Indore: Love is above cultural differences and customs. Ask 28-year-old sign language interpreter Navneet Kaur and 30-year-old banker Rahul Kohli. They stood together through thick and thin and proved that love triumphs all.
“I never knew that someone will become a pillar of strength for me,” Navneet told Free Press. On the other hand, Rahul feels that it was his destiny to move to Indore from Gwalior and find his soulmate.
Navneet used to work with her parents at their photocopy and mobile recharge shop at Janjeerwala square. She was a pillar of strength for her parents as she took care of them and helped them to run the shop. After marriage, Rahul became her pillar of strength.
It was 2009. Looking for recharge, Rahul approached the shop one day. “My colleagues told me never to go to Navneet’s shop as they said she is intimidating. But I was curious to meet her. When I saw her, I knew she was the one for me,” Rahul said.
“When I was checking Rs 500 note that he gave me, he introduced himself as banker and left his number,” Navneet said. He kept coming for mobile recharges that eventually led to friendship between the two. “I was in the procession taken out on the eve of Guru Nanak Jayanti when my phone rang and Rahul began inquiring about recharge,” Navneet said. They talked for 12 hours non-stop.
“Neither of us remember what we talked but it became a trend after that,” Rahul said. Eventually, they went out for coconut water and sabudana khichdi treats everyday during lunch hour. “I wanted to learn car driving and he had a car. This is how our morning drives began,” Navneet said. “In December 2009, her parents inquired about our relationship and I told them I wanted to marry Navneet,” Rahul said. But their families refused their union.
According to Navneet, she struggled to convince her parents. It was toughest to convince her father. She approached her uncle and expressed the grief. “I told uncle that I would die without Rahul and he helped in convincing my father,” Navneet said. Rahul’s mother Parvati helped in convincing their family. “My in-laws changed for me. They removed ghunghat system,” Navneet said. The couple is now blessed with two sons, five-year-old Amogh and one-year-old Prabhnoor.