Oct 16, 2021 After a year of COVID related distancing, hurt feelings, and approximately 100 unanswered texts, Kevin and Nivedita reconnected at their friend's Durga Pooja celebration. They each shared their stresses of Kevin's thesis writing and Nivedita's job applications. Kevin (supposedly) offered to read and revise her applications and that's how it all began. They began texting nearly every day but only regarding applications (such nerds).

Nov 15, 2021 Nivedita submitted her final application and Kevin suggested they celebrate despite it being a Monday night. They ordered in Chinese and chatted till Midnight.

Tuesday, A shared late night sweet tooth led to Kevin and Nive sharing a pizzookie at Nive's favorite spot - Native Grill.

Wednesday, Nivedita and Kevin met at their friends' typical trivia spot, Devil's Advocate. Only one other friend showed up, Kevin's groomsman, Jesse.

Thursday, Kevin insisted they watch the blood moon using Nive's telescope. The blood moon lasted past midnight but Kevin offered to set everything up, so she agreed.

Friday, Nivedita suggested Kevin join her friend's happy hour. At the end of the night, Kevin said he wanted to say something and he kisses her!

December 12, 2021 A day before Kevin walked to accept his PhD, Nivedita was stressing over the prospect of meeting his parents. After dwelling on her decision for much of the week, Nive finally committed to join lunch with Kevin's parents at a local Thai restaurant. She was quickly put at ease as his parents regaled her with an unnecessarily detailed retelling of Kevin's birth.

June 15, 2022 As her parents arrived in the final days before her thesis defense, an internal competition was building within Nivedita, between the stresses of her impending presentation and the prospect of her parents meeting Kevin. Initially planning to minimize their contact, the weight of her thesis defense loomed so large that Nive gave in on the first day and introduced them. Kevin provided Nive the support she needed while her mom provided Kevin with an array of homemade Indian foods including her famous kokis, samosas, and cheese rolls.

During his stay, Nive's dad bonded with Kevin while discussing movies, politics, and sports. They even dove deeply into the rules of baseball and cricket as Kevin took the family to a professional baseball game featuring the local major league team, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

October 29, 2022 Kevin helped Nive and Ocean move from Arizona to Pasadena, CA to start her postdoc position at California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

With Kevin's postdoc position remaining back at ASU, Kevin and Nive have maintained a long distance relationship from this point.

December 25, 2022 Following her first trip back to India in over 3 years, Nivedita joined Kevin's family at their home in San Antonio, Texas to celebrate Christmas. While fighting her jet lag, Nivedita joined in their usual traditions of singing carols, watching Christmas movies, and exchanging gifts.

July 4, 2024

July 14, 2024 Nive and Kevin flew to India to surprise her father for his 60th birthday. While there, Kevin was able to meet dozens of Nive's family members, thanks in part to an engagement party arranged by her uncle and aunt in less than a week! Nive then led Kevin and her parents through Kashmir where they hiked atop a snowy mountain, rode horses through a forest, and sped down rapids.

Amidst wedding planning and holiday travel, Nivedita was offered a unique opportunity to blend her worlds in a panel discussion and performance at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. She spoke on the topic of Color in Motion from the perspectives of both an astrophysicist and a dancer, before demonstrating five different uses of the color red to express emotions in Bollywood dance forms.

Little did she know that Kevin had been planning a bit of surprise romance to add to her big day. After the performance, Kevin led Nivedita to the Museum's exhibit on Jodhaa Akbar, an iconic Bollywood epic, where he then dropped to one knee. Nive was so shocked and overcome with emotion, she couldn't hear Kevin's prepared speech over her own exclamations as he presented her with a solitaire diamond ring. She said yes before he could even finish asking the big question.