MODERN LOVE

Three interfaith, millennial couples share tales of their intricate journeys that are rife with love and convolutions

- TANYA MEHTA

There’s a scene in Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy that personally stood out to me. Based in a post-Independent India of the 1950s, a worrisome Hindu mother frantically questions her young daughter about the boy she’s seeing. As the tormented daughter struggles to confess that she’s dating a Muslim boy, the general discomfort and tension was palpable. Although this narrative dates back to a different age, the question of religion has been a defining factor for many marriages and relationships in the country, and often-times, a deal-breaker. Even in today’s climate, it is a topic of constant deliberation and controversy, yet there are many who go against the tide, roping in their opposing families all in the name of love. Here, we speak to three couples who took the leap as they tell us what it’s like to be in an interfaith marriage today, and how they’ve managed to find a middle ground in upholding tradition.

SHEEFA GILANI & AMAN MAROO

HOW IT STARTED

“Love story? I don’t think you can call ours that, it was more of a chance encounter. Aman and I met on the dance floor at a mutual friend’s sangeet, where we were both grooving to Salman Khan’s cheesy number – Jaanam Samjha Karo, back in 2014. I had recently moved to Bombay from London with a broken heart and Aman was already in an almost-perfect relationship. But strangely, we hit it off and what followed was six years of being best friends, nursing each other’s heartbreaks, and now being husband and wife. We’ve had our share of drama but it’s safe to say we’ve come full circle,” says Gilani.