It's funny, Raju and Monica have traveled in the same circles for years, but never met. In fact, they were both board members of the same non-profit organization called Young Jains of America. When asked Monica reflects, "To be honest, I think our story unfolded exactly the way it was supposed to. Had we met earlier, we may not have clicked the way we did".

Raju had been living in England and Monica had been living in Seattle. Raju normally comes back to the US for a month or so every year. He would always try and time his trips so he could hit multiple events. One of the events for his summer 2005 trip was the biennial Jain conference. JAINA was held in San Francisco during July 4th weekend 2005, but these two sweethearts didn't have the opportunity to meet. Raju did manage to meet quite a few of Monica's really good friends, and Monica met several of Raju's, even managed to meet his cousin from England who was attending the conference. A few weeks later, Raju had a business trip in Seattle. Being the resourceful guy that he is, he looked up Jains in the local Seattle area and came across Monica's name. He contacted her to see if she wanted to get together for dinner.

"Is this a date?", Monica asks. "No," Raju replies. He's simply networking to expand his Jain contacts. However, sparks were definitely flying during dinner. The chemistry was intense as the two of them were definitely able to keep the other engaged in conversation. They ended up discussing solar energy and Hira Ratan Manek, and in a futile attempt tried to watch the sun set in Seattle (of course those familiar with Seattle know that the clouds can often hide a beautiful sunset). During this sun gazing, Raju coincidentally found out, it was Monica's birthday the next day. Raju used his suave skills and managed to take Monica to a grocery store and then back to her place to bake her a birthday pie.

Mind you, this wasn't a date. =)

The truth was that Monica didn't really have any plans for her birthday, and after celebrating quite a few birthdays alone in Leeds, I didn't want her to feel that way, wouldn't want anyone to feel that way. So it still wasn't a date. Just some good conversation, and a bit of pie baking. ;)

The next day, Raju left Seattle but he called Monica to wish her a happy birthday. The day after that, they talked again. Quickly, a pattern developed and the two would spend hours on the phone every day.

Roundabout late September things were getting a bit out of hand for me, we were talking everyday but we weren't even boyfriend & girlfriend. So I had to put the breaks on this phone thing. I told Monica, "you can't really get to know someone over the phone" and told her not to expect much the next time we met up. After all, why let her have any false impressions?

This guy was giving me mixed signals! Why would he say he can't get to know someone over the phone and then continuously chat with me on the phone every day? I don't have time for these games!

They continued to talk on the phone daily despite the breaks Raju tried to pull and the mixed signals Monica tried to avoid. However, there was no clear indication on where their new friendship would lead to. Finally they met again in October at the Young Jains Professional conference in DC. To keep it short, during the conference, no one else seemed to exist. The two of them were in their own world. Raju even introduced Monica to his parents that weekend.

It's amazing how a few small gestures can make a world of difference. I will forever remember her sneaking me a bag of goodies from one of my favorite places in DC, Sticky Fingers Bakery.

The goodies were a thank you gift because he took me to a garba the night before. However, I was really nervous that the gesture would scare him off because again, we hadn't talked about "us" yet.

The two of them thoroughly enjoyed each other's company the entire weekend. After the weekend, the daily phone conversations picked up again. Raju casually invited Monica to visit in England since she had a business trip in China and the Middle East.

Okay, enough of the game playing. First this guy tells me he can't get to know me over the phone. Then he introduces me to his parents. Then he invites me to visit him. I decided enough of the mixed signals and I had to be upfront and honest with him. I told him I was only going to come out and visit him if he was seriously interested in exploring the possibility of this relationship actually going somewhere.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of all this. Here this girl, who has two business trips in China and the Mid-East is making a trip to come out and see me. Are we just friends, cause it's a lot of flying for just friends? Are we more, cause we didn't establish a relationship the last I checked? I was so confused...

So finally they had a serious conversation... Raju had planned to travel around Scandinavia at the end of October with 4 of his buddies. Before he left Raju & Monica decided to see each other again and she would spend a week with him in England in November. It was there that he realized he had fallen for this chica. So instead of partying it up with his mates and the Swedish and Norweigien beauties that the cold lands are famous for, he was doing something else that he was enjoying much much more, im'ing with Monica. They were both extremely excited for Monica's upcoming visit.

I was so nervous the entire first few hours. I didn't know what to expect, and I really wanted to make a good impression. All I think I conveyed was that I had OCD.

The November trip sealed the deal. It was then that the two admitted they had truly fallen for each other. Now one may wonder how these two individuals could come to any conclusion with only a few personal encounters. However, the saying is true, "When you know, you know". The rest is history! Check out the Events link to see what Raju and Monica have been up to since November.

I've never felt more confident about any other decision. I've always known exactly what I wanted. I wanted someone who intellectually challenges me, who values family relationships, who has diverse interests and above all, someone who I can simply kick back and laugh with. Raju is all those things and more. Our values align with each other, we're extremely compatible and frankly speaking, I honestly believe we were meant to be because everything feels so right. I couldn't be happier.

For the first time I feel like I belong. With Monica everything feels right, when I hear her laugh, it makes me feel happy, when I see her smile, my heart glows, and when I look into her eyes, I can see my future. She compliments me where I'm weak, and makes me a better person (though sometimes I don't want to admit it to her). I'm really excited about my future.