Indore: Made In Heaven: Fire and ice in loving coexistence

Indore: Love sparks an inexpressible feeling that shoots all the social limitations away and takes lovers to a world of hope and dream.
Managing to live with social rules, 37-year-old event organiser Arshi Amir (previously known as Ranjana Das) and 40-year-old national head at Tata Capital, Amir Jhalal have found their little heaven in each other where their dreams find an outlook.

Sharing their story, Arshi said, “Love empowers us in a way that we can never tell and I guess that is what happened to me.” Despite knowing the struggle on their way, Arshi coming from a Bengali family and Amir coming from a Muslim family could not resist their feelings for each other. “I still remember that he was wearing yellow-white shirt with khakhi pants when I first met him with my group for internship project. I could not see his face but he was tall and appealing,” Arshi recalled.  “Six of them (including two girls) had come for an internship project under my guidance that year,” Amir said. He allotted different centres to each candidate to promote vaccines.

“Nobody came at my centre since it was in a slum area, so I called him and fought,” Arshi said. Keeping aside his ego, he calmed her explaining that her part was staying and reporting at the centre.

Their opposite nature of fire and ice brought them together as better halves. “I kept talking even during our last day of reporting while all my friends stayed mum,” Arshi reminisced. Their friendship continued in hearts and secret meetings as there were no cell phones and both of them did not write well. “About a year and half later, I had another similar project; so I approached Arshi again,” Amir said.

While working on the project together, their bond became stronger and he came to know about her family as well. “I wanted to give her diary milk, something sweet to show my love, but unfortunately I could never gather the courage to do so,” Amir said. Finding the opportunity to give it to her without facing her he left the chocolate with a CD of movie ‘Sur’ at her house after a dinner gathering. “I still have the wrapper of the chocolate and the disc,” Arshi said. After three years of their friendship, they met at a hotel where Arshi needed his help for getting her passport. “It was raining heavily outside and we were having ‘paneer pakoda’ with tea when he suddenly popped the question,” Arshi said.

Amir asked her if she would marry him. “She took a moment, looked out and agreed to marry me at the condition of total honesty,” he said. After four days, Amir was transferred to Lucknow and their relation became distant. “I remember crunching for money and rushing to STD to attend and make calls, it was a different era in 2003,” Arshi said. When they decided to finally tie the knot, their families stood against the union. “My father had passed away by then and my elder brother had second wife, so my mother understood the importance of love in life,” Amir said.

Struggle was tougher for Arshi, whose father had always supported her but felt disappointed at her choice of life. “He liked Amir but changing the community, getting converted and living a different life… was too much for him,” she said.

Considering his daughter’s happiness, assistant director Kapil Dev Das (father) gave in and agreed to the wedding. Struggle began after marriage for Arshi, who had grown up in liberal environment. “I had to even wear ‘burqa’ and handle all the cultural shocks,” Arshi said. However, she remained confident and happy. “I am very happy, strong and myself even today because of Amir,” Arshi said.
She explained that they bring out the best in each other.