Nikhil, from the US, and Hirva, from India, were two twentysomethings who met by chance in a crowded beach club in Goa, India one New Year's Eve. Here's what happened next.
It was December 2010. Nikhil's father had recently passed away from cancer. Nikhil, then in his 20s, and his brother, who are Indian American, traveled from their home in the US to western India to scatter some of their father's ashes.Afterward, the two brothers extended the trip.
In the end, the three men decided to walk from their hotel to Tito's -- not realizing the distance until midway through the trek. The walk was made even more challenging because Nikhil's friend had convinced the group they should dress to impress -- it was New Year's Eve after all. Eventually the men withdrew the money, went back to Tito's and headed in -- later than planned, but still with plenty of time to enjoy the evening.Nikhil lined up at the bar, and when he turned around to speak to his brother and his friend, he saw, for the first time, the woman he was going to marry.
In the line outside Tito's, Hirva and her friends were approached by a group of guys who asked if they could enter with them, to lower the cost. The two groups made their introductions, Hirva's friend leading the way. Hirva and Nikhil, who have asked for their last names not to be included in this story for privacy reasons, were the last to be introduced."I remember him holding my hand and walking me through the dance floor. And I just looked at him and he looked at me and we both remember this moment of looking at each other, and I was like, 'I just want him to hold my hand forever.
"All of us agreed that there was something about that picture," says Hirva."That picture made it look like I had known him forever."Then she updated her Facebook status to the lyrics to"Break Your Heart," the song she'd danced to the club with Nikhil.Related contentHirva and Nikhil sent messages back and forth for the first few days of the New Year.
Reading each other's long responses, Hirva and Nikhil felt they were on the same wavelength. But there were also big differences. They had quite different personalities. And they'd each been brought up in different countries. Hirva had never visited the US, and while Nikhil had been to India on vacation and to see family, he'd never lived there. Still, the two shared the same cultural background -- they're both of Gujarati heritage.
"She actually was very curt with me on the phone," says Nikhil."She said, 'I actually have to get ready to go to work.'" This was exciting, but also nerve-wracking. Hirva knew the reality of a long distance relationship, across countries and continents, wouldn't be easy. "We realized very quickly that there is no point in continuing this type of conversation or this long-distance relationship without some sort of commitment from both of us that this is going to go somewhere, or that we're going to end up together," says Nikhil.That summer, in August 2011, Nikhil flew to India to visit Hirva at business school. Towards the end of the two week trip, Nikhil traveled with Hirva to her hometown, to meet her parents.
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