Today is the eighth of March. International Women’s Day. On this very day in 2004, Prithviraj and Swati were married. On their wedding anniversary, Dr. Prithviraj Taur expresses his gratitude towards his wife.
Today is the eighth of March. International Women’s Day. On this very day in 2004, Prithviraj and Swati were married. On their wedding anniversary, Dr. Prithviraj Taur expresses his gratitude towards his wife.…………
My dear Swati,
When I was not yet established in life,
You placed your trust in me.
When I had no job and roamed from place to place looking for one,
In those days of unemployment, you married me.
When I said to you, ‘How will we manage? We don’t have a single penny in our pockets,’
You replied, ‘I am sure we will never sleep hungry. We will certainly earn enough for our meals.’
When you asked for puffed rice at the village fair,
I didn’t even have two rupees in my pocket to buy them for you.
We waited for hours for public transport, in the sun and the rain,
And in some quiet, leisurely moment, I placed four flowers from the Babul tree in your hand.
We both trod mountain paths together,
We floated lamps in the Ganges together,
We bowed our heads in so many temples,
We got drenched together in the rain,
We wandered along unknown paths at odd hours at night searching for fireflies,
We sat on the terrace late into the night counting stars,
We picked up and ate hailstones that fell unexpectedly.
You came into my life,
And one by one, my addictions began to fade away.
Anyone who might have seen me two decades ago would find it hard to believe even if told that today I am not even addicted to tea.
My closest relatives used to wonder, ‘What will happen to his wife?’
Before we knew it, twenty-two years have passed, two decades have gone by.
Our creeper bore twin fruits (we had twin children).
Our hair has turned grey.
Who can claim tears, arguments, and disagreements have eluded us?
These are common in every home.
But we laugh heartily,
And along with us, our little birds (our children) laugh too.
When we start laughing, Didi and Dada say, ‘We look really good together.’
In the mornings, we recite prayers for the well-being of the universe.
We say ‘Good Morning’ to the plants and creepers, to the animals and birds, and to the earth and sky.
And in the evening, as the sun sets,
We proclaim, ‘Hail to the joy of this day!’
My dear Swati,
Today is the eighth of March,
International Women’s Day and our wedding anniversary.
Wishing you very, very many happy returns of the day.
I am grateful to you for every moment of the beautiful truth (Shiva Sundara) in our life.
It is because of you that there is the flag of joy and the garland of love at our doorstep.
You are priceless to me, and I love you with all my heart.
Yours,
Prithviraj
(Dr. Prithviraj Taur is a well-known poet and writer. Currently working as a Professor and Head of the Marathi Department at Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Nanded, Maharashtra, India.)
