Ranjana Gattani was only 19 when the love of her life first caught a glimpse of her from across the hall, at a function in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. All decked up, she was a chirpy, young lady who was just being herself, totally unaware of the fact that at that very moment, he was falling in love with her.
The more he looked at her, the more he wondered what was happening to him. He had never felt that weak at the knees before, so what changed? It’s been 29 years since that day and he still can't put those wonderful feeling into words.
And that's how it all began — a love story that would fight against the odds and last FOREVER. To bring this into perspective, let's find out more about the "boy" — Naresh Gattani — in this story. He was, and still is, an introverted, composed man who could never imagine expressing his feelings.
So, there it was, the first battle that he had to fight for her — to open up about the storm that was growing inside him from the minute he first laid eyes on her. Being the shy guy he is, he asked his sister to pass on paper chits to his lady. (Yes, it was three decades ago and there was no WhatsApp to make it easier!).
While the beginning was as magical as it gets, what followed was something that millennials can now rarely see — the suspense, the chase, the old-school romance, which by the way, required way more grit, guts and patience. Can you imagine asking someone out over paper chits? That's how Naresh first asked Ranjana if she would accompany him on a long drive. And once he got the nod, their everlasting story began.
The drives, the parties, the movies — it was almost like a dream for innocent Ranjana, who was already fantasising about a long and beautiful life with Naresh. Ranjana shares that there wasn't a day when the couple did not meet during the two years they had known each other, before they got married. "He used to sneak into the house and there was even a trick. If the light in my room was on, that was a green signal. If the light was off, then he would wait outside my house in his car till I could sneak him in," she blushes. Now that's pretty daring.
With incidents like these, their relationship turned into something serious even before they realised. And after two long years, they finally got married. And Ranjana could not have been happier. "He's not the kind of person who will waste time talking about how he will take care of his loved ones; he will just go ahead and do it.
He will do anything to make me feel special. I am not even exaggerating when I say that he has treated me like a princess," she says. And this relationship has been as fulfilling for Naresh too. "She has been my pillar of strength since day one. Her empathy towards anyone she knows has awed me the most. I have never come across a woman with so much consideration for others. She is the life partner I always wished for," says Naresh.
Yes, it has been 29 years, but if you look at them now, it’ll seem like it was only yesterday when the two lovebirds started to pave the way for an exceptional love story.
