3 Awesome Stories Starring Women Who Made the First Move

I asked my stalker out 
During my college days, I would often visit my cousin sister’s office at Safdarjung Enclave, Delhi. Soon I realised that one of her colleagues, Rajiv, would always hang around every time I visited. In fact, he would join us when we went shopping and on other outings too. A few months later, when my cousin was getting married, he not only attended all the functions, including the mehendi, but also stayed back till the end. Everyone had begun wondering why. I never thought he was doing it because he was interested in me, I assumed he and my cousin had become very close friends. I realised it only when he began making prank calls to my landline. He wouldn’t talk unless I picked up. Then one day, when I answered the phone, he asked me to note down his number. He knew I may not be able to talk as my family was conservative and I people would be around. After jotting it down, I asked, “What do I do with it?” In response, he asked me to call, anytime 24x7. Surprised, I asked, “Are you proposing to me?”

He just said, “We’ll talk”. Back then, neither of us had a mobile phone, so though I tried connecting with him several times, we couldn’t talk. Finally, about a month later when he was in the vicinity, he called on my landline and asked me to meet him. We drove to Jumbo Point, then a lovely place to watch airplanes take off and land, and he spoke about the wedding, this that and the other. But didn’t talk about me or us. So I got straight to the point, “If it’s what I am thinking, I like you too.” We dated for three years after that, before finally getting married.
–Reena Nahar

I asked him out at a singles’ meet-up that I co-founded
I was 30 and single; though I was thoroughly enjoying singledom, I wanted to get married, and so did my brother. We realised it’s really difficult to meet single people, even through friends and I didn’t want to go the traditional, arranged marriage route or date a colleague. We thought, ‘there have to be more people like us!’ To find them we created a Facebook event, Footloose No More, on impulse and sent out invitations. “You’re so desperate!,” several married friends told us. But by the first week we had 250 members! Of them, 100 made it to the event at Bonobo, Bandra, something we really weren't expecting. Strangely, even after two years of conducting these events, no one asked me out. I thought, ‘What the hell?’

Soon I realised that men assumed they would get in trouble if they asked me out as I was one of the organisers. Then at our Holi event, I met Prashant. He was an MBA from XLRI, who had worked in media; he one day decided to become a music director and never put a tie on again! "What a man?", I thought impressed. I asked him whether he would sing to me and he went, “Ya, why not?” So I asked him out to Soul Fry for karaoke. By Monday night, I began getting the jitters; I thought I’d gone too quick. So on date night, I took 20 friends along. It didn’t bother him. We’d started talking six times a day and gently slipped into immense liking for each other. Basically, our values matched, that’s what matters. Two months later, I proposed we take a trip together. And all this while neither of us said, ‘let’s get married’; we just assumed we would be together. When Prashant told his father about us after six months, he was asked, “What are you waiting for?” Two days later, we were married! 
–Varsha Agnihotri Vadhyar
 

I asked him to marry me some 80 times! 
Deepak and I met during one of my client’s photo shoots. He was a photographer for an interior design magazine and I was handling public relations. He called the next morning as he had forgotten the client’s name. But other than that we hadn’t kept in touch. Later, we began bumping into each other at Depaul’s, a famous coffee shop at Janpath, Delhi, and got talking. Neither of us asked the other out. He’s not very vocal; we’ve always communicated through expressions and body language.

By the end of two years, at 23, I was pretty sure I wanted to marry him. I come from a close-knit family and wanted marriage; my parents wanted it for me too. So I asked him and he said, “Take it easy”. He was just really against the idea of marriage. In fact, at times he’d say, “I’m in no hurry, if you are, go get married”. But I didn’t give up. If I knew he was at a particular shoot, I’d surprise him, or reach the coffee shop before him. I chased him for three years! I must have asked him to marry me 50, maybe 80 times. 

Then one day, I sneakily took one of his family member’s number and asked for advice. I was told, “chase more”. Around the sixth year of being together, I had begun losing hope. Other than that, it was all perfect. We went out for movies, trips, everything... I sometimes sensed he wanted to marry me, but he just wouldn’t admit it. Finally I told him I’m going to marry someone else. That’s when he suggested we run away, and got stuck to the idea. He didn’t want a traditional marriage, but I did. After asking several more times, one day he responded with a Cartier ring placed in a lunch box that he was returning to me. That’s how he is, he only speaks through gestures. He’s never told me he loves me, but if I have an early morning, he’ll wake up too and keep things ready for me. If I like something he’ll probably buy five of it. Friends and family say I’m really lucky, they feel inspired by our marriage–I have no qualms in taking all the credit. 

–Richa Gupta

As told to @PoojaBhula

Read more cool love stories:
Virtual Strangers: dnai.in/czef
Marriages are made in Online Heaven: dnai.in/czeu
Hate at First Jive: dnai.in/czem
That thing around her neck: dnai.in/cyZx