Love beyond Borders

Belonging usually begins with what we know. But it can also emerge somewhere unfamiliar. Love Beyond Borders follows five Indo-German couples living in India and Germany, whose stories reveal the unexpected ways people find common ground and build a life together.

Love beyond Borders © Anupam Arunachalam

Meet The Couples

Aazmi Ashraf & Thorsten Tschofen

Leadership coach Aazmi Ashraf and electrical engineer Thorsten Tschofen met through a dating app, but building a life together meant learning far more than each other's habits. From navigating food, language, and family expectations to growing banana leaves on a balcony in Germany, their relationship is shaped by small, everyday moments that bridge two cultures.

Aazmi Ashraf & Thorsten Tschofen © Aazmi Ashraf & Thorsten Tschofen © Aazmi Ashraf & Thorsten Tschofen

Rohan Nathaniel & Markus Horsthemke-Nathaniel

Rohan speaks fluent German. Markus is still working on his English. But language is only one of the things the couple has had to navigate as they build a life together in Münster. Their story is also about family, cultural differences, food, and learning to see the familiar through someone else’s eyes.

Rohan and Markus travelling through Dallas, Texas © Rohan Nathaniel & Markus Horsthemke-Nathaniel © Rohan Nathaniel & Markus Horsthemke-Nathaniel

Shirin & Thomas Johari

She wanted to talk to the tall man putting his luggage away. He wanted to sleep. By the time their flight from Frankfurt to Bombay landed, neither knew that their conversation would lead to borders, paperwork and a life neither had planned. This is how Shirin and Thomas’s story began.

Shirin & Thomas Johari © Shirin & Thomas Johari © Shirin & Thomas Johari

Dina Weber & Cyriac Thomas

What happens when German Christmas traditions meet an Indian family, or Spätzle finds its way into a kitchen in Mysore? For Dina Weber and Cyriac Thomas, food is one of the many ways their German-Indian relationship has evolved. Their story explores what happens when cultural differences become part of daily life and how a shared home can make room for both.

Ramesh Shotham & Alexandra Putlitz

Ramesh came to Germany for the music. Alexandra came to a concert because she was curious. Neither knew that the evening in Witten would change the course of their lives. What followed is a marriage that has moved between languages, families, countries and two ideas of home.

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