Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Unforgettable moments - Part 6 - Girija in my life

25 11 09


Unforgettable moments - Part 6 – Girija in my life

I am recording here my unforgettable moments of five different days as these days are interrelated and integral part of my life.

1) 19th Sep 1974. It was on this day that I proposed to Girija. Till then, though I used to go their house, I would never talk to Girija , as she was always busy with her studies. But after seeing her manners and behaviour, I knew she would be an ideal wife .

On that day, I took the courage and asked her whether she would marry me. She was taken aback as she did not expect such a question from me. Not knowing what to say, she just said that she would convey it to her elder sister Ramana ( who was like her mother) . I came back disappointed, not getting a positive reply.

Her sister Ramana , who was not at home when I asked Girija, came to know about this from Girija. Ramana talked to me the next day and told me that she had no objection and that she would talk to her father in a day or two and if he also agrees, then she said that I could talk to my parents.

As for Girija, Ramana told me that she(Girija) had no opinion of herself and that she would agree for the marriage if the elders in both the families had no objection.

After three days, Ramana told me that her father too had no objection. I then immediately wrote a long letter of about 8 pages to our parents giving details about Girija’s family and why I wanted to marry her. In the end, I had made it very clear to them that it was only my wish and assured them that if they did not want me to marry her, I would stand by their decision and that I would not go against their wishes.

Within a week or so, I went to Cuddalore and had a frank discussion with our mother and father. Though amma was disappointed , after my talking to her, she seemed to agree with my viewpoint. Appa did not show his disappointment openly , but I know he would also have been disappointed as any parent would have felt.

Soon afterwards, they came to Chennai and ‘ saw ‘ Girija. After they saw and talked to her, I could feel that their fears ( on how she would be ), had come down a lot and they were convinced that Girija would make a good daughter in law. They then finalized the marriage after discussions with Girija’s father.

( Later , after the marriage, and after “knowing” Girija fully well, amma and appa were more than happy that they got such a wonderful daughter in law and they told me so in no uncertain words. I also felt very happy that Girija stood up to the expectation of my parents. )

2, ) 12th Dec 1975 . It was on this day that Girija and I got married at Thirukkazhukundram , a place ,about 50 Km’s from Chennai. The marriage was held at this place because Girija’s Mama was living here and he took the major responsibility of conducting Girija’s Marriage.

On 11th dec, our family travelled from Cuddalore to Chengalpet in a train and from there took a bus to Thirukkazhukundram. Immediately after lunch, many from the family went to the nearby Mahabalipuram and returned just before the Janvasam started .

On 12th Dec , the muhurtham was after 12 noon and I remember almost all our relatives and friends who had come for the marriage went to see the two eagles that used to come there daily at exactly 1130 am to take the prasadam from a saint.

The marriage went off well , attended by many of our relatives and about 50 colleagues of mine. We returned to Cuddalore on 13th Dec , by bus upto Chengalpet and then by train.

This being the most glorious moment of my life , I thanked God for His blessings and making Girija my wife.

3) 30th Oct 1976 . The day our first darling Sudha was born.

Earlier, when Girija was into her third month’s pregnancy, she had bleeding and when we consulted her doctor, she told us that it was an abortion and to avoid further complications, the Dr decided that Girija would have a D&C the next day morning. We were disappointed but prepared ourselves for the next day’s operation.

Ramana was then working in a clinic in Mylapore and on that evening, she told the lady doctor ( under whom she was working.) about Girija’s proposed operation. That Dr then told Ramana that her athai – Dr Subbulakshmi – was an experienced Gynecologist and advised that we take a second opinion from her immediately. Ramana came back from Mylapore and took me and Girija to Dr Subbulakshmi at Besant Nagar.

After prelimnary checks, the Dr asked us to come to her Hospital at Royapuram the next day morning for some tests. After the tests at Hospital, she confirmed that the baby was fine and that Girija would have a normal delivery. She lashed out at the earlier Dr for her poor diagnosis and assured me that she would take care of Girija till the delivery.

It is still a mystery as to why she had that heavy bleeding , though Dr Subbulakshmi did not rule out the possibility of conception of twins and the abortion of the second baby.

By God’s grace, everything went alright since then and on 29th Oct, Girija developed pain at about 7 pm. We admitted her in the nearby Kosha Hospital at Triplicane ( the famous Govt Hospital for women and children ) . Girija’s mami’s sister was a senior nurse in the delivery ward there and hence admission there.

I was waiting the whole night in the corridors of the delivery ward and at 450 am on 30th Oct , our first darling Sudha was born. Girija’s mami’s sister showed me the baby at 500 am ( normally in Govt Hospitals in those days, they don't show the baby so soon.) I thanked God and Dr Subbulakshmi for giving us a beautiful daughter. Another moment to cherish in our life


4 ) 9th June 1980 – The day our second darling Suba was born.

This time the pregnancy period went off smoothly under the care of the same doctor Dr Subbulakshmi . On 9th June , I had gone to a marriage in the morning. Soon after I returned at about 12 30 pm., Girija started having pain. We admitted her in the same ( Kosha ) hospital .

( This hospital named Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for women and Children , got the nick name Kosha Hospital because most of the women visiting the hospital were wearing Kosha ( purdha ), as Triplicane has a vast population of Muslims. )

Our second darling Suba was born at 910 pm on the same day. As in the case of Sudha, Girija's mami's sister showed me the baby within ten minutes of birth and I thanked once again the God for His blessings. Another happy moment in our life.


5. 25th Nov 07

Aval Parandhu Ponale; Ennai Marundhu ponale …….