During my marriage, my father-in-law gave me a handsome dowry — my wife. She was a BA. first div, a badminton champ, and Miss IG College Rohtak. What more could I ask for? Even if I asked, though, there was little coming from a retired Major Saheb of pre-Independence days!
So I made plans for her. So what if I couldn’t join the IAS; Madhu must. I had nearly projected her as DC Hissar to my gullible parents. During our honeymoon, she just heard my plans and kept quiet. Soon I realised she was more at home in the kitchen than in any DC’s office.
“No, no, this is not acceptable. If not the IAS, at least go for the Haryana Civil Services,” I pleaded. “These days, state bureaucrats are even more powerful than central civil servants. You see, it will help me too.”
She wasn’t impressed.
“Okay,” I reasoned, “If not the IAS or the HCS, at least do an MA.”
She reluctantly agreed. I lost no time in getting her registered in a university and bought a dozen books that cost me about Rs 3,000 — a packet in 1981. Time went by but none of the books were opened. Madhu kept enjoying her kitchen. One day, to my horror, I found rats having nibbled through the books that were lying locked up in a box.
I was not to give up. I finally came down to her getting a B.Ed. I got the forms for Annamalai, Kota Open University and even that of MDU, Texas. I requested her to apply. At least she could then qualify for a teacher.
{{/usCountry}}I was not to give up. I finally came down to her getting a B.Ed. I got the forms for Annamalai, Kota Open University and even that of MDU, Texas. I requested her to apply. At least she could then qualify for a teacher.
{{/usCountry}}I think this was the last straw on the camel’s back. She erupted, with badminton racquet in her hand, “Listen you, my ambitious husband — I married to become an army officer’s wife. I have no interest in IAS or B.Ed.”
Since then I have kept mum. But after about ten years of marriage, I had the last laugh. Madhu was getting bored sitting at home and wanted a job. She applied for a teacher’s job in a convent. She was rejected as she had no B.Ed degree. She came home depressed and said, “Listen, I want to get a B.Ed from Annamalai.”
And she did. She became a teacher, going on to become the principal of an army school. Today, she’s not only an M.A. and a B.Ed but also completed her Nursery Teachers Training and wants to start her own school.