( CNN ) My parents , Shanthi and C. S. Seshadri , met only twice before their wedding 30 years ago in southern India . `` Met '' is a stretch . My father was 32 . My mother was 21 and had no say in the pairing . It was a shock to her when the man who came to see her was my father . She did n't understand why her brothers and her father would set her up with a man 11 years older , from a family that was so different from hers . He was a city boy , had traveled to and lived in various parts of India . He enjoyed cheese puffs , knew how to eat with chopsticks and the names of different types of alcohol . She had never ventured too far out of her town of Vellore , had never heard of these foods and alcohol was an unspeakable word . Whether it was a desperate match to stop a few town boys from pursuing her , or whether their horoscopes were perfectly aligned , she does n't know . But her brother had a great feeling about it , and the match was made . Engagement . Wedding . They had no choice but to trust that their parents knew what they were doing , and they went with it . They were thrown into a relationship , their first and only one , and slowly learned everything about that person -- raw and true -- from the beginning . They grew together because it was new and awkward and special for both of them . And no matter what came their way -- scraping for dowries , moving countries , a heart attack , the death of a child -- they stayed together and they dealt with it . They did n't even know that it could be any other way . I think there 's a beauty to that . Indian parents are n't the best at expressing love , in my experience . They do n't think the words are necessary when you support each other for ... well , forever . But over the past few years , my parents have individually divulged their fondness for one another to me . And maybe because I 'm older now , I catch them looking adoringly at each other in the temple . Stealing smiles in the kitchen . One discreetly stroking the other 's head . My father does n't like talking about his feelings , but a year ago , he told me my mother is his favorite person . When we tease him about their age difference , he says he likes taking care of her . He thinks she 's innocent , has a good heart and deserves to be taken care of . My mother says she and my father are 99 % made for each other . They are on the same page for all the things that matter . They are opposites in many ways . She does n't share his love for cricket or Hollywood , and he does n't engage in her discussions of Tamil literature . But they are perfectly complementary . Often my mother jokes and tells me even if she searches the heavens and Earth , she ca n't find a husband as great as hers for me . If that is n't love , I do n't know what is .
The author 's parents were arranged to be married in 1985 . 'They are on the same page for all the things that matter ' Share your love story at CNN.com/soulmatestories .