Raj was desperate to find a partner (just kidding, his friends and family were) and a profile was made in search of a companion to hike with. Madhuri was also looking for a hiking buddy. Little did she know, she had to increase her Shaadi.com radius all the way across the country. Their profiles matched and thus began the online dates, and here we are talking about that.

A walk along the beach in Seattle. Just kidding. Raj actually made Madhuri dosa, and they fell in love instantly. Because Dosa is delicious. And Madhuri loves food. Dosa 1, Raj 0 Raj: Not true, we went on a 20 mile bike ride across different Seattle monuments. The ride also ended with me making dosas for Madhuri

We have quite a few, most of them involve food. We finished a 10 miler race together and then ate a lot. Snorkeled for the first time together in the Keys and had lot of a food after. Hiked Franconia Notch and waterfalls at Ricketts Glen State park.....and yes, you guessed it, we ate a lot after) Raj 1, Dosa 1

It doesn't take much to impress Madhuri. His cooking alone has swooned her over. If there's a plan to get massages together, Madhuri is ready to head out with her shoes on. Raj also packs hiking backpacks really well, Madhuri stays well hydrated with electrolytes on all hikes thanks to his expert packing skills. He also is very thoughtful in his gifts. Raj 2, Dosa 1

Madhuri has tried to slice garlic the way Raj does, but that definitely did not impress him. So she pursued the route of driving him around anywhere he would like to go, including late night cravings for cheesecake or baklava. She also loves to plan trips. She decided to join him on his races too. More importantly, she eats everything he makes and I think he likes that the most. Raj 3 Dosa 1 Madhuri 1

Since it's a COVID world and Madhuri's parents are in NJ and Raj's parents are in India, we had to take the offer up on a group video call. The families instantly liked each other on how excited there will be a wedding, how big the wedding should be, how many outfits each person will get to wear and for the men, how much alcohol there can be at the events.

Shouldn't engagement be a surprise? Well, in our culture, an engagement is a set of religious rituals to bring both families along with the to-be-married couple together. Rings are exchanged (yes, the guy also gets a ring!). And it's a beginning to start thinking about when the wedding will be. Ours was on October 16th, 2021. Catch some glimpses in the photos section