Last year, a photo from an Indian wedding went viral. And, the reason why it was so vastly shared across the internet was the fact that we don’t encounter many weddings where the husband touches the feet of the wife as a part of the rituals.
If you remember, we are talking about the wedding of Diipa Khosla, which happened last year. Recently Diipa shared her heart-touching love story and why the couple indulged in small stepping acts to ensure they create an equal marriage. Here’s their heartwarming story shared with HoB:
“We met at university in Amsterdam. It was my first day and I was kind of lost. Oleg was the first person I met there– he was the student body president. When he spoke to me, I immediately felt that ‘spark’– but all the while I was thinking, ‘Shit, I’m in a hoodie!’
We only got 6 months together at Uni, since he was in his final year. We only met in the dining hall or when we bumped into each other on campus. There was always this slight flirtatiousness, but we didn’t act on it. After he left university, we weren’t in touch and only wished each other on birthdays.
Further adding how she realized that he was the one, Diipa mentioned:
Then 5 years later, he replied to my birthday wish, and said, ‘If you’re ever in Amsterdam, let’s get a meal.’ I was in London at the time and didn’t say ‘yes’ immediately. He had a ‘bad boy’ vibe at Uni, so I made him wait for 6 months after which we finally met for dinner.
And as soon as I saw him, all those butterflies came rushing back. It was a perfect night– we spoke, laughed and just…connected. He even remembered what I was wearing that first day on campus, despite meeting over 2000 students! It was our first date, but I knew he was the one.
While further adding the details of how their wedding was the perfect mix of cultures.
Our wedding was the perfect mix of European and Indian culture! I still remember, a few months before, my mom ran Oleg and I through all the ceremonies of an Indian wedding. When the part of the woman touching the man’s feet came up, our immediate response was, ‘Why just the woman?’ So at the wedding, Oleg touched my feet and I, his. We even adopted each other’s surnames; Oleg is Oleg Büller-Khosla, and I couldn’t be prouder to be Diipa Büller-Khosla!”
But these decisions weren’t so simple. Even after being aware of their act of showing mutual respect may not be approved by many uncles and aunties, the couple still went ahead with it. Last year, this is what Diipa shared on her Instagram:
“A few months before the wedding, when my mother told us about all the steps and beautiful ceremonies of the Indian wedding, there was one contentious point: the touching of the man’s feet at the completion of the Indian Wedding ceremony.
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“Why is only the woman to touch the man’s feet?”, we asked. “Why not both touch each other’s feet in mutual respect?” Mom’s shocked large eyes gave away her thoughts about what people might say if Oleg was to touch my feet in return. All the aunties and uncles…wouldn’t they disapprove?
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Though Mom’s traditional Indian background did not allow her to be sure about this being a good thing, we were sure. We would both touch each other’s feet in mutual respect from woman to man, and from man to woman. From a wife to her husband, and from a husband to his wife.
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As we also decided to adopt, out of that same mutual respect, each other’s surnames. As from today onwards we are Oleg Büller-Khosla and Diipa Büller-Khosla. (whether it would be Büller first or Khosla first was still a discussion, but I let him have that one:))♥️
This is just a reminder of how marriages are changing for good. At IFORHER, we wish the couple a great happy married life ahead and hope many more couples will strive hard to build their marriages equal.