Given today’s circumstances where often marriage appears to be fragile and fleeting, we are proud to have achieved nearly 40 years of togetherness. This December, we will touch another milestone.

I was born and brought up in Kolkata and got married to my beloved wife, in December 1984. Shikha Roy Choudhury, who subsequently became known as Shikha Sengupta, is whom I got married to. She belonged to my neighbouring area and had a background of a middle-class, educated, decent family. The renowned scientist, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, was one of her great-grandfathers.

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I was working as an office accountant for the central government in West Bengal, while Shikha was working in the Canara Bank. During the early years of our life, not a single day passed without exchanging words on trifling matters, but it never soured our deeper relationship. Quarrels and love went on following each other. But the situation took a serious turn when our son was born in October 1986 as we both were service holders. The maternity leave as per the rule available proved inadequate to bring up the child. My wife once decided to resign from the job, but I told her to refrain from doing so. She then took a year-long leave in phases to tackle the emergent situation. The ultimate result was that the office management sent an adverse report, and although her service was not terminated, promotional benefits eluded her throughout her career despite having all the requisite qualifications.

Our physical health never troubled us until 2010, when I suffered a serious heart stroke, and from the local municipal hospital, I was shifted to an eminent research centre for treatment. I was diagnosed with severe blockages in two arteries and had to undergo stenosis. It took a week there, after which I was released. Although my entire expenses were financed by my office, everything required for my treatment was managed by my wife single-handedly. The support she extended was definitely praiseworthy. She even took a 15-day special leave to look after me at home.

Danger hardly comes alone. My wife also underwent a pacemaker transplant in 2014. Tensions added up from late 2023 to early 2024 when she developed a serious respiratory problem. Despite being transferred between hospitals, her condition deteriorated. Her problem remained totally unmitigated. One cardiologist diagnosed her as suffering from left ventricular ejection factor (LVEF). The pumping rate of blood dropped menacingly low, which caused severe breathing trouble. After planting a triple-chamber pacemaker, she was released from the hospital with prescribed medicinal support to continue. l suffered a lot, both physically and mentally, when shouldering the entire responsibility of her treatment in the twilight of my life. Our hearts suffered a setback, but our feelings for each other are a continuous process that will never be impeded. Love, trust and devotion are indeed essential for a happy married life.