STORY 5: NEHA & JHEVIN Jul 05 2023

Neha grew up in an environment full of love and kindness. Her father was a taxi driver and her mother was a housewife. Even though they had an arranged marriage, he was very much in love with her and used to call her 'The Queen'. They were both very considerate towards others and would never let anyone down. When Neha's grandparents fell seriously ill, her parents sacrificed a lot to be at their care. Yet they did it lovingly. This set out an example for Neha who, in turn, has a lot of respect for the elders and, now that she is a teacher, is full of empathy for her pupils.

Despite the loving environment, Neha experienced life without artifice. She grew up being very skinny and as a result, developed low self-esteem. Moreover, since she did not come from an academic background, she never believed in her capacity to do well at school. When she passed her exams with flying colours, even her father told her he did not expect her to do so well. Nevertheless, she got brilliant results at her HSC exams and went to France for her studies, harbouring inside her the feeling that she can actually do much more than people expect from her, if only she could believe in herself.

Jhevin grew up in Port Louis in a modest family where both his parents were salesmen. Jhevin's father met Jhevin's mother when the latter came to do shopping with her mother for her sister's wedding. Even though they were of different faiths, Jhevin's father overcame all the challenges and stopped at nothing to marry the woman he loved. They had to work really hard to make a living. There were times when they struggled in the face of dire poverty, but Jhevin's father had a winner mentality and gave everything he could for his family. Jhevin was their only child, and he grew up being inspired by his parents' love story, which he saw as a timeless classic.

When Jhevin was seven years old, he was struck with vitiligo, a skin disease that causes discolouration. His parents supported him the best they could. Jhevin, nevertheless, found it hard to live with his skin disease as he was often bullied at school. Kids would tell him hurtful things about his appearance, and this turned him into a solitary child. Then one day, when he was in college, he realized that this was a fight that nobody else could fight for him. He had to stand up for himself, and it involved learning to accept himself and being comfortable in his skin. This turned Jhevin into a warrior. From that day onward, he refused to see his skin disease as a barrier to his personal and his professional life.

One day, after a succession of disappointing meetings, Jhevin joined a dating site. That's where he met Neha. She had registered on the site to appease her mum, who was getting worried seeing her focus only on work and not making marriage a priority. In a certain way, both Jhevin and Neha felt that, if they were to meet the one that was made for them and avoid further disappointments, certain conditions had to be met, and a dating site provided this cushion.

Once they clicked on the dating site, Jhevin and Neha decided to meet at a restaurant. Being a perfect gentleman, Jhevin did some research on Neha and found out that she had studied in France and had been teaching for 10 years in a French school. He therefore ordered wine for her at the restaurant, and she drank it out of politeness. The wine, however, made her a little tipsy. As they were leaving the restaurant, she slipped, and Jhevin caught her. It was the universe conspiring to enable him to showcase his qualities. Later, since Neha had to drive to a place she didn't know and it was getting dark, Jhevin chose not to let her travel alone. He accompanied her by driving in front of her all the way. Neha was touched by Jhevin's gentlemanly attitude towards her.

Their relationship started picking up from there, but soon Jhevin realized that he wanted Neha to accept him as he is. Initially, when he met her, he tried to hide the patches of discoloured skin by wearing long sleeves. But now that they were getting serious about the relationship, he wanted to be honest with her. So, one day, they brought up the subject, and he asked her if she is okay with how he was. By doing so, he made himself vulnerable and risked losing her.

It is said that falling in love is like handing someone a gun and trusting them not to pull the trigger. Neha did not. She had started to love Jhevin, and her love for him was more than skin-deep. When she looked at Jhevin, she saw more in him than meets the eye. Neha had always been fond of the movie Padmavaat. She loves the idea of a hero proving his love by defending his wife's honour through actions, not just words. She could feel that Jhevin is a fighter. Like the hero of Padmavaat, Jhevin had fought and won a great war. His was the greatest war ever, the one that is fought in the dark chambers of our own souls. This is what won Neha over.

Three months after they met, their budding relationship would, however, hit a hitch. Jhevin got the opportunity to travel to Canada. It was his dream to visit this country and Neha encouraged him to do so. He was supposed to return to Mauritius after 3 weeks, except that, when he was in Canada, the whole world went into lockdown. Suddenly, Neha had no idea when Jhevin would come back. They tried to stay in touch by having voice calls and spoke for hours on end, giving each other their support in the stressful times of Covid. When Neha had her birthday, Jhevin attended via video call and shared a birthday cake with her.

Their relationship would take another twist when 3 months into the lockdown, Jhevin decided to make productive use of his time by applying for a job. To his surprise, he received an offer from a top firm in Canada. This job opportunity was a game-changer for Jhevin but posed a threat to the budding romance between him and Neha. Neha chose to let Jhevin make a decision that was best for him as their relationship was not yet official, and she did not clearly know where she stood in his life.

When the travel ban was lifted, Jhevin came back to Mauritius and went into quarantine. Neha did not know when she would meet him again. One day when Neha was at work, she was surprised to receive a visitor. It was Jhevin who had come to meet her. Neha was in bad shape that day as she had been suffering from a flu. She told Jhevin, "My hair is a mess. I wished you could see me with my hair properly done and with some make-up on."
Jhevin replied: "I find you very pretty as you are." He then told her: "I came back because what is waiting for me here is more important than anything that I left behind."

Jhevin could have pursued an ambitious career in Canada, but there was nowhere in the world he would rather be than with Neha. This was the proof she needed of the depth of his love for her.

At that time, Neha's parents had started to guess that she had someone in her life. On her birthday, Jhevin had sent her a gift from Canada via DHL. Neha had always had a secret passion for bakery, and Jhevin had understood the dream she held in her heart and gifted her a KitchenAid to bake cakes. She felt that he understood her more than anyone does, and she was touched by his deliberate intention to do what it takes to please her and treat her like a queen.

Nevertheless, Neha was slightly apprehensive about how her parents would respond to Jhevin. The latter, however, had come such a long way and, like his father before him, was not going to let anything stand in the way of his love. Jhenvin went to meet Neha's parents to make the relationship official. It turned out that Neha's apprehension was unjustified; her parents accepted Jhevin wholeheartedly, and everyone in her family was truly happy for her. Jhevin quickly became a new member of their family, and they are always showering him with affection.

Neha loves having someone like Jhevin by her side who can handle anything life throws at him. He has nothing to hide, making her feel safe and giving her a much-needed boost of confidence. Jhevin, in turn, feels that Neha was made for him. The greatest gift he got from her is her love and compassion. At work, Jhevin is seen as tough and rigid. He is very organized and routine based; everything needs to have its own place and time. He, however, feels that he is a different person when he is with Neha. She understands him thoroughly and knows when he is okay and when he is not, without him having to tell her. She knows that makes him happy and she brings the best out of him.
Since they are together, the couple keeps seeing signs from above that they were meant to be. Last year, in October, at a party for Diwali, Neha's uncle came to them and told them, "I am so happy for you." The following morning, they learned that the uncle had peacefully passed away, departing after giving them his blessings.

As they started preparing for their wedding, Jhevin jokingly told Neha that he wanted a watch as a gift for his wedding, or else he would not get married. They went looking for a watch in all the shops but could not find one. After some time, they stopped and went inside the nearby church. At that moment, Neha remembered that it was her grandfather's birthday on that very day. When they returned from the church, they came across the right watch in the first shop they entered. Neha felt that it was a gift from her grandfather from heaven to bless their wedding.
Jhevin and Neha got religiously married on the 30th of April, exchanging their vows of unwavering support for each other.