly two hours! At the end we said our byes as he had to get to a wedding event and I had to get back to studying for finals. When I got home I didn’t know what to think and I got busy working on finals. I wasn’t even thinking about hearing back from him especially not anytime soon, but as I was sitting in my room writing my final paper my phone buzzed. I looked down at my phone and had a mini heart attack, he had texted me not to long from our meeting! After that we started talking and the rest is history. Going in to meet him that day was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. He is such an amazing guy and was such a great sport throughout my nursing school journey. It’s surreal that we are now engaged and soon to be married!
how they asked
One of my favorite quotes on life comes from the 26 Titan Principles, which starts off by the saying “To lead a giant life, begin with giant thoughts. Greatness begins beyond your comfort zone. To have a life very few have, do the things very few will do.”
And I wanted to do just that. With a little over two months in the planning, we were set to fly out to Phoenix, AZ for our first “hiking” trip with Janki Zaveri. A couple weeks prior, I asked her to bring some dressy clothes if she’d like to get any photos taken of us by Mital, who is a older cousin-brother of mine known as our family’s photographer. He’s been capturing our family’s notable moments since his teenage years and was set to capture the secret mission via aerial footage from a drone, along with his buddy Mike Mezuel II, who would be on the ground shooting the epic photograph during sunset.
While the rest of the crew took an early flight out, Janki and I took a later flight out as she was busy helping newborn babies as a labor/delivery nurse at the hospital from 7pm to 7am. After her ordinary twelve hour shift, we met at the airport at 9am, landed in Phoenix at 1pm, and arrived to Page, AZ at 6pm. I was quite surprised by her level of energy, perhaps the Starbucks Coffee kicked in. Little did she know going into work that in 24-hours, shed have a question to answer.
And there I was two hours later during sunset, posing with her to take a photo on the edge of the cliff with the break-taking view of Horseshoe Bend, and thereafter going down on one knee asking her to marry me. And she said YES! The following weekend was filled with adventure activities including kayaking, hiking, and canyoneering at Zion National Park in Utah!
