Faith in God takes this couple forward in life

 

The mention of which prompts an explanation from the husband. "Oh yes we are celebrating our 25th anniversary soon." At this point the wife gives him a gentle nudge saying that they have been  married for 26 years.

 

"I was in the DRI (directorate of revenue intelligence) for  a few years and we used to joke that smugglers remember our birthdays and anniversaries better than us," says Raghavan, a  senior IRS officer. 

 

Happy hours spent in conferences and operation theatres does not worry this super-busy couple who celebrate life. They are proud parents of a lovely daughter Aiswarya, who works for Apple in San Francisco. The  couple recollect their days  at  the Calicut Medical College. Raghavan, after completing his MBBS, opted for the Civil Services and joined the IRS while Ranjini continued  on her chosen path of medicine  completing  her specialization from Singapore. She  is now a senior ENT consultant at the Sunrise Hospital in Ernakulam and is one of the pioneers in Sleep Surgery, in Kerala, a treatment for snoring and Sleep Apnea.

 

"I have never had the need to explain my  work  as being a doctor himself he understands it very well. To date he has never discouraged me from stepping out at  night for emergencies," says Ranjini.

 

They believe in divine intervention. "We have immense  faith in God," says Ranjini. "God has been kind to our family," adds Raghavan.

"My first posting was in 1995 in a place called Hosur, along the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border. I was sad to leave her and our daughter in Kozhikode, but destiny conspired in our favour. "At the time Ranjini's PG entrance results were out and she got a seat in Bangalore Medical College. Moreover, by the time my term in Hosur was over she completed her  PG," he says. "Almost every other time we've been lucky," she adds.

 

Multi-faceted Raghavan has donned many roles,   cricket umpire and writer being the  more prominent ones. He has authored two books, one on cricket and the famous one - Dividing Lines,  on the Indo-China war of 1962.

He has been  a cricket umpire on the BCCI panel, until retiring from the role last year after umpiring in two ODIs and being the reserve  umpire for three others. But it was forsaking a career in medicine and taking up civil services that needed convincing.  "Before marriage,  he had joined PG in Trivandrum Medical College he told  me that I'll make one attempt at civil services," Ranjini recalls. "I had to convince many, including her parents. But she was  ok with it," he reminisces with a smile.

 

Other factors, they say, that has helped the two stay happy and healthy are books and exercises. "We both love books," Raghavan says and Ranjini points out that talk of shortage of time, 'often raised by IT employees'  is an excuse.   "If you  can spend at least half an hour daily  by ourselves and another 30 minutes for a hobby - you'll be a much better person if you try that," explains Raghavan.

 

Ask the couple how  they lighten up after a hard day's work and  Ranjini says,  "We are lucky in that department. There is a TV programme at night, the only programme we watch," says Ranjini. "It's a no-brainer that helps us have a good laugh and get a sound sleep!" says Raghavan.