Army officer proposes to girlfriend after passing out parade at OTA Chennai, photos go viral

September 8, 2018 turned out to be a big day for Army cadet Thakur Chandresh Singh. On this day, the 25-year-old became an officer of the Indian Army in the Rajputana Rifles after graduating from the Officer Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai. What made this day even more memorable for him was the moment after the passing out parade where he went down on his knees as he proposed to his long-term girlfriend, and she said yes!

The photo of Chandresh and his lady love Dhara Mehta was posted on Instagram and in just two days, the post has garnered over 34,000 likes.

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A post shared by SSBCrack_ (@ssbcrackofficial) on Sep 11, 2018 at 6:42am PDT

Though Chandresh recalls that it was not a spontaneous moment for him and he planned it the day he got recommended for the Army. Speaking to The Print, Chandresh said that he called his parents as well as Dhara's parents for the tipping ceremony, the event where parents pin stars on the shoulders of the Army officers. 

He told the news website that the two have been in a relationship for the past three-and-a-half years. He also said that he had shown Dhara's picture to his parents three years ago and told them that 'she is the one' he has chosen. However, he added that he had to prove himself first and 'fulfil' his dream. And he did so.

Both Chandresh and Dhara met at St Joseph College of Arts and Science in Bangalore in 2012 where both were students. Though they mostly had different subjects, both had one common class for Hindi.

He recalled that for the first two years, the duo just shared basic greetings but in the third year, they spent more time together. He said that Dhara was the one to confess her love first while he took a year to respond as he wanted to prepare for the Services Selection Board. When he failed in the first attempt, he looked back at those who supported him during the tough times and realised how Dhara had firmly backed him through all the difficult days and realised how he had fallen in love with his best friend.