It was a beautiful day 21 years ago. So Ustat went out for a drive with his friends, to a place called SAYA where a friend was taking an SAT class. Since there’s never parking in Queens, NY, they did what studious teenage boys do while waiting. They blasted Dil Chahta Hai music & danced on the street on Ustat’s convertible! He then saw Promita walk up with her friend & everything changed. It was like a Hindi movie - Promita looked at Ustat and their eyes met. He just couldn’t stop staring at her. He knew he had to get to know this girl. So he did what any guy would do. He signed up for that SAT class, sat right next to her & pretended to learn! He spent the rest of the year in those after-school classes and basically anywhere she was. That was the best New Year of his life, too. Promita wore her Sweet-16 lehenga & they spent the night dancing away at his parents house. They built lifetime memories together from hanging out all over NYC & Chinatown, first job interviews, sneaking into concerts, driving lessons, setting up events for South Asian rights – the list goes on. He was head over heels for Promita and just mesmerized by her smarts, fun loving personality & passion for social justice. After high school, they started at different colleges, but destiny reunited them when Promita transferred to Stony Brook. Even then, Ustat never got the nerve to tell her he was in love with her. More time passed & they eventually lost touch. But he never forgot about her. Neither did the universe, since it continued to bring them back together year after year on her birthday. About 4 years ago, they ran into each other again. This time they spent the whole night talking about their dreams and aspirations. It was then that Ustat knew he had a second chance to get his girl. So he finally confessed his feelings and asked her if she’s free Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday… you get the idea. That grew into a love story where he can’t see another day without her in it!

The year was 2000, so how do we describe a 21-year long love story in a few words? It was a new century, a new decade & a new day for U & P to officially meet! As Promita & her friend walked up for SAT class at a place called South Asian Youth Action, that’s when she first saw him. Ustat & his boys were dancing on top of his really cool car to really loud Bollywood music from the movie Dil Chata Hai. Being a young social justice activist AND dancer, Pro didn’t know whether to be annoyed at their disruption, or to be impressed by their dance moves. She also wondered why Ustat kept staring at her, did her hair look that bad? She snapped out of her Hindi filmy dreams & politely asked the boys to leave. Ustat quickly followed her in, sat right next to her & said he actually needed her help in studying together. The rest was history. They became best friends, to the point where Ustat would leave early from his own high school just to walk Promita home from hers. He would meet her anywhere from protests at rallies, to eating noodles in Chinatown, to teaching her how to drive or dance the night away at his parent’s New Years party! Shortly after their early college years, they lost touch. But she never forgot about him. As destiny would have it, they kept bumping into each other again, year after year, always on her birthday. After staying up all night laughing under the stars & catching up next to a bonfire, Promita never spent another birthday without him since. For them, it was a second chance with ‘the one that got away’. Their friendship fell into love. On their first real date, Ustat took Promita dancing with the elderly at a senior center. In the same year, they visited 4 countries, 10 cities & even lived across the world from each other. They went from wedding crashing to wedding planning. They care for their parents & cats together. I think it’s safe to say that these two long time friends have come a long way to finally take their love to the next adventure!

Ustat swept Promita away on a surprise trip to the land of sun showers, rainbows, crystal clear water, butterflies, palm trees & a cool ocean breeze surrounded by the most majestic sunsets you ever laid eyes on. Yep, it was Hawaii! Ustat somehow planned this beautiful surprise proposal for Promita flawlessly... he even rented a private beach just for that day! As he approached the special spot with Promita, what was waiting for them was a Hawaiian Ukulele player, a hidden photographer and everything from rose petals, purple orchids and pink champagne! The Ukelele player was singing and jamming some of her favorite acoustic songs from Jason Mraz to John Legend. In celebrating the biggest YES of their lives, they danced to their personal concert on the beach, had a beautiful photo shoot and then dried up their happy tears as Ustat had more surprises to come! He took her out for a romantic Michelin star French dinner overlooking the ocean, which was followed by a sweet surprise from their hotel staff who set up some chocolate covered strawberries and wine! That day was absolute Magic, and by far, the best time of their lives. The rest of their time celebrating their engagement was full of happy, simple moments appreciating their full-circle journey, Face-timing their Mom's, writing their names on the sand and counting their blessings with every beautiful Hawaiian sunrise. Let’s just say their wedding day and honeymoon has some huge competition!