In class six Alekha Advani copied Aadar Jain’s answers in an exam. She flunked that paper, however, that one failure led to a successful love story. Aadar and Alekha were desk partners in schools; 20 years later they became life partners.

“She's the first girl I ever liked in my life; she's my first crush,” recalls Aadar. When Aadar left the Cathedral School a year later, as a leaver tradition, Alekha wrote: Life would be boring without you, on his shirt – a piece he still has with him. Life hopefully won’t be boring anymore for Alekha, as the lovebirds tied the knot last month.

“It is serendipity,” Aadar gushes. For the first time, the newlyweds, who have just returned from their mini moon in Maldives, open their house, and give us a glimpse of their newly married life and their love story. Excerpts of the interview as followed...

While they initially ached for an intimate wedding, Aadar and Alekha got hitched in a big fat Indian wedding. The wedding was widely publicized, with videos of Aadar’s cousins – Kareena Kapoor Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor – hitting the internet every day.

Talking about the wedding, Aadar mentions, “The wedding was very fun. It was a little stressful obviously. But it brought our families closer to one another. We're happy how the marriage went off because it's so beautiful, it was full of love.” Alekha adds, “It was a lot of time, hard work, and effort. It is so important for you and your partner to be on the same page because then things happen so seamlessly.”

Calling being married “surreal”, Aadar says, “It is amazing because she's my childhood friend. We have grown up together. Our families go back like 45 years. Her dad and my mom have known each other for years. It's amazing that you get to marry your best friend.” Alekha sitting right next to him quips, “It feels like one big sleepover.”

Talking about seeing each other as the bride and the groom for the first time, Alekha recalls, “It was very emotional. When I saw him it was just so natural that I gave him a (flying) kiss. My heart just felt so full. I had goosebumps and butterflies.”

Aadar chimes in, “It was beautiful. It was like 20 years in the making. Everything came together – all the beautiful moments in our lives, different phases in our life – that led us till that moment.”

“Love happened to us very unexpectedly, but in the most beautiful and organic way,” Aadar tells us. From being school mates, neighbors to finding solace in each other’s company – Aadar and Alekha were in each other’s peripheral vision, albeit as best friends and not companions.

“We aligned on so many levels – the way our families have brought us up. We've always known each other; she has always been my go-to person for anything and everything. She knows every single little detail about me, my life. Our values, our morals, the way we look at life, all align. I just knew immediately that this is the person I want to marry. I want to be with her,” Aadar explains.

He presses on serendipity again, as he adds, “This was meant to happen. We were both single out of long-term relationships, not looking for love and we just met and it so beautifully, organically happened like that. Love happens when you least expect it. We reconnected in a time when we were not looking for love.”