The couple chose Troy for their engagement ceremony because Joshua grew up in Schenectady and a lot of his family remains upstate.
In Gujarati tradition, an engagement is the cosmic and social bonding of two entire family trees, according to a guide Joshua and Karishma shared.
A pandit (Hindu priest) led the families through the pooja and ceremony in Sanskrit.
“We feel great and so grateful and very blessed to have so many friends and family near us,” Karishma said.
The couple are proud of Joshua’s American and Karishma’s Indian roots coming together.
“It is sometimes even more beautiful when we get to learn each other's cultures and ceremonies and rituals,” she said.
Cultural differences aside, what was most important to Karishma was Joshua sharing her commitment to family values. She loves that his parents are high school sweethearts, for instance, and how close he is to his grandparents.
“And that's how I was brought up,” she said. “That's what I would like to teach my children and also carry that forward, those same values of keeping the family unit together and keeping them strong. So I think we definitely shared that. And that crosses all types of borders. That's the essential thing that you're looking for in a human at the end of the day.”
They have grown to love traveling and exploring nature together. And Joshua has shared his love of the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Miami Heat with her.
“And my family absolutely loves that he's so open,” Karishma said. “More than all of that stuff, that he treats me so wonderfully.”
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