It8217;s a wonderful world together

Chaman Lal Sharma and his wife Zoya K Reikhy are two people, about as similar as chalk and cheese, who met by a happy accident four years...

Chaman Lal Sharma and his wife Zoya K Reikhy are two people, about as similar as chalk and cheese, who met by a happy accident four years ago, and 8220;have been living happily ever after8221;. Chaman is a lawyer who dabbles in politics and is the president of the Chandigarh Club and Zoya is a ceramic sculptress.

As they unwind, one cannot miss the full throated laughter of Zoya and the honest-to-the-bone answers of Chaman on each topic under the sun.

Chaman, an art lover, is the proud collector of Sikh miniature paintings in Pahadi tradition and says Zoya changed his house from a museum to a home. Zoya, on the other hand, divulges how taken aback she was by this man who was quot;so purequot; after living for 20 years in USA and seeing all the slick smart alecs the world had to offer.

Zoya and Chaman had to work patiently for achieving every little thing. Patience and hard work are the two qualities they say make up for a good, satisfied life and are perturbed by the lack of respect these qualities elicit in today8217;s society. Their lives include love for art and a passion for social work and politics. Chaman came to the city from his home town Dinanagar in the 1930s and started working as a stenographer with the Income Tax Department. He set up a law practise in 1935, which is today responsible for making him one of the most respected citizens of Chandigarh.

Zoya, named after the Russian revolution heroine, was born in Kartarpur to fire brand communist parents and imbibed idealism and independence fairly early in life. A product of Shantiniketan, she says these qualities gave her massive support when she had to start on her own in America. Zoya describes America as her second home8217; and is thankful for the culture, which helped her get rid of many superficial values in life.8217;

She came back from the US for good in 1990 and friends recall this gutsy woman, driving on a scooter to village Mubarakpur, come rain or shine, to set up her studio. Today, her studio has three kilns where Zoya lets her creative energies loose, to the delight of the many art galleries in India and abroad, that have hosted her shows. A member of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Academy, Zoya has conducted workshops and taught in the Chandigarh College of Architecture, apart from participating in two annual shows at White Marsh Art Center and Langman Gallery in US.

When asked about what really attracted them to each other, Zoya is quick to point out the unfathomable innocence, honesty, humility and progressive nature of Chaman, while he, shyly just says that he could not resist her charm.