Swara Bhaskar Instagram – SWARA BHASKER & FAHAD AHMAD By @reallyswara ‘Wise men say, only fools rush in…’ Fahad & I certainly rushed into marriage, but were friends for 3 years prior. It was a love neither of us noticed blossoming, perhaps because the differences between us were many. Hindu-Muslim was only the most obvious. I’m older than Fahad & we come from different worlds: a big city girl from an ethnically mixed English speaking family & a small town boy from a traditional Western UP family that speaks Urdu & Hindustani. I’m an actress in Hindi films, he’s a research scholar, activist & politician. But our liberal arts education & values gave us a shared language of political beliefs & a common vision for our society & country. We met at the CAA-NRC protests in December 2019 & even organised one together. Slowly, we became close confidants. I felt safe with Fahad & always seen by him. He said he could talk to me about anything without fear of judgement. After months of intense communication & night long conversations, I asked Fahad what next. He said though we were worlds apart, we were very compatible, he was very fond of me & if I waited 2-3 years for him to ‘settle’ we could marry. I was stunned but also disarmed by his confidence & candour. I always thought I had gone beyond the log kya kahenge mentality, but suddenly, I was worrying about how family, friends, filmy acquaintances & even my ever loyal trolls would react. I had to face the secret shadows in my heart. Amazingly, Fahad could read my unspoken fears & we worked through them. Our families were concerned, but we stood by our love. Our shocked parents accepted our BIG decision, though hesitantly & after gently laying out concerns. When they met us together, I think they felt reassured. We were married under the SMA one year ago today. Fittingly, a relationship that began at a protest to preserve the Constitution was solemnised under constitutional provisions. A month later (I was pregnant by then), we celebrated at my nana-nani’s home with shared customs. There was lots of music, feasting & a Daawat-e-Walima. The joyous 10-day affair felt like a cultural mahotsav!