Hello Everyone!
IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!
You may be asking “What do you mean”? Well, you may know about the covid crisis in India and Nepal, right? My uncle, Nishraj, finally got married during this covid crisis to the love of his life Sujata Aunty! Sujata Aunty is a famous singer in Nepal and taught music for a while. This is a long story so you better get comfy. I have known Nishraj Uncle ever since I was eight turning nine. He came from Nepal as he wanted to be a Medical Doctor. I didn’t know him that well but got to know him as he stayed in our house with his friend to study and try to get his residency spot. He went for interviews in different places in the United States and would come back to our house every once in a while. He was very funny, played with me and also sang well and played guitar. In May 2018, he got a residency position to do his medical training at Michigan State University in East Lansing. It was kind of a shame that he didn’t get a position in Wisconsin but luckily we had family friends in East Lansing so we were able to see him often. When he was moving to Michigan, we went with him on the road to Michigan to drop him and visit some friends. Uncle moved into an apartment and would stay there until he would graduate. We visited him often and sometimes he would come to our place. Whenever he went to Nepal, he would bring our family goodies and would pick up presents from our relatives. Soon, he became a part of the family. He visited us for thanksgiving holidays, Festivals such as Dashain, Diwali, or sometimes just a short visit over the weekend.
In 2019, Nishraj uncle told us the big news that he got engaged! I was excited but a little emotional that now he was going to change. But that was fine. He had a long-distance relationship with his Fiancee as she lived in Nepal but they were planning on getting married in 2021 June. In June, he was going to Nepal to get married, unfortunately, on the bride’s side, many family members got sick with Covid. Uncle came to our house as his flight to Nepal was from Chicago. Then came the news about a serious COVID infection of the bride’s dad. Uncle was stressed about everything that was happening in his life. I always overheard him on the phone with the airline company about canceling his ticket to Nepal. I felt sorry for him. But finally, after a week of uncertainty, he decided to go to Nepal. We wished him luck and hoped that everything would be okay. The next day, we received news that his soon-to-be father-in-law had sadly passed away due to COVID. It was a total disaster. We were in shock and really sad. That would mean the wedding would be delayed. Sujata Aunty was in shock and was really sad that a person she looked up to was now gone. But the panditji ( Hindu religious leader)said that they could have their wedding at the beginning of July. They had to have a small ceremony with close family members outside in a place. They exchanged rings, garlands and had Hindu wedding rituals on July 2. Then they went to court and filed papers for marriage. Later, they got a visa from the American embassy to come to the USA as a married couple. We tried to facetime uncle as much as we could but mostly I was asleep. On July 30th, Uncle and Aunty came to the United States. I was nervous to meet them as my uncle would be a different man from now on and they had to quarantine. I had to open the door for them but luckily they were fully vaccinated. The new aunty was nice and uncle didn’t even change. The good news was…THEY GOT US GIFTS! I was grateful for that but mostly grateful that Uncle and Aunty were okay and overcame a very serious problem. Uncle and Aunty are currently in our house and going to Michigan in a couple of days. The day after they came, we did a welcoming ritual to aunty to welcome them to the family. We gave the newlyweds gifts. It was fun having them over and it was good to know aunty. I wish all the best to the newlyweds and to have a happy life together!