Ironically, we met in the most old-fashioned and traditional way, through a vaat. A vaat is when your parents put your name out into the Indian community to see who a potential match for you and your family could be. Shiv’s side: Because it was peak COVID, I decided to take a chance on vaats. I had a few vaats prior to meeting Dilani and was somewhat over the whole situation. I wasn’t necessarily hitting it off with anyone, and I was able to quickly decide if I wanted to continue talking to them or not. Once I received Dilani’s vaat, I was expecting to receive the same result as the others, but I was wrong. Conversations were natural and effortless, and I knew that something was special. Dilani’s side: Oddly enough, Shiv was my first vaat and I was super nervous to start talking to him. With a push from my family, mainly my sister, I decided that I should give this whole situation a shot. He texted me first and it was super awkward because neither of us knew how to start the conversation. Once we got over the initial awkwardness, I quickly started to get the feeling that there was the potential for something more. We hit it off immediately and were constantly texting, talking, and FaceTiming. We bonded over our obsession with Harry Potter, Marvel movies, and most of all, food. Shortly after, we decided it was time to meet in person. We decided on some place between Florida and Texas that neither of us had been to and ended up meeting in Lake Charles, Louisiana. We were both nervous and excited that it was finally happening and ended up having a great time enjoying each other’s company. The rest is history.