How they met...

Them:

N Srikrishna

Born in Eluru, west Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, growing up in picturesque Ooty and getting his Civil Engineering degree in Bangalore, Sri has previously lived and worked in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Singapore, the U.S, China, and more, before he moved to Mumbai 2 years ago.

When Sri moved to Mumbai it was with a self given time limit. He’d promised to give himself 2 years time to see what this move would do for him.

Mayuri Sharrma

Tarot Card Reader and Writer

Born in brought up in Bombay, as she still prefers to call it, Mayuri loves ‘her’ city more than any place she’s been to.

She gleefully juggles being a Tarot Card Reading Professional, Columnist and Freelance Writer, writing monthly Tarot-based features and consulting her Tarot clients at her office in Bombay.

About them:

Mayuri is mainly impulsive, Sri is mostly cautious. Sri loves the occasional drink; Mayuri is a teetotaler by choice. Mayuri loves Italian cuisine; Sri prefers Indian and Chinese. Sri’s uses his head to take his decisions, Mayuri’s heart guides her. Mayuri is wise with money, Sri is anything but.

So, you’re probably thinking, chalk and cheese, oranges and apples, Sri and Mayuri? Well, with time and very long conversations, they’re realizing that, apart from their chubby cheeks, they do have the love of reading and films, a quirky sense of humor, a fondness for long walks and endless conversations, a sense of curiosity and adventure, a belief in destiny and a bit of a temper in common.

The Introduction:

Though Sri and Mayuri had very specific qualities they were seeking in their respective life partner, looking around them only a miniscule number of good marriages stood out as beacons of hope, making them determined to wait for the right person to come along, rather than make a wrong decision in haste only to repent it later.

It didn’t help either that time-famine coupled with sheer laziness, prompting the desire to sit back and let someone else do the searching for them, led them to take things easy on the marriage front.

Which is why it required a Matrimonial Agency to introduce them to each other.

Mayuri’s Dad registered her profile with the agency, much against her wish. Around the same time Sri enrolled too, only giving in after being literally coerced to by the agency representative. Post registration, the agency sent their profiles and pictures to each other, along with a list of other profiles, and both of them were the 1st person the other one spoke to.

‘I’m looking for a South-Indian girl’ was Sri’s reply to Mayuri asking what kind of girl he was looking for. ‘I’m anything BUT South-Indian!’ was her instant response. Awkward pauses were then followed by sporadic bursts of small talk, which ended with the suggestion for meeting over coffee.

The 1st meeting: 23rd July '10:

Of The Suit, staring at the floor and dancing around trees...

Mayuri says;

‘I wondered why we even suggested meeting up, when it seemed that we had nothing in common.

I was having a school reunion on that day and scheduled meeting Sri over coffee 2 hours prior to that, imagining that I would kill 2 birds with one stone, by meeting up with a guy who actually wanted to marry a South Indian girl and hence have my family off my back by ticking him off the list.

I was in the Cafe, reading a book as I waited for Sri, when I looked out of the plate glass window and saw this dapper guy ambling in while talking on the phone and had a hold-my-breath moment. The grey suit he was wearing was chic, had a great cut and  the fabric choice and color were perfect, giving the impression that not only did the wearer have great taste but he knew what worked for him and was in fashion, a bonus really as far as most guys are concerned. To add to that he didn’t look remotely like a South-Indian film villain like his photograph attached to his matrimonial profile hinted he would!

Sri says;

Mayuri’s profile stood out from the rest of the profiles I had received along with it. Her pure and innocent smile in the attached photograph made me want to meet her and probably get to know her better. Also, her profile mentioned her being a writer, a fact that intrigued me. When I walked into the Café, I saw her through the window, intently reading a book, until she looked up at looked straight at me. My first thought was, here’s a rare girl who actually lives up to her photograph. As we exchanged initial pleasantries and asked and answered questions about the other, I noticed that after every sentence Mayuri would lower her eyes and look intently at the floor, a favorite habit of hers I was to realize later.

‘How do I draw this girl out’ was my thought, whenever her eyes began finding the floor again.

So I began sharing snippets of the very atypical professional life I’d led so far. The moment I mentioned I used to be an actor, Mayuri’s eyes met mine and they twinkled and shone as she leaned forward to ask, ‘So you’ve actually danced around trees?’ That’s when I knew I had her attention and wanting to continue seeing that twinkle in her eyes began talking as she listened intently, forgetting the floor for the time being at least.

Mayuri says;

After a few mandatory awkward pauses we talked, rather Sri regaled me with anecdotes from the very interesting professional life he’s led and the writer in me gleefully listened, observed and absorbed. Through the course of the conversation I realized that I had made him drive down a considerable distance and felt terribly guilty for doing so even though I had no idea about it when we were fixing a venue to meet up.

After an hour and a half of conversation we parted, mouthing the cliché ‘Let’s catch up soon.’ I did note that Sri chivalrously inquired whether I had transport and offered to drop me to the reunion if I didn’t. Mulling over the meeting, what struck me was most was how comfortable I had felt with this complete stranger.

P: S: Despite spending a lovely evening catching up with each other’s life, absolutely nothing happened for the next few weeks, as neither of them stayed in touch with the other, till a ‘Hey, where have you disappeared to’ line dropped via email by Mayuri was instantly responded to with a ‘Don’t you think we should meet up again soon?’ by Sri.

