Cupid at work in Guwahati
Nilanjana Parashar, a law student in Guwahati, and Ankit Dutta, a civil services aspirant, have lived 20 minutes away from each other almost their entire lives. They’ve walked the same streets, gone to the same stores and dined at the same restaurants, but it took a match on OKCupid for their paths to cross.
And even then, a real meeting would have to wait, because three days after they matched, the lockdown was announced.
They spent the next couple of months on the phone, sharing random thoughts and long-held dreams. “It was around mid-April, during the Assamese festival of Bihu, that we decided to video call for the first time,” says Parashar. “I made the first move by suggesting it.”
What followed was the familiarity of a routine they built for themselves: Calls after breakfast, after lunch, before bed.
While they waited to have their first date, Parashar and Dutta decided to have a virtual one. They dressed up, made themselves some noodles, and sat down, ready to present their best selves to each other. “It didn’t go as planned,” says Parashar. “It was awkward because until then we had just showed up in our pyjamas, lolled in bed. There had been no pretence. We realised this was not who we were.”
That was their only virtual date.
But their feelings grew over the lockdown and they did both wonder what it would be like to go on a conventional movie-and-dinner date.
When they finally met in May, it was splendid, says Parashar, even though there was nothing conventional about the outing. “We went grocery shopping at the local market. I thought it was going to be a little awkward to bargain in front of him…”
“So that’s why you didn’t bargain that day!” Dutta says.
“I had never had so much fun buying groceries,” says Parashar.
With roots in the same region of Assam, Parashar and Dutta found they had many shared experiences growing up. “We understood the inside jokes, etc,” Dutta says. They’re both foodies and have found ways to cook together, even though they both live with their parents. “Our sense of humour matches,” says Parashar. “He finds me funny and I find him funny.”
Dutta turned out to be a calming presence in Parashar’s life, while Parashar brought the fun and games during a stressful time.
“I think the lockdown would have been horrible, it would have been much worse if we hadn’t had each other,” says Parashar. “We were worried about what was happening around us, but amidst it all, we shared something that was unique.”