Dam row did not deter them from getting hitched

COIMBATORE: The simmering discontent among Tamils and Malayalis over the Mullaperiyar dam issue failed to deter them from their resolve to live together. They disregarded not just language differences but also the physical deformities to unite in marriage.

It was the unusual love and care for a childhood friend that prompted T Prabhu of Kurichi to marry his neighbor R Lalitha Devi, who has been physically challenged since childhood because of polio. Prabhu belongs to Thevar community while Laitha Devi's parents hail from Kerala. Prabhu remained solid in his decision despite opposition from both families in terms of language difference and physical deformities.

"They asked me the rational of marrying a Malayalee with no capability to even walk around. But we thought beyond language and mobility, there was pure love in our minds. So I married her on December 11 ignoring opposition from both the families,'' said a proud Prabhu, who started living with Lalitha Devi in a rented home at Machampalayam near Sundarapuram.

"Prabhu is my childhood friend and we never found the language differences as a valid reason to remain apart. He is in fact an epitome of love and always liberal in helping others. Right from the beginning, he was eager in boosting my morale to overcome the inferiority caused by the disability. It is my fortune that Prabhu became part of my life," said Lalitha.

Though the polio crippled her, Lalitha was very eager to pursue higher education. Prabhu was her classmate in Kurichi Government High School from class 1 to 10. As neighbours, it was the task of Prabhu to take Lalitha to school and bring her back home. "We were good friends from the beginning but love started growing in our minds just two years ago,'' Lalitha said. After passing class 12, Lalitha turned to tailoring and took tuitions to school children. After working with a private company for about a decade, Prabhu started working with an insurance company recently.

As both families refused to conduct the marriage, they approached Periyar Dravida Kazhagam to conduct the marriage in a most radical way. The marriage held on December 11 and it was formally registered on December 13 at the registrar office. At the rented home, Lalitha is not sitting idle. She resumed her tuition classes for school children. But there is a complex issue for the couple to deal with. Both of them are not proficient in cooking. They are now learning rudimentary of cooking using an induction stove.