Camera: Abhishek Ranjan, Vatsala Singh
Video Editor: Kunal Mehra
Valentine’s Day is almost here and don’t we just love romantic stories. From a meet-cute romance in Maine Pyar Kiya to a full blown drama in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, we’ve seen it all.
‘Kabootar’ or pigeons, once central to the plot of our favourite love stories, have been replaced by cabbies. Without them, modern day love stories (or anything, really) will be quite incomplete. They pick us up and drop us to our dates. This year too, they will be busy playing cupid.
But have you ever wondered what are their love stories like? RJ Stutee decided to get chatty with the cabbie bhaiyas. She asked them their stories of how they found their significant others. Have they even found their true love yet? Did love happen before or after marriage? Did they also have to face the wrath of ‘bauji’? What is it that they love about their better halves, and the things they have done to sustain their relationship even after so many years.
What we found was quite surprising, and heartwarming to say the least.
Pankaj Nagar knows that 14 February is Valentine’s Day. On being asked what it means to him, he said it’s a day to when you give a rose to your wife or your girlfriend. Pankaj, who has been married to his wife for eight years, met her at his brother’s wedding. “I told my brother about her, who in turn, told his wife. The two played cupid and spoke to my wife, and six months later, we were married,” he said.
Cabbie Om Prakash, who had a love marriage, oldly doesn’t believe in Valentine’s Day. He has been married for 15 years. “My wife taught in the school where I was a driver,” he said. Feeling a little shy, he adds, “She fell for me and proposed to me. Maine OK kar diya.”
Their families opposed their marriage, but the two rebelled and got married.
Parvez knows about Valentine’s Day, but doesn’t know when it is celebrated. For him and his wife, the day hardly mean much. His parents picked his life partner, and he loves her dearly. They have been married for three years now.
Even though he didn’t choose his wife, he never thought of loving anyone else. “I fell in love with her simplicity,” he said. He has driven her wife all around Delhi, showing her every corner of the city. From Qutub Minar to Lotus Temple, they have explored everything together.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)