Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): What can be a better day to tie the nuptial knot than the festival of love and romance? A few couples in the city who are going to get married on Valentine's Day on Friday are excited and overjoyed.
Some are marrying for love, others have arranged marriage. And there are a few whose marriage is ‘love-cum-arranged’. Though Panditji selected February 14 as their wedding date, the couple feel lucky to begin their marital journey on this special day. On the eve of Valentine’s Day, Free Press spoke to a few of such couples.
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Classmates to turn lifemates
Kunal, the younger son of Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Riddhi, the granddaughter of a renowned physician I M Jain, will tie the nuptial knot on Valentine’s Day. Kunal, who runs an agri-business, and Riddhi, were classmates. They used to study in the same school in Bhopal. Theirs is an inter-religious love marriage. The couple got engaged at a private ceremony in May last year.
The preparations for the high-profile wedding have been going on for a long time. Chouhan has been sharing photographs and videos of wedding rituals like Hadli etc on his X account. The wedding reception at a marriage garden in the city on Friday evening is expected to be a massive gathering.
‘Friends say we were dating for long’
Umesh Singh and Sarita Chauhan will become man and wife on Valentine’s Day. Though theirs is an arranged marriage, Umesh, a businessman, says that in just two months they have developed such an excellent tuning with each other that their friends feel they must be dating for long. “We got engaged on January 15 this year and since then; we have been talking over the phone for at least half an hour every day.
We have met only once and that too, without telling our parents,” he says. They spent around two hours together at Gauhar Mahal and VIP road chatting over tea. “What I like about Sarita is her caring nature. She keeps on enquiring about one of my friends who met with an accident recently, and also about my mother who was ill,” he says.
Love-cum-arranged
Harshita Kanarji met her would-be life partner Aman Gunele about two years back on a social media platform. Aman is a graphic designer. They also had some mutual friends. Telephonic chats turned into friendship, and then love. Both talked with their parents, who had no objection to their wedding.
“We exchanged rings on January 26 this year and are going to get married on February 14. Both happen to be important dates,” she says. She likes her would-be husband’s nature and is happy that they have developed a mutual understanding. “The date for marriage was chosen on the basis of our horoscopes but still, the coincidence is welcome,” she says.
