The poised Rashmikanta tells me that he was impressed by Shreejaya's straightforwardness. The lady but gives me the details, "He lives in Australia and I worked in Bangalore back then. When we connected through BharatMatrimony, we agreed to meet up someday and coincidentally when I went back to my hometown, he happened to visit his parents as well." And that is how they met.

Your first impression? "Well… He was extremely shy and I was the one talking." I ask her if she had any checklist for an ideal husband and she says, "He asked me the same question but I did not really have a checklist. The only thing I wanted was to have a long courtship and he agreed to it." She is all giggly when she tells me that Rashmikanta also allowed her to assess him on their meeting.

A wedding to remember

In their ten months of courtship, they have shared many golden memories that they will cherish forever. Rashmikanta recalls one among the thousands, "One random day, even though I was away, with an idea to surprise her, I sent a cake and some chocolates to her office." But Shreejaya had an entire book of memories that she opened for me. "On my birthday, he gifted me chocolates and a soft toy. Also, one month before our wedding, he flew down to Bangalore so that we could spend some time for a couple of days, and then we went to Cuttack together for our marriage.

Your big day must have been enchanting. "It was rather thrilling and exciting," says Rashmikanta. How? "On the day of our wedding, a sudden strike was announced and we had to take permissions to go ahead and our guests couldn’t make it either." Shreejaya adds, "I don’t even know how we got married on that day. Just the night before, he sent me a message saying that we will definitely get married, come what may. He told me that if nothing works out, he will take me home in his scooter." Destiny had a plan already, then how could anyone stop their union?

A beautiful message

Shreejaya and Rashmikanta tell me what they adore about each other. "He is my best friend and he lets me be," says the beautiful lady. But Rashmikanta sums up everything in one small sentence, "She loves me like a kid."

How do you define marriage? Rashmikanta pauses, laughs and mumbles, "It is all about responsibility… love… you could say, responsible love." But Shreejaya's perspective to marriage is certainly a head turner, "If you think it's a burden, it will be but if you think he's your best friend and a permanent roommate, marriage is the best."