" In was in March 2009. I was browsing Facebook idly when I notice this tiny thumbnail image of a boy wearing a striking red t-shirt. My evolutionary instincts were piqued by the color red of his t-shirt and I clicked on this tiny thumbnail image to see whose picture this was. I saw Deepak Kashyap's profile in more detail. His t-shirt was from Aeropostale -- a brand that hasn't entered India yet. To my mind, this indicated the possibility that this boy must have travelled abroad to some country where he must have bought this t-shirt. Deepak himself -- a boy of only 22 at the time -- looked beautiful and intriguing. His profile revealed that he was a student of Psychology -- the same field of study that I pursued for almost four years in my undergraduate years. 

 

Young, attractive, handsome boy, perhaps well-travelled, studying Psychology -- I couldn't resist. So I sent him a friend's request. At the time, I learnt that he was residing in Delhi. Soon after I sent him the friend's request, he accepted the request and messaged me on Facebook. We quickly got to exchanging several messages in a day and, as luck would have it, he was already planning a trip to Mumbai for some work.

 

We were destined to meet. 

 

The first time we met, I had travelled to a far north suburb of Bombay where he was staying. We met at the entrance gate of a mall. My first impression when I looked at him was a confirmation about how handsome he really was -- and then a positive assessment of his light and breezy demeanour, a quick note of his bright and gleeful eyes behind his glasses, and an implicit appreciation for his overall optimistic sense of life. 

 

We walked over to a restaurant for dinner -- where we spent hours in fluid and easy conversation about all things, politics, religion, beliefs, family, love, relationships, gay rights, and much more. I knew even much before that evening ended that I had to have this boy in life.

 

That's how we first met."