Ujjal Singh had to take a bullock cart to meet Rekha for the first time. Rishi's first interaction with his future wife Naina was a 6-second phone call. This is the story of two arranged marriages, four decades apart.
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00:00Humne toh bahut kam mile hum shadi se pehle.
00:02Aapas mein bas letter dekh ke letter se khush ho gayi humne.
00:06I was sick and tired of wasting my weekends over coffees and meeting random girls.
00:12Ujjal Singh Gujral had an arranged marriage with Rekha in 1979.
00:1743 years later, their son Rishi married Naina Maheshwari, also an arranged marriage.
00:23I spoke to both the couples to find out if arranged marriages have evolved from what they used to be.
00:29How old are you?
00:30I? 67 years old.
00:32Tu abhi tak hai hasi aur main jawaan.
00:36How long have you been married?
00:3842 years.
00:39And we have been married for nearly 10 months now.
00:43Rekha's father had posted a matrimonial ad in the newspaper for her.
00:47Ujjal saw it and wrote him a letter.
00:50That I am a Hercules.
00:51So in response, felt impressed and sent the photo.
00:55And that photo is, where is that photo, you know?
00:58Dil cheer ke de, tera hi naam hoga.
01:03Ujjal sent a photo in return, which Rekha's father passed on to her.
01:07Toh maine dekha, maine ke, tu bilkul hero.
01:09Maine ka, bilkul theek hai papa, isi unique se saath start karte hai, dekhna.
01:13Tera diyaan kidhar hai, yeh tera hero idhar hai.
01:17Rishi and Naina met through a marriage agency in 2021.
01:21Naina had gone to her agent's office and was going through some 40-50 profiles.
01:25She had shortlisted 7-8 of them and was about to leave when the agent was like,
01:30there's one more profile I want to show it to you.
01:32So her profile was sent to me via email.
01:35I generally prefer not to look at the pictures because then you create an impression.
01:39But in his case, somehow I did.
01:41I, obviously being a guy, I saw the pictures first and I liked what I saw.
01:46Then I read the profile.
01:47But honestly, when you are in a arranged marriage scenario,
01:52aapka thoda picture se vishwas sa ut jata hai.
01:54Ish pe ek waqt hota hai.
01:56Ujjal lived in New Delhi and wanted to go meet Rekha.
01:59He took a train there without informing her family.
02:02But when he reached there...
02:03Aur inko koi conveyance nahi mili, phir aapne kya kiya?
02:07Daudh ke aage?
02:08Nahi!
02:09Aapne woh bail ghaadi, bail ghaadi jo hoti na, jisme woh gaaye, bail, bail hote hain.
02:17Kaun nisa mein leke chala rekha, tu hiya...
02:22Ujjal had written a poem when he was in the 9th grade.
02:25He said he was inspired by William Wordsworth's Lucy.
02:28I saw a Mexican girl running after the sheep.
02:34She had beautiful eyes and red cheeks.
02:38They all attacked me at the same time.
02:42So, I saw those cheeks.
02:44The first time Rishi and Naina spoke to each other was over the phone.
02:48I remember the conversation that I had with her was for 6 seconds.
02:52I called her up and said,
02:53Hey, hi, the regular spiel that,
02:56Hi, I got your profile from this, this, this.
02:59And she said,
03:00Okay, good, I'm busy right now.
03:02I'll call you back.
03:03So much attitude!
03:06But I loved her voice, you know.
03:09Sophisticated and a commanding voice.
03:12And that commanding voice still persists.
03:15When Rekha visited Ujjal's home in Delhi for the first time,
03:19he did something rather unheard of for the time.
03:22Dinner ready?
03:23There used to be these restaurants in Delhi at the time,
03:26which Ujjal described as completely dark.
03:29What did you talk about?
03:31Should I tell you?
03:33You have to imagine something.
03:35It's a dark room.
03:36So, and nobody around.
03:40Only waiter will come when called.
03:44So, it's, so there was less talks.
03:48I'll meet her in a good and happening place.
03:49If it goes well, well, otherwise she can leave, I'll stay.
03:52So I was like,
03:54Excuse me, would you like to have something?
03:56So she said, yeah, coffee would do.
03:59And me being me, the typical Punjabi guy,
04:02I said, okay, she wants coffee.
04:03I said, I'll order my cocktail.
04:06And she said, oh, if you're having cocktail,
04:07then I'll have wine.
04:10They ended up dancing for nearly an hour before parting ways.
04:13I was really excited to meet somebody
04:18with whom I had fun.
04:19I could totally be myself.
04:21It's done.
04:23It's done, right?
04:25I accept.
04:26Me too.
04:27Rekha and Ujjal knew each other for six months
04:30before they got married.
04:31But back then, there weren't any phones.
04:34The letters I wrote for you,
04:36they're in your memory.
04:38Dear Gujaratji, from Riva.
04:41I hope I got a letter a few days ago.
04:45But you're so old, you didn't even reply.
04:48If you make us wait for so long, how will it go?
04:52My love, I'm very sorry I could not write to you
04:57either on 1st or 2nd September.
05:01Both the couples were from different religions.
05:04Ujjal and Rishi were Sikhs,
05:05and Rekha and Naina were Hindus.
05:08There should be no dowry.
05:09The party has to be great.
05:10Marriage is simple.
05:11That expenditure will be borne by the girl.
05:15But for the big party, it has to be divided.
05:19Four decades later,
05:21Rishi and Naina got married in 2022.
05:23We had two weddings.
05:25One was the Hindu ceremony,
05:26and then we had Anand Karaj,
05:28which is the Sikh ceremony.
05:30We got married twice.
05:32Lucky me.
05:33Both couples were living together
05:34for the first time after marriage.
05:37It was always my space.
05:38Now there is one person who is not going away.
05:42But my adjustment was very small
05:46in terms of what she had to do.
05:49There were some problems.
05:52Human nature.
05:54But they go.
05:55She turned my family into vegetarian.
05:58My whole family is vegetarian now,
06:00so I have to order non-veg from outside.
06:03That is one regret.
06:04So people going for a range marriage,
06:07either convert the girl first or you give in.
06:10We used to come on a scooter in the morning.
06:13Me, Habiji, my mother-in-law and Mishi.
06:18And our maid.
06:21Their in-laws and domestic help
06:23supported the young couple.
06:25It was a tradition which they then continued
06:27with Rishi and Naina,
06:28who were both working professionals.
06:30I only pay some bills.
06:32And yeah, honestly.
06:34Nobody of us really has any domestic responsibilities
06:37to take care of.
06:39Whatever share there is,
06:40and I will go on to say it,
06:41I take care of it obviously more.
06:43I find new things about her till date,
06:46being 10 months, every day.
06:48Some good, some very good.