Calcutta-based designer Shantanu Goenka has been going places in recent years. And his wife Tripti has been right behind him all the way. He recently signed up with UK-based company BOHO London to be a part of its design team. Shantanu, who’s a specialist in Indian trousseau and bridalwear for women has come a long way and built-up an impressive roster of Indian and international clients. At present, his designs are available in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and are also exported to Switzerland and Kuwait.

Shantanu’s wife Tripti has shared the ups and downs of the fashion trade with her husband and she handles a lot of his work and responsibilities. She also badgered him into participating at the Lakm? India Fashion Week last year. Shantanu, who has a number of projects lined up believes he was born to design and gets immense satisfaction from his working life.

Shantanu:

I’ve been married for three-and-a-half years now, and the most wonderful part of our relationship is that two strangers have turned out to be the best of friends. It was an arranged marriage and the proposal came in through an aunt of mine who is related to Tripti’s family. Tripti has been a blessing in my life and has always stood by me. What captivated me the first time I saw her was her flawless beauty ? external and internal. She still is the most beautiful person as far as I’m concerned. Professionally she wanted to become a teacher but has totally adapted to my lifestyle and work after marriage. With her around I don’t have to worry about the accounts and managerial side of work. This leaves me to concentrate on the designing and production part of my job.

She is the most understanding person I have ever met ? someone who knows how to strike the right balance between work and family. At times she surprises me with her accommodating nature. She takes special care of what I want to do or what my mother and sister want. I respect her for being so selfless and considerate about everyone. This is a rare quality that you seldom find these days when people have become so self-centred. Working together is great fun but life becomes very cumbersome at times because the work pressure is so much that you hardly find time to speak with each other. Evening is the time to catch up with each other. We go out for movies or dinner whenever possible.

In many ways we are alike. Like me she is also not a party person. For us partying is more of a social obligation. A tech-savvy person, Tripti is very fond of hi-tech mobile phones. She is not a spendthrift though and spends very sensibly. I like gifting her perfumes or branded handbags because she loves to carry them. As far as cooking goes, I remember, initially she didn’t know how to hold a knife properly but now she has mastered the art of cooking. I loved the surprise she gave me on my birthday. I’d gone out with my brother-in-law but once I reached home, I found a cake and present lying on the table for me. It’s the trust, honesty and love we share that keeps our relationship going strong.

Tripti:

Like every arranged marriage where the guy and the girl slowly get to know each other, we also took time to gel with each other. But now after three-and-a-half years of marriage, I can say we are close friends and lovers. Touch wood! It was not a love marriage but we have turned it into one. The first time we ever met was on the day of our engagement. I had never met Shantanu before. We had just seen each other’s photographs. I am a strong believer in destiny and God. I think it was all God’s plan to bring the two of us together. I never wanted to be a housewife and sit at home. And my parents knew that his was the kind of family that wouldn’t stop me from working. I am a BA in psychology and was born and brought up in Guwahati. My father is in the iron and steel business. Being a businessman he made it a point that I learnt accounts from him. After marriage my in-laws encouraged me to work with Shantanu. I knew nothing about fashion but Shantanu was always supportive and taught me the concept of fashion. I don’t design but look after the accounts and management of the business.

Between husband and wife, quarrels are inevitable. We also have our share of differences and fights, but can’t stay without speaking to each other. Whenever there is some misunderstanding, we always sit down and talk it over. Apart from the choice of songs, our habits and hobbies are very much the same. I love listening to ghazals while Shantanu enjoys listening to rock and other forms of English music. He also loves the Chinese food I cook for him. He cannot cook but yes, he can whip up the most delicious desserts.

Shantanu is a romantic. In the second year of our marriage, he had gone to Singapore for work. I was so touched and overwhelmed when on Valentine’s Day he sent me a bouquet and chocolates from there. As life goes on, you change and adapt according to your companion, and so have we. Though we have our differences, likes and dislikes, at the end of the day, we are like two parallel entities. Whatever our differences, on the whole, our basic philosophy of life is almost the same. We give each other a good amount of space too. The best part is, this space is so balanced that it never creates any distance between us.

Photograph by Rashbehari Das