I had submitted the story of my marriage on YKA on April 4, 2018. Almost two months later, on June 5, 2018, YKA approved it and published it on their page. This in itself was humbling for us. We were very happy.
But, little did we know that the best was yet to come. The appreciation, the encouragement and the support that poured in from every corner of the country, within a few hours of the post going live (in the form of likes, comments, shares and messages), really humbled us. People found our story inspirational and motivational – and suddenly, we were trend-setters and role-models. India, in general, was proud of us and hoped to simulate this in their lives as well. Most importantly, our parents were overjoyed to hear about it. Acquaintances and well-wishers called us and our parents to congratulate on the bold and much-needed move. Such kind words gave us and our families the assurance that we were right in doing what we did, and all that resentment and disapproval we had to face initially was all worth it.
Honestly speaking, I had not expected this level of acceptance. I had written this story because I was extremely satisfied and at peace with the experiences (good, bad and ugly) that my marriage had given me – and I only wanted to share these. Trust me, it was not an easy journey, especially for our parents. They had to face a tremendous amount of resentment from our families and the society. But, hats off to them to be born with nerves of steel. They stood by what they believed in, with the conviction that everything will turn out fine.
The sad part is that unless you have 1000-odd people and lots of pomp and show in your child’s marriage, people very conveniently label it to be an unhappy wedding. Maybe the girl’s not good enough, maybe the boy’s not good enough, maybe the parents have unwillingly and forcibly given their consent for this inter-caste love marriage – because children in today’s generation are so difficult to handle. But dear society, it was not like that. We were just two people in love who wanted to be together for the rest of our lives and our parents wanted to support us and get us married according to their definition of an ‘ideal marriage’.
So, thank you YKA for being the voice of young India and having the courage to always address the issues that desperately need to be addressed. To all those who have showered their blessings and support upon us, we couldn’t thank you enough. We are overwhelmed with the response. Your love and support have instilled the confidence in us that good things manage to find their path and make their presence felt.