Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim
“Its been 26 months since we got married and to this day we live like that movie, Ek Tha Tiger, always hiding and running,” said 30-year-old Ravindra Bhartiya on Valentine’s Day. Ravi and his wife Shilpa Bhartiya (28) were invited to speak at a seminar of inter-caste and inter-faith couples in the city and shared their life experiences, having married against the wishes of their families.
The couple show no outward signs of fear or apprehension even though Shilpa’s family and community are after their blood.
I belong to the Darbar Community, which is a higher caste whereas Ravi belongs to the scheduled caste.
Fate and Fake Facebook Accounts
The couple met on Facebook in 2013 through fake profiles. Shilpa, who was new to social media, assumed Ravi was a girl, and Ravi was under the impression that Shilpa was a boy. This initial confusion, however, didn’t stand in the way.
It started with arguments over tagging each other in hundreds of pictures on Facebook, to later revealing their true identities to each other. By then, almost one-and-a-half years had passed since the couple had known each other online, but they had still not met face-to-face.
Eventually, Shilpa proposed to Ravi, trusting her instincts; Ravi was matter-of-fact in explaining their situation.
I told her that if you love me then you should marry me. Life is not easy with me once we get married. I do not have money or a decent roof to keep you under. She understood the situation the day we finally met each other. But her determination did not waver.
A Life on the Run
Six months after meeting for the very first time, things deteriorated when he became embroiled in a political clash with a local leader in Surendranagar district, who happened to be of the same caste as his soon-to-be wife. He said:
We got married a month later. I drove for 1,200 kms to pick her up from her home on my bike and brought her to Ahmedabad where we got married. Her family and neighbours think that I married her to insult her community. But that is not true.
He added, “We have not told anyone where we live, what we do or how we sustain ourselves. We do not know whether we will wake up to see the sun the next day, whether someone is keeping watch outside our door. But it doesn’t matter. We love each other and that keeps us together and strong.”
Ultimately, they feel the risks are worth it. Shilpa said:
All these tensions do not matter. As long as we are together, we are happy and we love each other.
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