Rajasthan's 82-year-old gatekeeper reunites with Australian lover after 50 years

At the age of 82, a gatekeeper of an abandoned, ‘haunted’ town of Kuldhara in the heart of the Thar desert in Rajasthan reunited with his “first love” after 50 years. In the Humans of Bombay post on March 31, the 82-year-old of the town set up back in the 13th century recalled that he was in his 30s when he met Marina, an Australian woman who had come to Jaisalmer from the foreign nation on a five-day tour. Opening up about what internet users are calling ‘magical love story,’ the Kuldhara gatekeeper said “This was the 1970s–un dino, pehli nazar mein bhi pyaar ho jata tha...it was love at first sight.” 

At the time the haunted town’s gatekeeper met the Australian woman, he said that he was not in the current profession. The 82-year-old taught Marina how to ride a camel and revealed how both couldn’t “take our eyes off each other.” Just before leaving back for Australia, the gatekeeper of Kuldhara said that it was Marina who confessed her feelings and said ‘I love you.’ However, after keeping in touch even after both continued their lives on different continents, they fell apart only for the Australian woman to find him after five decades. The man said he had 'goosebumps' to have found her again.

According to the social media post, he said, “I was in my 30s when I first met Marina–she had come to Jaisalmer all the way from Australia, for a desert safari. It was a 5 day trip and I taught her to ride a camel! This was the 1970s–un dino, pehli nazar mein bhi pyaar ho jata tha!”

“And that’s exactly what happened–for both of us, it was love at first sight. Throughout the trip, we couldn't take our eyes off each other. And before leaving for Australia, Marina said the three magical words to me, ‘I love you;’ I went red! Nobody had said those words to me before. I can never forget that day–I was feeling so shy that I couldn't utter a word in response to her confession!”

Gatekeeper took Rs 30,000 loan

In the heartwarming story of true love finding its ‘way back’ despite the constraints of time and age, the Kuldhara gatekeeper relayed that he even went to live in Melbourne for three months but things ended as Marina wanted to get married and for him to settle down in Australia. Even though the 82-year-old described his time in Melbourne “magical,” he said that the couple broke up as he was not ready to live in a foreign nation. When Marina had invited him to Australia, the man took a loan of Rs 30,000 and went without informing his family. The gatekeeper recounted, “She cried a lot the day I left, but I had to let her go.”

Eventually, he gave in to his family pressure, got married, and took a job as the gatekeeper of Kuldhara. Now after 50 years, when he has two grown-up sons who have moved out and his wife died two years ago, Marina wrote a letter to him last month. The Australian woman and the Kuldhara gatekeeper are now communicating with each other regularly and Marina will be coming to India soon. Also, Marina never got married.

He said, “Just when I thought that life couldn't surprise me anymore, it did! A month ago, out of nowhere, Marina wrote to me. She asked, ‘How are you my friend?’; I had goosebumps. After 50 years, she found me! Since then, she’s been calling me everyday; we have so much to catch up on! She told me that she’d never gotten married and that she’s coming to India soon.”

Image credits: @officialhumansofbombay/Instagram