[2010-2012] Shalmli would visit Pune every 2 years during her summer breaks. She usually stayed with her Aunt & Uncle, who were neighbors and best friends with Rohit’s Aunt & Uncle! In 2010, the two families went on a trip to Mahabaleshwar (see “Things To Do in Pune” tab), where Shalmli and Rohit spent some time together. But it was not until Shalmli’s next trip in 2012 when Rohit first took her out for coffee. She didn’t want a serious relationship then as they were young, and Rohit’s plans for moving to the US were not yet finalized. [2012-2016] Despite being two very different people, their overseas conversations remained endless and an exciting part of their lives. And so in December 2012, when Rohit asked Shalmli once again to be his girlfriend, she agreed to what ended up being 4 years of a long-distance relationship - possible only because of their supportive & hopeful natures. In 2015, Shalmli flew solo to Pune to surprise Rohit (they tend to surprise each other a LOT, even now) for a short 12 day visit. The following summer, Rohit made his first trip to the US! [2017-Present] Jan 2017, Shalmli was in her final semester at UConn for undergrad, when Rohit finally moved to Syracuse, NY for his Master’s degree. This put an end to the struggles of poor cell-service, time-difference, and overseas distance. Soon after when Rohit moved to Boston for work, Shalmli was in the depths of medical school studying. But now just a 2-hr drive apart, they prioritized meeting each other on free weekends to enjoy all the Northeast has to offer - their favorites include NYC pizza-crawls & bar-hops, beach picnics at the Cape, visiting Mt. Washington every season (winter WINS), coming home to Stamford to decompress, and sharing laughs with some amazing friends. Their most recent trip was to New Orleans, with hopes of more travels soon! Until then, they have their cat Maira to train, Insta-pot recipes to master, and careers that will be taking exciting turns in upcoming months.

Last October, Shalmli and Rohit had gone on their annual autumn trip to White Mountains in New Hampshire. On Saturday, October 10th, they needed to leave the mountains by noon as Shalmli had a shift at the hospital at 5pm. Rohit somehow convinced Shalmli and her type-A self to let him plan Saturday morning (and the entire trip). She drove them to the last destination planned to see before heading back – Artist’s Bluff, where Rohit had initially planned on proposing. However, Artist’s Bluff is a viewpoint reached by hiking up quite a vertical hill. So for their friends Rohan and Radhika who separately drove up that morning, carrying a luggage bag with all the proposal décor was not an easy feat. Instead, Rohan and Radhika quickly called up Shalmli’s best friend Piyusha, who mentioned Shalmli’s love for beach proposals – and luckily enough, Echo Lake Beach was right in front of the planned hike. So while Shalmli was driving that morning, Rohit was a) writing his speech that he did not use and b) coordinating with Rohan and Radhika about the change in plan just before losing service. Around 9am, Shalmli and Rohit reached Echo Lake Beach, where they walked to the end to find a beach picnic set up with her favorite fruits, macarons, and champagne. Despite the hurdles from that morning and months leading to it when plans A-C didn't work out for various reasons, Rohit’s proposal was a successful surprise! They then hiked up to Artist’s Bluff for an even windier, beautiful view where they squeezed in a quick photoshoot (image above). This day marked the beginning of a new journey for them, and their families – one to be celebrated with you all soon!