❤️ The Dating App
He promptly created an account overcoming some minor glitches with the OTP and UPI.
Now there was no turning back.
Padmarajan was sceptical about using online dating sites. His friends often told him it never, ever worked. Padmarajan was not like his friends. He believed in dedication and hard work to achieve positive results. Days went by with no outcome to rave about. As luck might have it, Fernadez introduced him to a new dating app, xyz007dating which apparently used AI to find you the perfect match according to your preferences. Fernandez assured him it was a legit site since every user had to link their Adhar card to create the profile. According to the new rules, it protected both parties against harassment and the platform was completely a part of the ‘Make In India’ movement. Padmarajan was quite happy since it ticked all the right boxes. He promptly created an account overcoming some minor glitches with the OTP and UPI. When he got back home from work (This happened in India before 2020 February, Pre Corona) that day, he told his mom that he would skip the Modified Idli Upma for dinner since he had a con call with his overseas client. Padmarajan however had other plans which by now is obvious to both of us. Spending the next 5 hours save the 2 pee breaks and one coffee making break, he chatted with a few random strangers. Even though the AI did a pretty commendable job, most of them were not exactly his vibe. Just before hitting the bed and calling it a night, he gave it one more spin. That’s when the long hand of destiny pointed him towards Sathyabhama. It was vibe at first click and he could immediately see the connection.
The next day at the office, he thanked Fernadez for introducing him to the site. He said he saw the girl of his dreams on xyz007dating and Sathyabhama was the one. Paddy came home early that evening and for the first time told his mom that the Idli Upma tasted outstanding. (PS: Overseas clients call him Paddy). That evening he suggested a video call, but she told him she would love to meet him in person. The venue was Cafe Coffee Day at 12:45 the next day.
As he walked in at 12:40, he saw her sitting there waiting for him. Paddy walked up and said hi. She looked deep into him and said, “Paddy?” with a mild smile and compressing her eyes. Sathyabhama was exactly the way he thought her to be, calm, composed, intelligent and with a graceful aura around her. Then she asked him the million-dollar question, ” Do you use FaceApp by any chance?”. Padmarajan is an honest man. He said, “I am a paid subscriber to the App. Is there a problem?”. She said, “….no not at all… absolutely no problem…in fact, the App has done an outstanding job”.
The next day, Padmarajan uninstalled the xyz007dating app from his phone. He still is a paid subscriber to FaceApp. Later that day at the Coffee Shop, I overheard him tell Fernandez, “Life is all about being positive and working towards achieving your goals”…..and I thought to myself…..Hmm… what I thought doesn’t matter. After all, it’s Padmarajan’s story.