It was love at first sight, though on wheelchairs. Nisha, a member of national wheelchair basketball team, and Shinu Varghese, who runs a tuition centre at home, exchanged vows at St. Lazar’s Church at Kottapadi in Guruvayur last Wednesday, after a year of ifs and buts.
But the world knew little of their story till the nuptials. The couple has different versions of their love story. Come to that later.
They first met at a public event for people with disabilities. “At the event there was some time to interact. I started talking to her and it wouldn’t seem to end, spinning off the prosaic as if into romantic rendezvous,” says Shinu. He wouldn’t know what it was but he knew this lady was someone special for him.
“I thought this is going to be one big a serial challenge because of our shared disabilities. Perhaps I guessed there will be synergy in disabilities provided the relationship remained strong.
Friends and family members warned us. We just let them have their say; their opinions mattered to them, not to us. What mattered to me was her ‘word’”.
Young Nisha’s life is slightly different. It was an accident that felled her. Horrific memories left scars on her and she thought it was curtains. Years passed by, but by then she had learnt to play basketball and kill time. The change came, though with the chance meeting with Shinu at the public event.
Nisha says the first time she opened up to Shinu, she got little positive vibes. It was as if there was not much to expect of someone on a wheelchair.
“We have known each for more than a year now. We have our limitations but as a couple we never felt incomplete”, says Nisha.
“At first, the families and friends were not supportive of our relationship and marriage. They were really concerned.”
Came the regular litany: “How are you going to manage? If something happens, who’s there to help you two? Even our caste was a barrier sometimes,” says Shinu. But they were determined and everybody that mattered fell in line. Families ensured they had a normal wedding just like any other couple.
Nisha has a worry!
“Though Nisha is a national player who represented the country at a world event, she and her team have never got enough attention. They play for the love of sport. Yes, the Government should chip in like in the case of so many others”, says Shinu.
Living with a disability is daily challenge. “And you have no idea what those challenges are going to be because every day tosses up new challenges. Dealing with each one as they come is the hardest and most rewarding. We can go on and on...”
But there are few things the Government could do. “Accessibility is one of the challenges. Using the ATM, reaching a place on time and travelling in stretches not friendly to wheelchair-bound are issues we can’t tackle. Hope those that matter are listening” the couple said.
