Like any other culture, India has managed to attract a lot of stereotypes. Ranging from snakes to curries to Gods and marriage. Yes, marriage, arranged marriage.
As soon as kids turn 23-24, they are constantly annoyed with the phrase – beta, you should get married now. This, of course happened with us as well. We managed to dodge the phrase for couple of years with responses such as, maa please!; no, not right now; i am not ready yet; etc. But we struggled to keep up with our very innovative parents who came up with new reasons why we should get married. One such reason was – you can travel with a partner, it will be even better. We had to give in eventually.
We agreed to meet each other in October 2012 and our first ‘arranged’ date was on 16th December 2012 in Brisbane. We ended up chatting over dinner, followed by coffee, walk along South Bank and even managed to get a drink later. All of the above in one evening, the first evening – 6 hours straight!
We really connected at various levels – values, culture, what we want from life, etc. The biggest one really was experiencing the world.
We got married in February 2014 and while we fight and argue about odd things, we are ready for our ‘arranged’ explorations. We are the ‘arranged travelers’, follow our blog.
Manish
The ‘Arranged’
Born and brought up in India, I migrated with my parents to Sydney, Australia when I was 11. The move to a new country helped shape my beliefs on culture, religion and life at a young age. Being an only child, my parents were never too fussy on marks and career choice. However, they began the emotional atyachaar in 2012. Initially, I was reluctant (an understatement!) but eventually I agreed to meet Shruti.
We share common culture and values but it is the opposites that make us special. I love mountains, books and languages while she loves the sea, films and connecting with people. Together, we take the middle ground and enjoy it all. …..and she’s always right!(<3)
The ‘Traveller’
Growing up in Western Sydney, I met people from all sorts of exotic countries. Coming from small-town India, it helped challenge my beliefs and understand how different people around the world live. During HSC, I picked Spanish as an elective and loved it from the first class. Similarly, a few years ago, I started training in Capoeira which is a Brazilian martial art started by the slaves. Therefore, travelling through South America has long been a dream.
I am an Indian-Australian and gladly mix the Indian middle class ‘adjust’ with the Good ol’ Aussie whinge. I am a research-a-holic and love to know as much about a place as possible before I get there. The cultures, histories and the food of each place are exciting to me. I am looking forward to trying bits of languages, learn a little of each place and try the foods and drinks of each place on the road.
Shruti
I was born in Kanpur, U.P., did my schooling in Mumbai, lived for a year in Chennai and moved to Singapore on my 16th birthday. After living and exploring Singapore and some of the neighboring countries for 8 years, I packed my bags and moved to Brisbane.
I changed my postal address 13 times before settling down with Manish. I hold an Indian Passport and sing Jana Gana Mana as my national anthem. I am a vegetarian and grateful for the lack of options when I go to restaurants. Though, on the contrary, I quite like picking a drink from a vast menu.
I enjoy making plans and sticking to them but I am up for a complete random activity as well. I enjoy amusement rides, talking to strangers though I can roll straight back into my cocoon when I’m not interested socialising. By profession I am a Digital Producer / Project Manager though I am interested in working with animals and kids. I love kids, even the cranky ones and I want to pat most of the animals, including the ones that swim.
I have always been interested to see new places, understand people from different parts of the world, what affects them, swim in new waters and try their drinks. I am sure this adventure will be amazing as I will be spending 24 hours of my time with my favourite person.
PS: We are very grateful to our parents for being persistent. Great match making skills. ;)
