The concept of ‘soulmates’ was always a cliche for me; two people with similar interests and proclivities falling in love with each other and deciding to spend their whole lives together.
It was after I met Varun that my perception of a soulmate was entirely debunked.
Ours was a meet cute, Varun and I when I look back now. Travelling is so serendipitous. Well, it is for me. How else would I have met the father of my children? I had just boarded the bus from Delhi to Mcleodganj when along came a guy and sat right next to me. There was nothing exceptional about the guy until the moment he began to speak. Oh! he was a chatterbox, endlessly speaking, talking about a motley of stuff. He was well versed in a lot of things. Our conversation was more of a healthy debate. With him, I instantly got high on the conversation. I never liked small talk for an introvert that I am. Maybe that’s why I did not mind keeping my book away this once.
We parted our ways at the bus stop in Mcleodganj to each on our own. But it was impossible for the two travellers in a foreign land not to bump into each other again. So, we did. Later in the afternoon, I was sitting at the cafe reading my book. The cafe was a cosy place nestled amidst the mountains of mighty Dhauladhar ranges. There he was again. I waved at him and he joined me at the table. We resumed where we left from.
Talking to him, I realized that we were poles apart. He liked his coffee black, I liked my coffee milky. He was a party animal, I dreaded social gatherings. He was a realist, I was a dreamer. He was an MBA from IIM, I was an aspiring writer. At 25, he had had his life sorted while I was still struggling with my life. He was an atheist, well I an agnostic. “We will be a fatal combination if we ever get together”, he said. I chuckled. This was the only thing where I seconded him. He was right. We had NOTHING in common. Well, except two things.
First; we both were Mastercard holders. I noticed as he paid the bill with his Mastercard at the cafe. Second; We both were mountain people. There was something about the mountains that intrigued both of us. And it was mountains that made our impossible match a possible reality. We went out for a stroll in the mountains afterwards, having few more heated discussions on things like politics, and social issues, and the topic of love. Our conversations were endless. It was the heat of our arguments that was keeping us warm in the cold weather of Mcleodganj. Soon, it started to rain. To our luck, we found no shelter around. That is when he took out his jacket, pulled me closer, and got us under the cover. I was stumped with his sudden gesture. Our eyes met and we both could feel a spark. He was a romantic, I was not. Yet, it just took my ice-cold heart seconds to melt down.
It has been six years to that moment, and we are still together rocksolid. Yes, we still fight and have a difference of opinions, but that makes our relationship all the more interesting. Soulmates are not two people with similar tastes. There is compatibility even in the contrast. With the bizarre differences that we have in our personalities and perceptions, I doubted that we wouldn’t last long. Had it not been for that moment in Mcleodganj and the numerous escapades to mountains that followed afterwards, we would have not been together. Yes, he is from Mars, and I from Venus, but ours is definitely a match made in the mountains.
This is how Isha met Varun, her soulmate. #TravelTransforms people. There was nothing in common between them. Yet, their rendezvous in mountains was transformed into a beautiful relationship. Cute, isn’t it? Lucky are the ones who have a transformational story about a journey they took with someone. To read more such stories, check out Facebook Page of Mastercard.
