PARADIP: From a coffee shop in Canada to the marriage altar at Kujang, the love story of Lee Nanda and Halina Williams truly transcends boundaries of race, nationality and culture. 

Lee, a resident of Kothi village in Kujang, tied the knot with 28-year-old Halina at a local Mandap here on Tuesday. However, their love story started back in February last year. 

The 31-year-old Odia first met Halina, a resident of Victoria in Canada, at a coffee shop. Lee, who is a law investigator in Canada since the last seven years, had just finished his work for the day and had come to unwind himself at the coffee shop where Halina was waiting for a friend.
There was an instant connect and both fell in love at first sight. Halina works in the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in British Columbia.

As days passed by, their love grew stronger and after one year of their relationship, the couple decided to get married and informed their family members about their desire.
Lee’s father Hrusikesh Nanda is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force while Halina’s dad Mark Williams is a scientist. Both the families agreed to the match and it was decided to hold the marriage in India as per the Hindu tradition. 

This is the first trip to India for Halina and her family. Initially, Lee was concerned about the safety of his and Halina’s families as well as his visiting friends from Canada as some locals had planned to stop the marriage and threatened to ostracise them from the village. However, with the support of friends, they decided to go ahead with the marriage.
Their marriage was organised at a Mandap in Kujang as per Odia customs and rituals in presence of friends, relatives and families of both the bride and the groom. Mangrajpur sarpanch Purnima Tripathy was also present. Lee and Halina appreciated the support and kindness they received from people.