Megha's version
June 2003: We randomly met up at a concert in downtown Atlanta. We caught up on each others' lives, danced to some Shaggy; and before we knew it, the concert was over.
We were both pretty hungry, so Shetu invited me to go to Fellini's with him, Adi, and Pavan. I was with my friends, and they didn't want to go; so I took a raincheck and we parted ways.
We both had an unsettling feeling when we couldn't hang out for longer. This is when it all began.
A few days later, I took him up on that raincheck, and the two of us had dinner at Hot Wok! Yummm!
We talked some more, he paid, and then we proceeded to watch a movie. We watched the movie twice that evening. We're on to date #2. :)
Our relationship grew and we began meeting each others' friends and family. They approved!
April 10, 2006: In St. Augustine, Florida, we exchanged coconuts, $1 bills, and blessings in the presence of our immediate families.
September 16, 2006: He proposed with a beautiful three-stone engagement ring in Wilmington, North Carolina where he was for one of his IMLP rotations.
February 25, 2007: Shetu's family threw us a fantastic engagement party in Atlanta, where we partied hard with all of our friends and family.
Which brings us to present day -- March 29, 2008: We will be tying the knot, taking rounds around a fire, and celebrating our love in front of God and our loved ones! We hope you can make it.
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Shetu's version
June 2003: Adi, Pavan, and I were minding our own business, enjoying our jumbo pretzels and Diet Cokes, and listening to Jason Mraz cling desperately to his fading career. Three girls [Megha and two of her friends] were walking our way and having the following conversation:
Friend #1: Hey! Check out those cute guys over there.
Friend #2: I think they go to Emory. Let's talk to them.
Megha: Ready? O-K!
Friend #1: Wait. Like, we can't just go up to them.
Megha: I know! See the odd-looking Indian guys sitting in front of them? I went to high school with the lanky one.
Friend #2: Good idea! Megha, you can pretend to talk to your friends while we talk to those guys.
Megha: I said I went to high school with the skinny guy. I didn't say anything about friends.
Friend #1: Like, whatever. Such as.
Megha: Shetu?! OMG! What are you doing here?
Shetu: Hi. Uh... concert. Uh... music... listening to.
We exchanged such pleasantries until her friends finished talking to the guys behind us.
Megha: Well, it was nice chatting. Come find us later.
As the concert drew on, Adi and Pavan were debating the virtues of single- vs. multi-threaded processing. I excused myself and went for a wander. I found Megha and her people, and they let me hang out there for a while.
When the concert was over, Megha said she was starving. Always quick to pick up on hints, I invited them to Fellini's for some pizza.
Megha: Yay! Like, for sure!
As Adi, Pavan, and I were driving to the restaurant, Megha called and bailed on us... Story of my life.
I'm not one to chronicle each movie pass, ticket stub, or bubble gum wrapper we've kept as a memento; so now that I've erased any Bollywood-inspired delusions of how our stars aligned, you can take her version for the four and a half years that followed.
All I know is that the sky-diving, globetrotting geek in me morphed into a Camry-driving, suburbian Alton Brown / Bob Vila wannabe somewhere along the way.
I've been from California to North Carolina, from Florida to Wisconsin. I've walked along the Great Wall, bungee jumped in New Zealand, and snorkeled among the coral reefs of Rarotonga. Without hesitation, there's not a ball and chain anywhere in the world that I'd rather be shackled to besides Megha.
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