Team Work to make the Dream Work

Restaurateur Rahul Madaan and his significant half, the lovely lifestyle blogger cum IT professional Shragvee Shukla Madaan, are all about grounding romance with realism; their together vows with practical hard work and retaining their individuality, all for the sake of a stronger unit

Most people discover ground realities and the nitty gritties of problem-solving after marriage. Not so this young couple even as they planned out their nuptials right down to the last detail all in the backdrop of a partial reopening of public life in the pandemic.

The hotel staff watched awestruck as Rahul and Shragvee took charge-from the décor to the flowers to the food and the niceties of serving guests to ensuring each attendee had a lovely time. As if that were not enough, they even designed their own outfits for the wedding. Amidst all this, they gamely took in the rough and tumble of bringing together two vastly different families-Shragvee’s conservative brahmin family all the way from Allahabad with Rahul’s fun-loving, party-hearty Punjabi family in a carefully planned wedding ceremony in their current base-Pune.

The wedding was the culmination of an intense and uncertain lockdown period but they were in it together.

“We didn’t really realise it at the time, but we worked great together when it came to problem-solving, pooling together resources and planning for the wedding as well as the road ahead. Covid had thrown all our plans out of gear-just as it had for millions of others the world over. Yet, we managed. And learnt that we had done a great job together,” she says.

In short, the quintessential millennial couple: practical, fun-loving and happy to share responsibilities together.

BACK TO THE BEGINNING

This love story was first scripted in 2019 when Shragvee-who was then running a PR company along with her blog-got in touch with Rahul over Instagram in order to ask him if he needed marketing help for his restaurant in Pune’s Vimanagar. The conversation seemed to progress seamlessly-from professional to personal turf. Rahul was going through a low patch in his personal life and Shragvee was the proverbial silent and supportive listener. From the get-go, there was much to bind them together: a mutual love of lifestyle and fashion, a taste for the finer things in life, a systematic approach to doing things not to forget a fondness for passion, people and socialising. Plus, both were in their early 30s and had seen their bit of life and relationships. “As we began to spend more time together, I told him bluntly that I was done with dating and wasting time-I was in a space where I was looking for the right person to commit to, someone who would accept me as I was and who wasn’t intimidated by a strong, self-made woman,” shares Shragvee.

Rahul asked for time to think it over. When he did, he decided that there was a strong chance at success and making it work. “So, even though we didn’t marry straight away, it was all about getting to know each other seriously with an intention towards marriage,” he says. “What I love about her is her helpful, non-judgmental manner, the fact that she is so humble and compassionate. She is also practical and solution-oriented. Great qualities in a life partner to be sure!

While his parents were liberal and open for an intercultural marriage, it was a first for Shragvee’s traditional family from Allahabad. “It wasn’t quite the done thing to marry outside one’s community. Yet, I assured them that unless they gave me their blessings, I wouldn’t take things ahead,” says Shragvee.

Unto that end, an elaborate meeting had been planned at Rahul’s parents’ home on the day her father and brother were scheduled to arrive in Pune.

Together through thick and thin, Rahul and Shragvee

But by a strange quirk of fate, instead of proceeding to his parental home, they landed up at Shragvee’s home-to find Rahul and Shragvee chilling out together. “They were simply amazed by the level of comfort and informality between us two and remarked that evidently, we had spent enough time together; we had to go ahead and get married,” smiles Shragvee.

Since her family was in town, both sides decided on a short and sweet roka or engagement ceremony.

Plans were made for a fun wedding in Goa along the beach with jet skis and other trappings of a sun-kissed destination. However, that’s when the pandemic happened, and the Prime Minister announced a junta curfew.

Everyone knows what followed: a long lockdown and never-before uncertainty. “Work was hard to come by; Rahul’s family restaurant had to be shut. It was a hard time for us all. But the silver lining of it all was that I loved my future-in-laws and we got to spend quality time together,” she says.

As the days went by with no sight of the virus letting up anytime soon, Rahul’s parents invited Shragvee to come and live with them. “Though it was quite the unconventional move-moving in with the in-laws before shaadi-we got to know each other. Above all, they have accepted me for myself,” she says.

Given that the pandemic wasn’t going away anytime soon, they decided to go ahead and formally tie the knot albeit in Pune itself.

Life is hectic but happy even as the young couple juggle multiple work profiles-she’s now working for Capgemini apart from blogging whilst he’s restarting his restaurant Punjabi Dhaba apart from being a professional poker player. What gives them the peace and the energy to take on the rough and tumble of assorted professions is that the cornerstone of their relationship is acceptance of the other. That, and retaining a core independence and trust in each other. “I love that I can be myself with her,” says Rahul. “We are often apart these days thanks to my travel for my Poker games. And yet, there is no recrimination simply understanding and participative joy from her ends. That’s why compatibility counts.”

Conflict management is simple and straightforward as both believe in talking things out. “Simply saying sorry and refusing to confront the heart of the problem will not resolve matters. One must communicate clearly and regularly and speak one’s mind. In fact, talking to each other is quite simply our idea of spending quality time together-over cups of coffee and a snack.”

THE MANTRAS OF MARRIAGE

• Acceptance
• Trust
• Communication
• Retaining one’s core independence

BRINGING UP BABY-NOT JUST YET

“We both believe in giving ourselves fully to whatever we have taken on that particular day,” they say. “Parenthood is a huge responsibility; as of this moment, there’s lots we have to discover and achieve together,” they round off.