This marriage was not made in heaven but at the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre (PRC), Pune and, later, God’s own countryside.Shyam Raj tied the knot with Sivapriya two Sundays ago at Guruyavur, Kerala’s temple town.Both are from the Army, Sivapriya is a commissioned Lieutenant in the Military Nursing Service while Shyam, a para commando, who is now a quadraplegic.“I was very sure I wanted to marry Shyam. Initially my parents were taken aback, but seeing my determination they accepted Shyam,” says Sivapriya, who is back in Pune and has rejoined duty at the Command Hospital. Shyam was posted in Kupwara when an accident in October 2002 left him paralysed, neck downwards. They met and fell in love at the PRC where Sivapriya used to work.“In fact, I was stunned when Sivapriya told me of her feelings and desire to marry me. I would have killed myself to prevent her from the marriage, but she said she would do the same if I turned her down. Now, of course, I am very happy,” says the 29-year-old. Sivapriya is clear why she married him: “I love him and who can look after him better than me, a trained nurse.” The couple would soon be shifting to their new house. For Lt Colonel S P Jyoti, head, PRC, where Shyam relocated to after discharge, such instances are not wholly unknown: “I have seen many cases in my 15 years here when men on wheel-chairs have got married.” Two other instances in Pune happened in 1990. Both Jacob Chacko and Valsalan Nadar were drivers in the Army who became wheelchair-bound after accidents in Jodhpur and Mizoram respectively. Valsalan became a paraplegic in 1992 and waited eight years before marrying Geeta to whom he was enagaged before he was hurt in a mine blast. Geeta says there was no question of turning back. “What if this had happened just a few months after marriage.” While Valsalan works in PRC and tours the world participating in special games in events like shotput and discus, Geeta works as a clerk in the Central Ordnance Depot. They have a 16-year-old adopted son. The story is no different in the case of Kochumol who works as a clerk at the Central Airfield Vehicle Depot in Pune. Both Jacob and Kochumol were neighbours in Kottayam. “I would speak to him whenever he came home on leave and fell in love. Of course, we have problems , like any married couple. Nothing else,” says Kochumol. The Chackos, too, have an adopted son who is now 15.For Sivapriya and Shyam, that’s on their mind too: “We have discussed children and will try artificial insemination or adoption.”
