KARISMA & KISHAN TANNA

HELLO! ZIPS ACROSS TO NAIROBI TO SPEND TIME WITH THE YOUNG COUPLE, WHO WORKED CLOSELY WITH RENOWNED ARTIST & PHOTOGRAPHER ANTHONY RUSSELL FOR AN EXCLUSIVE SHOOT IN THE KENYAN CAPITAL

- NAYARE ALI

The two Virgos, newly married and madly in love, recently moved to Nairobi to begin their lives together afresh. Kishan Tanna, who calls himself ‘a finance and numbers guy’, met his match in the lovely Karisma Popat, who’s heavily invested in real estate development — though it’s their deep love for literature and dark humour that brings this couple closer. Their mutual love for food, fashion and music ensures that they live in harmony despite the occasional differences. In an exclusive shoot for HELLO! at renowned photographer Anthony Russell’s home in the Kenyan capital, they share delightful tidbits from their lives.

Kishan, what attracted you to Karisma? Her radiant, soulful aura reeled me in like a fish caught on an everlasting hook. Her demure nature was a sense of revelation in my world. She infused calm into my chaotic life.

Karisma, tell us what your first meeting with Kishan was like. We first met when Kishan came to pick me up from the Nairobi airport. I remember noticing him walking towards me and turning away, pretending to not have seen him because I felt really shy. But after the initial awkwardness dissipated, I felt extremely comfortable and at ease. This probably sounds like a cliché, but it didn’t feel like we had just met.

Your romance evolved during the second phase of the lockdown. What did you discover at the time?

Kishan: That patience is a virtue!

Karisma: To be able to talk to someone about anything is great, but to know that they understand and relate to the same things you believe in hits differently. I’d start a sentence and he’d finish it. To me that’s magical.