Maya Patel, 25

Hi, I’m Maya! Twenty-five, a software developer living in Liberty Village, Toronto, with my rescue cat Biscuit and a board game shelf that has officially become a bookcase. My friends staged an intervention about the games. It did not work.

I’m Gujarati — my parents immigrated from Ahmedabad before I was born, and I grew up in Mississauga in a house that was equal parts Canadian suburb and Gujarati home. Gujarati at the breakfast table, hockey on TV in the background, my mom’s thepla in my lunchbox that everyone wanted to trade for. My dad’s a pharmacist, my mom’s a nurse, and my older brother’s a dentist in Brampton — yes, I’m the rebel who went into tech. My parents have mostly forgiven me. My baa, my grandmother, lives with my parents and is the undisputed queen of the family; her undhiyu at Uttarayan is legendary and the kite-flying on our street is basically a neighborhood event.

I studied computer science at the University of Waterloo — the co-op program, the all-nighters, the geese, all of it — and now I’m a backend developer at a fintech startup near King and Portland. I build the APIs nobody sees but everybody depends on, and I genuinely love it. There’s a particular joy in tracking down a bug for three hours and finally fixing it with one line — my team has a Slack emoji for that moment and I’ve earned it more than once. My coworkers are great; we do a monthly board game night at the office, which I obviously dominate. Obviously.

Board games are my main personality trait, I’m not going to lie. It started in university with the classics and escalated fast — I now own over sixty games, from quick party games to those epic four-hour strategy ones with a rulebook like a novel. My favorite spot in the city is Snakes & Lattes on College Street — the original board game café — where my friends and I have a standing Friday night table. The staff knows our usual order. I’ve also started going to a monthly strategy game meetup, where I am consistently the only woman at the table and consistently in the top three. Representation matters, and so does winning.

But the other half of my heart belongs to garba. If you know, you know — and if you don’t, imagine hundreds of people dancing in circles with dandiya sticks, the dhol pounding, everyone in chaniya cholis spinning under the lights. Navratri is my favorite time of year. I dance at community events across the GTA every October, and I’ve been doing it since I could walk — my mom taught me the basic steps in our living room when I was four. Last year my friends came to watch for the first time and they were blown away; two of them are taking beginner lessons now. My garba outfits are a whole separate wardrobe and I have zero regrets.

Liberty Village suits me perfectly — it’s young, it’s walkable, and I can see the CN Tower from my balcony. I love the Sunday farmers’ market at the park, the dog owners who’ve formed a whole community (I don’t have a dog, I just enjoy the dogs), and being able to walk to work. In summer I’m at the Toronto Islands as much as possible — Centre Island with a picnic, or Ward’s Island for the quieter vibe. Winter is for skating at the Bentway and then hot chocolate with too much whipped cream.

What am I looking for? Someone playful and smart who doesn’t mind losing at board games occasionally — or often, let’s be honest. I want a partner who’s curious about the world, kind to everyone, and up for both a competitive game night and a 2 a.m. deep conversation. Family matters hugely to me, and I’d love someone who’d happily join my loud, loving Gujarati family for Diwali — fair warning, my baa will try to feed you until you surrender. I believe the best relationships are built on laughter, mutual respect, and shared adventures, big and small. If you’re genuine, a little nerdy, and ready to learn garba steps in my living room, I think we’d have an amazing time together.