It was around November or December 1986. I was 17 and a senior in high school. I had made a new friend, named Amisha, who had recently migrated from India. She asked me if I could help her choreograph a dance for her dance class in school, since I used to take Bharatnatyam lessons. It was no problem for me, and I lived close to school, so I asked her to come over after school. She said she lived with her aunt, who was very strict, and that she would rather I went to their house. I asked my parents for approval, and after getting it, I hitched a ride with Amisha and their neighbor, another student at our school. None of us drove, so we were reliant on a ride from the other student's parent. When we got to Amisha's house, Amisha introduced me to her younger sister, and her two cousins, Anand and Mitesh. I briefly spoke with Anand and Mitesh when I got there. Then we began choreographing a dance in her room. After about an hour or two, I had to leave because my Mom was coming to pick me up. As I got to the front door, Mitesh was by the Christmas tree, and I said a peppy "bye" to him. His reply was a soft "bye", and I remember saying something sarcastic, like "wow, don't be too excited" or some such comment. I didn't really mind Mitesh's shy goodbye, but it just didn't match my hyperness, I think.
Anyway, as time went on, I became better friends with Mitesh and Amisha. I spoke on the phone with each of them for an hour a day. We didn't have cell phones then, so I was using up two hours of landline time daily....something that my sister and parents did not appreciate. Mitesh and I had some interesting things in common. Once at their house, he showed me his yearbook. He was 16 and a junior in high school. One of the kids in the yearbook was actually someone I did Bharatnatyam with! Wow, what a small world it seemed like at the time. He invited Amisha and me to a basketball game at his high school. I had never been to a game, even at my high school, but we went with him and had a lot of fun. Sometimes I didn't have a ride to or from Amisha and Mitesh's house, so Mitesh would offer to give me a ride. Once, he surprised me by coming to my high school for an event I was involved in. Amisha was telling me that Mitesh never gives anyone a ride, and that it was strange that he was willing to drive me, etc. I think she was planting the seed that maybe he liked me. In February 1987, Mitesh asked me out on Valentine's. We went to see a movie called "From The Hip" and went out to dinner. It was fun. We were becoming friends and got along surprisingly well. We didn't meet too often, but we talked daily on the phone. He then asked me out to my prom. I hadn't really wanted to go to my prom, and had turned down another boy who had asked me, but somehow when Mitesh asked, I was excited to go with him. We went and had so much fun. The following year, when he was a senior, he asked me to the prom again, and I went with him to his prom. Our friendship continued for nine years, slowly turning to love and thoughts of a future together. We were each other's first boyfriend/girlfriend, and because we met so young, we wanted to make sure that we finished our education and were on our feet before we got married. My Mom would often tell me that I was too young to get serious and to make sure I prioritized my education. Mitesh proposed in April 1995, after we had both finished our education, and he was working. We got married in November 1995. We have been married now for almost 25 years, and have three amazing children. Our daughter is 21, studying BioEngineering at UCBerkeley, and she will be graduating this year. Our son is 19, and he is studying Computer Engineering Computer Science at the University of Southern California. He is a freshman this year. Our youngest is 14, and a freshman in high school. Beside school, he is on the tennis and robotics teams. All three are loving, smart, and talented kids. Mitesh and I are so fortunate to have our parents living in close proximity to us, and having had involvement in our children's lives. We are thankful for each other, and both of us feel like our love keeps getting stronger. I grow more in love with Mitesh, as I see how amazing he is as a person, as a father, as a son, and as my best friend.
Anyway, as time went on, I became better friends with Mitesh and Amisha. I spoke on the phone with each of them for an hour a day. We didn't have cell phones then, so I was using up two hours of landline time daily....something that my sister and parents did not appreciate. Mitesh and I had some interesting things in common. Once at their house, he showed me his yearbook. He was 16 and a junior in high school. One of the kids in the yearbook was actually someone I did Bharatnatyam with! Wow, what a small world it seemed like at the time. He invited Amisha and me to a basketball game at his high school. I had never been to a game, even at my high school, but we went with him and had a lot of fun. Sometimes I didn't have a ride to or from Amisha and Mitesh's house, so Mitesh would offer to give me a ride. Once, he surprised me by coming to my high school for an event I was involved in. Amisha was telling me that Mitesh never gives anyone a ride, and that it was strange that he was willing to drive me, etc. I think she was planting the seed that maybe he liked me. In February 1987, Mitesh asked me out on Valentine's. We went to see a movie called "From The Hip" and went out to dinner. It was fun. We were becoming friends and got along surprisingly well. We didn't meet too often, but we talked daily on the phone. He then asked me out to my prom. I hadn't really wanted to go to my prom, and had turned down another boy who had asked me, but somehow when Mitesh asked, I was excited to go with him. We went and had so much fun. The following year, when he was a senior, he asked me to the prom again, and I went with him to his prom. Our friendship continued for nine years, slowly turning to love and thoughts of a future together. We were each other's first boyfriend/girlfriend, and because we met so young, we wanted to make sure that we finished our education and were on our feet before we got married. My Mom would often tell me that I was too young to get serious and to make sure I prioritized my education. Mitesh proposed in April 1995, after we had both finished our education, and he was working. We got married in November 1995. We have been married now for almost 25 years, and have three amazing children. Our daughter is 21, studying BioEngineering at UCBerkeley, and she will be graduating this year. Our son is 19, and he is studying Computer Engineering Computer Science at the University of Southern California. He is a freshman this year. Our youngest is 14, and a freshman in high school. Beside school, he is on the tennis and robotics teams. All three are loving, smart, and talented kids. Mitesh and I are so fortunate to have our parents living in close proximity to us, and having had involvement in our children's lives. We are thankful for each other, and both of us feel like our love keeps getting stronger. I grow more in love with Mitesh, as I see how amazing he is as a person, as a father, as a son, and as my best friend.
