People
Made in Heaven, They Say: Asees Weds Harpreet
by ROSALIE R. RADOMSKY
Asees Kaur Sethi, 26, was, until last year, a public affairs consultant at GPlus Europe, a consultancy in Brussels. She graduated magna cum laude from George Washington and received a master's in politics and government of the European Union from the London School of Economics.
Harpreet Singh Anand, 28, is a Vice President at the New York investment firm Oak Hill Advisers. He covers the automotive, mining and aerospace industries. He graduated with high distinction from the University of Michigan.
Asees, daughter of Ravinder and Khiven Singh Sethi of Pasadena (California, U.S.A.), was married to Harpreet, son of Amarjit Kaur and Inderjit Singh Anand of Huntington (New York, U.S.A.), on Saturday, December 11, 2010.
The couple first came to know one another in May 2009 by way of a mysterious e-mail - a contact arranged by their fathers. The matchmaking had been set off by a friend of Asees' family, who had heard that she would be returning from Belgium and who also knew that Harpreet's family had a suitable son.
Up until then, the couple had been completely in the dark. "I was going through my work e-mails," Harpreet said. "I saw the word ‘matrimonial,' and I almost fell off my chair. My father wrote a biography and attached pictures of me, and had already sent it off to her dad."
The covert matchmaking irritated Harpreet. He forwarded the e-mail to his brother, and deleted the original. But his brother urged a closer look.
Harpreet was pleasantly surprised to discover that Asees was attractive. He resolved to get in touch with her, but not without firmly, but respectfully, advising his parents to stay out of it.
Asees, still in Brussels, learned of the arrangements from her father. At first she, Harpreet, was annoyed and said that she told her father, "A, that I don't like sending pictures around because it's superficial; and B, it was an unattractive one at that."
The couple told each other that they would humor their families by meeting in New York for coffee during her next visit that July. "We can still do the right thing and tell our parents we met and didn't like each other," she recalled telling him. And yet they kept in touch constantly.
By July, when Harpreet picked her up at the airport, with flowers, he was "in awe," he said.
She added, "When things are supposed to happen, they pop into your life, and you have to go for it."
[Courtesy: New York Times]
December 18, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), December 19, 2010, 4:11 PM.
What a lovely couple you make! In anticipation of more good things to come, here's a story! One precocious 'khotu' came home gushing from his kindergarten: "Papa, Mama, today we learnt in school how to make babies". Papa and Mama were rather concerned that it was a bit too early to start with the Birds and Bees, But the little khotu was in a hurry to share his newly acquired knowledge and helpfully explained - "Easy, you take Baby, remove 'y' and write 'ies' and that is how you make babies!" Happy New Year, and may your tribe increase. With lots of asees-es for both of you!
2: R. Singh (Canada), December 21, 2010, 7:33 AM.
What may seem as meddling is the only platform we have for introducing our kids to each other. Perhaps a much needed round-table on this topic is urgently called for?
3: Elisabeth Howard (Topanga, California, U.S.A.), December 23, 2010, 11:19 PM.
I am in awe of this beautiful couple and this romantic story of how these two gorgeous and wonderful people had the good fortune to meet and marry. I knew Asees all through her teen age years and always admired her beauty inside and out. The parents really knew what they were doing when they matched the bride and groom. I think we all ought to go back to the tradition of match-making. Who knows us better than our own parents? I am a firm believer that if the parents approve of the choice of their son or daughter, the marriage has a much better chance of succeeding. The opposite is true. We all want the approval of our parents even if we don't realize we do. And what's better than parents not only approving, but actually guiding the process? I send my love and congratulations on what I know will be a marriage that will last forever.