Two peas in a pod

“We were Master’s students in the same department at IIT Kanpur but never had the opportunity to interact with each other until we signed up for the counselling service core team. During the two months long preparation for the orientation program for the incoming batch, which was quite tenacious, we became really good friends. With time, I realized I felt differently when Gaurangi was around. I was quite confused about my feelings and didn’t want this confusion to hurt the genuineness of our friendship. So I eventually opened up my heart and told her how I felt. I wasn’t very sure it was love back then.

But over time, we got closer and our relationship started right around the time when the movie ‘2 states’ released; it was pretty coincidental since I am from Odisha and she’s from Rajasthan. After MTech, I moved to Bangalore for a job, while Gaurangi decided to pursue her PhD in the institute. Our routines and life diverged pretty drastically. I would chill with my friends and hang around after my work hours. For Gaurangi, it was quite different as there were no fixed hours for a PhD. I realized that it must have been difficult for her to face this all by herself as all of our friends had graduated. There was suddenly a void in her life to adjust to the same environment in a new way.

I tried my best to keep her company over calls and chats. People often say that couples grow apart in…