Because we have been sold the idea that it's the man that will sweep us off our

feet and
then go down on his knee and ask us out.

Or it's the guy who will come over first and use a cheesy pick-up line, make us giggle,
before he asks us out on a date.

For 24 years of my life, I never approached a guy first.

When I did approach a guy, it was after a lot of coaxing.

Here is how it unfolded -

January 2015.

My friends and I were on a trip to Gokarna, a beautiful beach town in India's Karnataka.

We were two girls and two boys.

The first day of our trip, by about 11 pm, our guy friends were exhausted and decided to call
it a day. So they went off to sleep.

The two of us, we decided to stay outside at the sitting area of the shack which had the
gorgeous sea view. We couldn't really see anything so late in the night. But there was the
gentle breeze and the calming rhythm of waves crashing on the shore to give us company.

At one point, I saw a good looking guy entering the beach shack. Thought nothing of it.

After a few minutes, my friend spoke.

“Hey, cute guy, he is walking out!” or something on those lines.

“Blue shorts right?” I asked smiling.

“Yes!” my friend said with excitement.

Both of us giggled like idiots.

“Go and talk to him!”. My friend suggests.

“Are you mad?”.

By this time, the guy was standing close to the waves. There were a bunch of guys sitting a
little behind him. He was standing alone.

“Look he is alone. Go and talk to him” my friend insists.

“No! And he is not alone. All those guys sitting behind him must be his friends. I am not
going.”

The conversation should have pretty much ended there.

But after a few minutes, he walks back to the shack. He then heads towards the television
where some people were watching a football match.

“Now he is not with his friends. Go talk to him. Get his number!”. My friend persisted again.

“You go and get his number for me” I said laughing.

“He is standing three feet away woman! Why should I get his number. Fine, I will go and tell
him my friend there thinks you are cute and wants your number”.

And she actually got up to walk towards him.

“Okay, wait, I'll go” I said.

Thinking a harmless 'hi' shouldn't be a big deal.

So I go up to him and strike a conversation.

“Hi, can I talk to you for a minute?” I tell him.

“Yeah, sure' he says.

Then I notice that he is really tanned and get confused about his nationality.

“You are an Indian right?” I blurt out.

He said yes.

“Nothing I think you are cute. What's your name” is the next thing that I say.

That's it, the conversation started flowing from there. So I took him to the table where my
friend was sitting.

Ensured that he knew he was dealing with journalists. My friend was a crime reporter at that
time, so we mentioned that.

She then probed him like she was my mom.

After which he asked me if I wanted to take a walk with him in the beach.

Sure I did!
And I'll never forget the night sky of that night. I saw three shooting stars. He saw more.

We definitely didn't make any wishes.

But our walk and talk lasted till almost four am!

Well, long story short - we ended up seeing each other.

CUT TO 2019 - We got married.