There is a fantastic post by Stacey called ’25 Random Things, Facts, Habits, and Goals’ on her blog ‘Create A Balance’. It is worth a read and I hope that you will and find out a great deal about her in that post.
Among the many things that Stacey writes about, the most fascinating is how she and her husband spent their very first few days in the hospital nursery together! They have known each other for that long!
Since I read that, I have not been able to get over this wonderful story. I have heard many stories about how married couple met each other but this was completely out of the box as it were.
This also gave me the idea to write about how Urmeela and I met and eventually got married. In India particularly, this story forty years ago was unusual in that most marriages were “Arranged” by the parents of both the people involved as it is today, but not to the same extent. Today, a “Love Marriage” as it is called when the boy and the girl meet without the aegis of their parents, court and get married, are not as rare as during our time, forty one years ago.
I first met Urmeela in 1961 at Hyderabad. Yes, there is no typo there, 1961. I had the good fortune of having for a very close friend, her late brother. Both of us were salesmen, with different companies but who used to meet for tea or coffee regularly in a tea shop. At the end of each working day, we would also meet at a bar for a couple of drinks. I used to ask Urmeela out for a movie or dinner once in a way as I would a male friend and we would simply go out and return. In fact, I was going steady with another girl at that time, and I would take her to Urmeela’s home to meet up with the family as other members of the family were also almost like family to me.
In 1962, I shifted residence and jobs and went away to Chennai. Except for a brief meeting in Mumbai in 1966 when Urmeela had an one woman show at the Taj Art Gallery, we did not meet in the interim period. In 1968, I was given a short duration posting at Hyderabad again and we met up with each other all over again. There still was no big romance or anything like that happening and we used to enjoy each other’s company and catch a movie and dinner together on and off. One day, I simply asked her to marry me as we seemed to enjoy each other’s company, and lo and behold she said yes!
Now for some more information. Both of us were known to many people, some, her friends and family and some mine. From both opposite sides, we were advised to stay clear of marriage as the other was not suited for marriage and was a maverick. Well wishers indeed! We got married nevertheless and have survived each other’s ‘maverickness’ successfully these past forty plus years.
She was certainly one apple that was on the top branch who waited. I have already been certified as being fine wine by Conrad.
I bet that there are other Apples and wine stories out there waiting to be told. Why don’t you share?
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