Jab we met: For the love of Neurology

This is a love story of a Telugu girl and a Bengali boy, that of Dr Suvarna Alladi and Dr Jaydip Ray Chaudhuri.

Originally from Kolkata, Jaydip has been practising in Hyderabad for nearly 20 years. So, how did they meet? “We were 23 and 27-year-old post-graduate students, standing in a long queue to enter a longer course in Nimhans Bengaluru, and  it was then that we discovered that Neurology was our common love,” says Jaydip, head of Neurology, Yashoda hospitals.

Suvarna, professor of Neurology at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru adds, “Our wedding was a ‘Two States’ experience. It was very colourful, and happened between a fish-loving Brahmin Bengali family and a strictly vegetarian Telugu family. The cultural differences and community of friends will remain our strongest memories.”

When two people live together, they are bound to have differences, but successful couples fight, but do so skilfully. “Both of us are averse to conflict. As soon as the fight becomes unpleasant, we both quickly stop. Later one of us usually gives in, but many times, the problem just gets postponed,” says Suvarna.

It is not easy for a busy couple like Jaydip and Suvarna to keep the spark of love alive, especially after a day’s hectic work and dealing with children. If it was Suvarna’s charm and intelligence that stole Jaydip’s heart, then it was Jaydip’s humour and his ability to bail her out of trouble that made Suvarna fall for him.

“We keep the romance alive by listening to melodious music together,” says Jaydip.  The couple, who has been married for 20 years, says the secret to a happy marriage is being tolerant of each other.

“We need to remember what brought us together, and that’s what will keep us together. So although we actually are in an unconventional phase in our marriage, commuting between two cities, we are both doing something that we love — Neurology,” adds Suvarna.

Talking about the best thing about getting married, Suvarna says, “Camaraderie, sharing our communities with each other, and companionship.”

And for Jaydip, the hardest thing about being married is: “That for the other person to be happy, sometimes you have to sacrifice something and that can be quite hard. It is at these times that having parents like ours who are very understanding and supportive, goes a long way.”