P. Karthik Reddy, son of former home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and Patlolla Vishali Sravanthi fell in love when they were doing their B.Tech. “Strangely, we did not even share warm greetings when we were first introduced. I think I made quite a ‘not-so-cool-impression’ on her. But it was much later that I found it was more than just friendship,” says Karthik and Sravanthi shares, “Little did I realise he was the man I’d choose. We started dating only four years after we met. But he has always been special since the first day we spoke.”
So was there any objection from their families, considering that Karthik belongs to an influential political family and Sravanthi comes from a middle class family? Sravanthi says, “Objection from the families? Not really. Usually when you are in politics, you end up marrying a politician’s child. But in our case, Karthik was determined to get married to me. He waited for almost an hour outside his mother’s bedroom to talk about us. The moments he spent walking up and down the hallway and tearing up while talking to her is one image that will never get out of my mind.”
Talking about the wedding day, Karthik says, “The day was magical. I was so nervous and excited that I walked up and down for a few minutes on the stage after all the guests left, because it was overwhelming to know that she was all mine now.” “The day was chaotic. But I would do anything to get married again to this man,” says Sravanthi and adds, “Our wedding was on April 7, 2010 at 7 am. We did not expect a huge turnout as it was an early morning muhurtam. But, over 50 thousand people turned up. Because his family is into politics, people considered us as their own and came to bless us.”
The couple, who have been married for six years now and have two children — daughter Akshainie and son Indra — say that their life’s happiest moment was when their son Indra was born. “One of the most unforgettable moments of my life was when I first saw and held our son. He was born on the day my father passed away 14 years ago.” As the saying goes, the strongest relationships are thick with arguments, Sravanthi says, “Staying in a joint family helps because we can’t prolong petty fights. We don’t have major fights as my expectations from him have almost disappeared, whereas he never had any set expectations from me. And when it comes to disagreements, apart from those in regard to the kids, I follow what ever he says.” She laughs and adds, “I let him take the final call on everything.”
So how do they keep their marriage interesting? Karthik says, “There is no secret ingredient. When you have mutual respect and trust, it automatically builds immense love. However, transparency is the key.” Sravanthi adds, “Love, respect and humour. He gets me flowers once in a while and they are always special as he doesn’t buy a readymade bouquet — he stands and gets one made with the choicest of flowers.” With so many marriages falling apart these days, Karthik says, “People should operate marriages without ego, just surrender to the beauty of love and all will be well.”
