How We Met
Shyama and I met at a Model United Nations conference, where Shyama kicked my butt in the Economics and Finance committee. We got to know each other better through mutual friends and school functions, but I don’t think she ever really took me seriously. Fortunately, I went to the University of Georgia (Go DAWGS!) which was only about an hour from Shyama at Emory University, so I was able to pursue the woman of my dreams. No matter how much we grew and changed, we were always there for each other through the exciting times, big accomplishments, and the unforgettable moments.
After we graduated in 2014, Shyama worked for IMPACT America in Birmingham, AL while I was in my first year at the Medical College of Georgia. Shyama started her first year at Quillen College of Medicine the next year and we began a new chapter of enjoying each other’s company with our noses buried in physiology, anatomy, pathology, … (I would continue but too many nightmare flashbacks). While dedicating ourselves to our educations and future careers, we have always supported and loved each other through these grinding medical school years.
I have always been amazed at how Shyama pursues her passions while still studying and supporting me. She has an amazing ability to attract those around her and inspire them to join her. She never lets up on her dreams while still managing to juggle school and dealing with me. She is the most fierce woman I have ever known. She has a fire within her that will never burn out or be extinguished by anyone. She ignites this same fire within me to pursue my passions and finds ways to support and push me even when I feel defeated.
How They Asked
When Shiv and I started talking about future plans, I initially wanted a small, simple very bare bones wedding. However, being Indian, we knew that wasn’t going to happen. I told Shiv that I didn’t need a ring or a formal proposal. We had already discussed marriage, and I was ready to sign the papers.
Shiv, being a romantic, of course did not listen to this request. I had already planned to stop over in Paris on my way back from India to visit a friend over Winter Break. Shiv had never been to Paris, so he decided to meet me there between his residency interviews so that we could spend the holidays together. Little to my knowledge, Shiv spent months speaking with a photographer, a violinist, and our friend in Paris to coordinate the perfect proposal.
On Friday, December 22nd, Shiv and I had planned to take couples pictures in Paris. We were running late, as we supposedly needed to “meet the photographer in her office” at 10:30AM. We got out of the uber at the beginning of the Pont Alexander III bridge because our friend Edi told us there would be “too much traffic on the bridge” and that “walking would be faster.” I stopped to snap a few pics as we walked across the bridge while Edi gave me a history lesson on the background of Pont Alexander III. All of a sudden, we passed by a violinist who started playing “All of Me” by John Legend, a favorite of both Shiv and I. I turned around, and Shiv was already down on one knee.
Of course, I said YES. I am so honored to spend my life with such an intelligent, giving, handsome and genuine man. He truly has a sharp mind and a heart of gold.