Mayuri adds, I continue to remind Sri that there are three people in this relationship, You, Me and your Grey Suit.

Sri adds, I continue ragging Mayuri about her intent floor-watching habit.

The 2nd meeting: 22nd August '10

Of Tarot, more talk and the drive home...

The 2nd meeting was decided upon, this time Mayuri insisting on a venue suggested by Sri.

Between less awkwardness, more talk and some more staring at the floor, Mayuri shared that she’s a Tarot Card Reader and Sri’s interest perked up instantly. Tarot, and all things related, were then discussed at length, along with details of each other’s families, dreams, aspirations for the future and villages habited by a single cow.

Sri, by now intrigued by Tarot, requested for an appointment for a reading. Mayuri instantly declined, citing she could be biased during the reading as she had already met Sri. When he asked again, she refused once more, this time warning that the reading would reveal even what Sri might not want to. Sri countered with ‘I have nothing to hide’ impressing Mayuri, without even realizing it.

Lots of 'No!'s and 'Think about it's, flew back and forth till Mayuri relented and an appointment for a reading was finally decided upon.

Sri then suggested he should drop Mayuri home, so he could see where her office was, mentioning his 'terrible sense of direction and roads'. More debate followed with an instant refusal, followed by suggestions of Sri’s car trailing Mayuri’s till it was finally decided that Mayuri would accompany Sri in his car and direct him along the way to her office.

Sri adds;

After I spoke to Mayuri, her sense of humor and quirky observations made me want to get to know her better. I suggested dropping her home and getting directions to her office on the way and she instantly refused, citing that she had her car and driver waiting. Not one to give up easily I suggested the same again and the request was turned down once more. I decided I would give it one more try and this time suggested Mayuri’s car and driver follow my car, and after giving it some thought she agreed, very reluctantly.

P: S: On the drive with Sri, Mayuri forgot the way to her office, called right left and vice versa, took double the time to get there and  finally managed to direct Sri to her office by some miracle of fate. Interestingly, on the day of the Reading Sri’s driver drove him to the appointment from a completely different route than the one shown by Mayuri.

The 3rd meeting: 25th August '10

Of interesting revelations, observations and decision making...

Sri says;

The Tarot Reading was very important to me, and the only issue clouding my mind was should I approach the Reading as a client or should I use this chance to lay my life open in front of Mayuri.

When the Reading started I began to realize that this could also be my chance to observe Mayuri in her professional environment and get to know her better through it. As the Reading progressed, Mayuri’s insights and revelations surprised me, for instance she pointed out I was shy and people mistook the trait for arrogance/detachment, a fact about me that very few people are aware of. 

I began getting impressed by Mayuri’s confidence, clarity, how she put her point across and the solutions she came up with. More so, because I find it very difficult to accept solutions from others, leave alone being impressed by them.I observed her as she diligently went about her Tarot session, explaining each point earnestly and midway through the Reading I made up my mind that this could be the Girl for me.

Mayuri says;

It is really difficult to remain neutral through someone’s Reading when you already know relevant details about them. But I had promised myself that I would see Sri for his appointment as I do any other Tarot Client and that’s exactly what I did. As the reading started I began relaxing and getting into my professional mode and watched Sri’s life unfold in front of me as dispassionately as I possibly could on the surface, with a heart thudding like mad inside, wondering what the cards would show, as by now I'd realized I quite liked him.

P:S: The Tarot Reading ended with Sri and Mayuri deciding to meet for coffee the following Sunday.

28^th August ‘10

Sri says;

I was sure that I wanted to take things further with Mayuri, and suggested that my philosopher and guide, Mr Murthy, and his wife, Vani, both of whom I hold in high esteem, visit Mayuri for a Tarot Reading and let me know their opinion of her.

Mrs and Mr Murthy both came away highly impressed by Mayuri and her Reading, further convincing me of my decision.

The 4^th meeting, 29^th August ‘10

By now it was obvious that something was definitely brewing between Sri and Mayuri, and over coffee they both agreed that it was time both the families met, the very next day.

Meeting the family, 30^th August’10

Early in the morning, Sri shocked his parents by announcing that they would be ‘going to see a girl in the evening’ without disclosing any details about the girl in question.

By late evening the Nidigallu’s and Murthy’s were sitting with the Sharma’s at their residence talking away 19 to a dozen over dinner. During the evening, common rituals and traditions were delightedly gushed over, choices approved and the families beamed happily at each other as the Nidigallu’s and Murthy’s bid goodbye.

A short while after they left, Mr Murthy, on behalf of the Nidigallu family, called to request an engagement and discuss the time and date for the same, cementing the alliance thus.

The Engagement, 4^th September ‘10

Sri and Mayuri

The rings

Mayuri with the Nidigallu's and Murthy's

From left to right: Sri's Amma, Sri's Appa, Mr Murthy, Yash (Sri's Nephew), Mrs Murthy, Beena Didi (Sri's sister)

Sri with the Sharma's and Goel's

From left to right: Mayuri's Mom, Mayuri's Dad, Samreedhi Goel (Mayuri's sister), Mohit Goel (Mayuri's brother-in-law), Kuber Sharma (Mayuri's brother)

One big, beaming family!:)