SAILING IN THE SAME BOAT OF LOVE
While it may seem that finding your love match from within your field of vocation is a blessing, ANUPAMA CHANDRA wonders, is it really?
While it may seem that finding your love match from within your field of vocation is a blessing, ANUPAMA CHANDRA wonders, is it really?
When Divyang Thakker, the Gujarati film star who made waves with Kevi Rite Jaish, leaves home for days on end for shoots he is sure “Veronica understands my long schedules and the demands of our occupation on our time and she never complains.”
Having met the love of his life on the first day of the workshop for Kevi Rite
Jaish, Divyang still seems madly in love with Veronica after four years of domestic bliss. “Yes, I knew the moment I set eyes on her that she is the one. She maintains to this day that it took her quite some time to give me a good thought over,” Divyang smile shyly as he relates his textbook love-at-first-sight story.
Time gradually make allies
An unexpected tragedy also struck at the start of this rosy tale. “Veronica’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away around the time of the film’s release. It was heartbreaking to see her grieving and I was always at hand to keep her spirits high and lady luck gradually smiled on me,” Divyang reminisces quietly.
Gradual is an operative word for Ameya Bal and Aditi too. On being asked how they met, Ameya laughs. “It’s a funny tale; we have known each other since our college days but only casually. Some years later when I grew serious about settling into matrimony, I registered on a matrimonial website and ran into her profile. I showed interest for a lark and she reciprocated! We met and discussed our future plans and gradually took the steps forward. In short, majak majak main serious ho gaye,” he sums up the total three-year courtship of his one-and-a-halfyear-old marriage.
Time waits for none, but can be managed
Married for almost 20 years to actor-director Rohit Roy, actress Manasi Joshi Roy admits, “Finding enough time is always the issue but I see that in every kind of companionship and profession today. So it’s up to the couple to be wise in how they spend the time they have together and be secure in the love of each other. Revelling in each other’s joy and achievements is so very important over everything else.
“Sometimes when the going gets tough, I look to my support system at home, comprising of his and my families, and thank God for our good health for being able to do what is demanded of us. And soon we are back to managing time efficiently.” Divyang agrees, opining, “There is no point in intellectualising the matter too much. Yes, long shoot schedules and distance creep into our relationship. But I believe if you get the basics right all is right. In most cases as in ours, it is understanding and patience and spending quality time together. Have these by your side and you can win the world.”
Ameya has a different experience. “Being the teaching profession, there are many things working in our favor. We get half a day to do our own things and holidays are planned with ease. We also share our knowledge and experience and we support each other through out. One negative unique to us teachers is that we have a 24x7 duty. Students can call us for any doubt at any time, which may intrude into our space,” he explains.
Dinner table conversations
Divyang is very clear “Dinner time conversations are strictly off-limits for work discussions. We have dinner with family and friends so we like to keep the no-work-agenda meter on.”
For Manasi, her daughter is the star they discuss at the table. “Nowadays it’s all about what she is doing and sometimes about work; with every profession it is bound to happens after all these years,” she admits.
“At dinner, we start with some unrelated topic to work but somewhere we connect it to our profession and then we are back to discussing professional matters. But we don’t mind,” Ameya reveals.
The secret to a happy marriage after marrying in the same profession
“There is no secret really; just about keeping each thing where it belongs. Fighting with each other is also a good thing but it should result in a positive outcome,” Ameya admits, while agreeing it goes for all kinds of marriages. Divyang agrees more or less, clear that patience is key.
Manasi shares an interesting insight – “Connection, communication, commitment and understanding are the keys to a happy marriage, any happy marriage. Most people today look upon the term ‘Compromise’ as a dirty word, which it is not provided the compromise is arrived at by both the parties. It is one of the essential cogs of any relationship, is what I believe.”
No cons, only pros
All the three couples agree there are only positives in marrying into your profession. Manasi maintains, “You have to have a positive outlook, that’s key. You anyway understand the pressures and obligations of the profession so not much adjustments or explanations are needed. It is so much better that you have a partner who has your back and an intrinsic understanding of your job as well. Again, if you are in two minds about any professional issue, you have an expert at home for life to help you decide,” she says smiling the heart-melting dimpled smile.
Divyang adds, “Work is always home as a person from the entertainment field, so I really appreciate that she is from the same field and her unflinching support.”
So, moral of the story as Ameya sums it up – “I feel it’s best to marry a person from same field.”
Season of Marriages
After dating for over six years, one of Bollywood’s most attractive couples, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh finally walked down the aisle just a few days ago.
As per announcements, within a few weeks, Priyanka Chopra would be next to tie the knot with her Hollywood beau Nick Jonas. Among other celebrities to marry into their profession is ace shuttler Saina Nehwal, who is to marry Parupalli Kashyap, another shuttler, on December 16 this year.