In a country, where a woman is defined by her looks, it isn’t surprising that most of our countrymen still decide on their life partners based on their physical appearance.
But there are few who don’t fall for the skin. For them, a relationship is more about a deeper connection. And those are the brave souls, who have shown us what True Love looks like.
Here is the love story of one such brave couple, who has given a new definition to love altogether.
Lalitha’s face was severely disfigured in 2012 when her own cousin threw acid on her after a minor argument. Though many find acid attack survivors as undesirable, when Ravi met her, he chose to look beyond these scars.
While recalling how he fell in love with Lalitha, Ravi shared with HoB:
“I was working at a bank, when I got a call.
The girl on the phone asked to speak to my mother… I told her that it was the wrong number, because my mom was living in my village, but I asked her if I could help her reach the right person. She immediately responded saying ‘Sorry, bhaiya’ and cut.
So I called her back to ask who it was… after that, I didn’t stop thinking about her.
So 15 days later, I called that number again. This time, I just wanted to get to know her a little. And slowly, we started talking every day. In about a month’s time, she said to me, ‘I don’t think you should call me again.’ I didn’t know what she meant. So the next day, when I called her to ask her for an explanation.
That’s when she told me — her face was burnt.
My immediate response was, ‘So what?’ She warned me that I’d be scared if I saw her, but I assured her that I wasn’t that kind of a man.
I made the decision — I took a friend along with me, and went to her village. We finally met.
When I went to her house, she took off her dupatta and I saw her for the first time. I’m not going to act like a hero and say it didn’t affect me. It did.
I was afraid at first, but then I saw her smile… I realised that there was no one else I could marry.
She later explained what happened to her. Before 5 years, she got into an argument with her cousin.
He said ‘you’re so arrogant! I’ll throw acid on your face!’
She brushed it off as a joke, but months later, he returned. One morning, when she was walking out — he came out of nowhere, pulled her hair and threw acid on her.
She stood there, burning… she was immediately rushed to the hospital.
Treatments lead her to Mumbai where she started working at Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation and finally to me.
People warned me and asked, ‘how will you manage?’, ‘How will you show off your new bride?’
I just wanted them to let love be, so I simply smiled, because I knew that none of what people said mattered — it was her and me.
So, you can’t always foresee where and how you will find ‘the one’. They don’t have to look stunning in someone else’s eyes. They just have to keep your heart beating and you know.
You just know that this is the greatest gift you could ever ask for — our son and her are the greatest gifts I could have ever dreamt of.
This girl, who is so inspiring, honest and kind is also the most beautiful girl I’ve met…because I’ve seen her heart and that’s all that matters. She’s made for me.”
