Marriage plans put on hold by coronavirus, lovebirds await end of pandemic

In September, a young man from Punjab's Gurdaspur district reached out to a woman in Pakistan's Karachi city. Not sure how Hindu festivals were celebrated there, he asked her how was her Janmashtami.

She explained and what started out of curiosity then soon turned into an innocent love.

They have regularly talked on Facebook since.

In November, Amit Sharma, 30, proposed to Summan RantiLal, 28, who said Yes.

As their love story flourished, overcoming the tyranny of the borders, the coronavirus pandemic struck and the plans for their marriage, initially scheduled for June, now hanged by a thread.

Amit knew pursuing a relationship with a Karachi girl would not be easy.

I had to convince my family. The long distance had led to a kind of fear about whether this will be even possible. But Summan's relatives in Gujarat's Ahmedabad and Gurdaspur's Qadian guided us," Amit, a salesman at a private company, said.

Summan is pursuing M.Phil from Karachi University and loves travelling,cooking and reading, he said.

She had always told me that travelling is her hobby and she had visited many places but never travelled alone. Now she will have to travel a long distance for me. Amit said.

After the pandemic subsides, Amit's family will send a sponsorship visa to Summan's family, he said, adding his father Ramesh Sharma is eager to visit Pakistan. Summan's family too is waiting to serve the famous Karachi halwa.