It was shortly after our marriage was fixed. I received a letter in the bridegroom’s handwriting. The first love letter! When I opened it, the letter contained just two lines: ‘It is election time, keep me in your prayers.’
I did not know much about Oommen Chandy or his politics then. It was his second election from Puthuppally. The opposing candidate was P C Cherian. It was a tough contest. “You pray hard”, said my cousin, making me more apprehensive.
I prayed hard. If he lost, wouldn’t people say that his future bride brought him bad luck? But he won with a huge majority. We were so happy on that day! There have been many elections after that. But the happiness on those occasions cannot rival the one that I experienced that day. He became a minister after that win. Because of that, our marriage was delayed further.
The two-line replies to my long letters and two phone calls a week were adequate to gauge him. I am still sure of Oommen Chandy’s word.
In Kunju (that is what I call him), I like and detest the same quality – he is naïve. He inherited it from his mother. He cannot say ‘no’ to anything. He exhibits enormous patience and humility.
Probably, it is this trait that keeps the 43-year-old marriage going – with one who has never spared time for shopping or anything on the home front.
He was never arrogant, never tried to control one, and seldom got angry. There is complete freedom. He is not picky about food. If there is a rotting fruit on the table among many, Kunju would pick that to eat. That was him.
Any outward appearance or a well-dressed partner was not something that got his attention. It did not matter to him. He was more concerned about the people and the constituency.
In Old Testament, Jacob falls in love with a beautiful Rachel. He embraces her by the heart. But by the turn of fate, Jacob has to get married to an unattractive Leah. Puthupally is Oommen Chandy’s Rachel and I am his Leah. We lived with mutual trust and respect.
(This article was written by Mariamma Oommen Chandy.)
