This Indian Express crossword is a man's proposal to his girlfriend

The guy requested The Indian Express to create a unique crossword grid featuring the words "MARRY ME."

A Pune-based filmmaker orchestrated a unique marriage proposal through the Indian Express mini crossword. The grid featured the words "MARRY ME," cleverly clued as "Words with a nice ring to them?"- creating an unforgettable moment to propose to his girlfriend.

The guy reached out with a request to the the puzzle editor of The Indian Express. In addition to the proposal, he also asked to include "CHAMPA," a flower significant to the couple, in the grid. The scenario drew parallels to Brooklyn Nine-Nine, where the lead characters Amy Santiago and Jake Peralta often indulged in her love for crosswords.

He said, “I wanted the proposal to have something that’s part of our everyday life. I also wanted it to be intimate, rather than in a public space. And since IE’s crossword is something we’ve done together many times, it would be an unexpected surprise.”

To make it more special, he got a ring made from sea-glass that he collected from a beach in Spain. Luckily on July 4, the newspaper was not delivered to them and he suggested to try the IE mini.

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When she clicked on 7-Across, the pivotal clue, the answer didn’t come to her immediately. So, she moved on to the next clue, while he nervously fidgeted with the ring in his pocket. Seven minutes later, with more letters filled in, she finally had her eureka moment and exclaimed, "Oh, marry me." The moment she said it, he pulled the ring out of his pocket and went down on one knee and she said YES!

The couple, in a long-distance relationship, share a morning ritual of exchanging images of the crossword puzzle, solving it together over the phone or on video call.