STORY 10 :Vidushee & Tarvind Jul 05 2023

Everybody dreams of a love story that starts with love at first sight and ends with a happily ever after. Tarvind and Vidushee fell in love at first sight when they were in their teens. Their chance at a happily ever after, however, only came at the end of a long journey that lasted 21 long years.

Their relationship started even without any word being said between them. Tarvind had gone to visit his friend on the 2nd of January 2002, and Vidushee was there; she was coming down the stairs and passed in front of him. Tarvind looked at her and saw that she was also looking at him. Their eyes locked, and time froze. He was mesmerised by her smile, and she was captivated by his handsome face. All it took was one look at each other.
When we meet our love soulmate, our first glance is both a question and a recognition. Our heart asks, "Who are you?" while our soul exclaims: "At last, you are here!"

Tarvind hesitated before asking his friend for Vidushee's number and eventually gathered the courage to do so. He sent her a message, and they started communicating. SMS was becoming a craze at that time, Tarvind and Vidushee started communicating through text messages. After some time, they began talking on the phone and finally met in person.

Love, it is said, is a path filled with thorns and bruises; the pain we endure is a testament to the depth of our love.
Uptill their meeting, both Tarvind and Vidushee had a joyful and carefree childhood. He lived essentially with his grandparents and was spoiled by his grandmother. In his free time, he liked to ride his bicycle to the beach, play football with his friends and go fishing.

Vidushee was also a happy child pampered by her father, who gave her anything she liked even before she had to ask for it. Her father was a policeman. He loved to bring his daughter along on his bike wherever he went, and people would expect to see her with him when they met him. Vidushee was attached to her dad and shared joyful moments playing football and volleyball with him.
She was only in form 2 in college when she met Tarvind. It was not in her mind to fall in love. They both did not quite understand what was happening to them.

Eventually, the news was brought to the parents' ears that their kids were meeting in secret, and it did not sit well with them. Vidushee and Tarvind were in college, and studies had to be their priority. For the two lovers, the mental torture started. They were not bad, and they did not want to disappoint their parents. Yet the attraction between them was undeniable. They would therefore try to hide and talk to each other, but each time their parents stumbled upon them conversing or exchanging messages, their anger flared up. There would be shouting, scolding and even physical punishments. The parents staunchly refused to accept the continuation of this relationship. In their eyes, Tarvind and Vidushee were mere children, and their relationship was automatically wrong.

The chaos around them would get Vidushee and Tarvind to temporarily halt their communication, but they then get it going by shifting to new technologies, transitioning from SMS to messenger platforms, then to hi-five, MSN, and eventually roaming applications. This obstination made the parents feel disrespected and fueled their frustration. In this manner, the two lovers ended up turning their families against them. It was them against the world.
Even though he disapproved of the relationship, Vidushee's father was more empathetic in his reaction. On one occasion, he saw Vidushee and Tarvind coming down from the bus together but chose not to make a scene and never mentioned the incident at home. Over the years, he had built a foundation of trust with his daughter and harboured a genuine desire for her to be happy. Though deeply concerned about the situation, he understood that forbidding the relationship upfront would further isolate Vidushee and make her feel alone in her distress.
As a result of all this, Tarvind and Vidushee found themselves isolated from their close ones. They faced an uphill battle in reconciling their love with the expectations of their families and society at large. Things would get even more complicated when Tarvind started working. His job got him to travel abroad, and suddenly Vidushee found herself on her own. She no longer had his support and understanding in the shared battle they were fighting together. Whenever she accompanied him at the airport, she felt a profound sense of loss when the time came for him to leave, and she would start crying. She would be so affected by this that Tarvind would tell her maybe she should stop coming to the airport.

When Tarvind was away absence, Vidushee could not openly call him in the presence of her parents, and this made her even more lonely. In an effort to stay connected, she even made him buy a laptop so they could communicate through Skype. She would wait for him after work and call him at midnight after everybody was asleep at home so she could talk to him for a few minutes. She could not fall asleep if she did not hear his voice.

While still bearing the weight of family resentments, Vidushee and Tarvind strived hard to build a home as the foundation to start their life together. However, their aspirations were continually deferred, and every step they took seemed to encounter unyielding obstacles. Their projects kept getting postponed. There were times when they would be overcome with discouragement and thought they would not see the end of their issues. At times, they would meet at Caudan and just gaze at the sea, enjoying the moment together and hoping it would merge into forever. Tarvind, especially, is not the kind to fight for anything. He longed for the peace of mind he had in his growing-up years. He could, however, see the pressure Vidushee had to endure and how combative she was, and, in turn, felt the need to fight for their dreams.

They chose not to give up on each other together and, through their unwavering commitment, overcame numerous ups and downs. When they were together, they found a refuge for their restless minds and troubled hearts. Their days would begin and end with phone calls to each other, and no matter the difficulties they faced, they were able to put their minds to rest just by talking to each other. As the years passed, they witnessed the transformation and developments in each other and, in parallel, progressed in their respective professional lives.

Vidushee and Tarvind are intellectually connected. All decisions they take are in consultation with each other. They discuss a lot, and they never disregard each other's opinions. Since the very beginning of their relationship, they have never been egoistic or acted out of self-interest. They have always shown fairness and consideration towards each other and towards everybody else, including their respective parents. They never considered eloping to get married without their parents' blessings. Despite the odds against them, they chose to endure all the difficulties in the hope that someday, their love would be accepted and respected by their families and society.

The turning point eventually arrived when Vidushee's parents met Tarvind and got to know him for real. It eased the perceptions created by gossip and what people told them about the relationship. Moreover, Vidushee's father felt sick and had to be in a wheelchair. In this time of trial, Tarvind stood as a steadfast pillar of strength for the family. His unwavering presence and support became a testament to his character, gradually winning over his mother-in-law's trust and earning her deep admiration. The family's perception of the relationship underwent a transformation, and they finally recognized the purity of Vidushee's and Tarvind's love that weathered the test of time. Their parents, once apprehensive, now look upon their union with pride.

After all the struggles and challenges they had faced, Vidushee and Tarvind finally can, at last, see the light at the end of the tunnel. They have braved the storm and stood as a firm rock for each other at all times. They now look forward to getting married, settling and spending time together. This has been their one enduring wish ever since they locked eyes. From the days of their youthful innocence, they have matured into responsible adults but never gave up on the tender feelings of their first love. Their journey has been like a penance that lasted 21 years; now, they feel they deserve their happily ever after.

Vidushee and Tarvind will join in holy matrimony in August, vowing to spend the rest of their lives growing old together.