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| Rahil and Maithreyi at their Belvedere Road house. Picture: Rashbehari Das |
Go green
Maithreyi: It was really quick. Rahil proposed and I was shocked, but I agreed! I had finished my graduation from Bangalore and had come back to Calcutta to do my masters in NIFT. My father said I must channel my energy in some kind of positive manner and asked me to play golf. I was like, ‘No way! I am not going to play an old man’s game!’ That was my first brush with any kind of sports. So, we were having this discussion (with friends). One guy was a friend’s friend and he knew Rahil. This was in 2005.
I landed up for that first lesson in a pair of jeans, a cotton shirt and flats. The first ball that I hit, I made contact. I kind of got hooked to the game. We hit about 75 balls. Then he asked me what I was doing on Saturday night. I was like ‘Oh my god!’ I was dating someone at that time. It was a hopeless relationship because he was in Scotland and I was in Calcutta. Rahil was single and he didn’t know that I was dating somebody.
Firstly, he was five years older than me… he had grey hair! When you are 22, that’s a big deal. I had never dated anyone who was five years elder than me. The kind of the guys I went for were so different… the bad boys, the rough-and-edgy kind of guys. He was the opposite. He was safe, a gentleman, knows what he is doing or so I thought! I ignored his message. Then when I got to know him gradually, I thought, I’d say ‘Hi!’ to him. He wasn’t that creepy. He would ask my friends about me and about my boyfriend, now interested in when I was breaking up!
The proposal
Maithreyi: Every phone conversation we’d have was intense.
Rahil: I had just started making some decent money!
Maithreyi: Finally in 2007 we were like… ‘what does this mean?!’ All of 2007, we dated. He had planned to propose to me on New Year’s Eve and I had no idea!
Rahil: I had kept the ring behind the curtain where I thought I would sit. Maithreyi came and sat in my place and I was like, ‘How do I get her out of that chair?!’ I was like, ‘Okay honey, come let’s dance!’
Maithreyi: He makes efforts... once in two years... but it is a massive effort.
Rahil: That was the massive effort to get her!
Maithreyi: He was literally shaking while pouring the champagne. Then he took out the ring. I ran out and told my friends!
Rahil: You just know… everything clicked. Her thoughts and her values match a lot with me. She encourages me. I used to talk about her a lot. My caddie told me that he thought I was ready! The fact that she was so okay with me travelling so much and then be in a relationship, that was what…
Maithreyi: But I didn’t know it was going to be this! You have started playing a lot more after we were married.
Rahil: I started playing better!
Long distance
Maithreyi: The trick is to see each other as often as you can. It sometimes helps to give each other a bit of space. I have told him that two weeks is the maximum we should stay apart. I don’t regret leaving my job. I think I would be miserable if I didn’t get to spend time with him. His dreams, hopes and talents are much bigger and better than mine…. Rahil is a wonderful husband… very indulgent.... I tell him, Tuesday to Sunday, you are the boss. Monday I am the boss. He’d have to come with me and go see a place that I want to see, eat the food I want to eat and give me enough time in my favourite stores.
Rahil: That’s not asking too much, at all!
Golf and she
Maithreyi: I understand every aspect.
Rahil: The aspect that most people don’t understand is the mental aspect. That’s the part she’s really got to know more.... She takes care of everything.
Maithreyi: I am his accountant, travel agent and finance manager.
She should not
Rahil: Be that emotional! Maithreyi: If I weren’t emotional, then I wouldn’t be sitting next to you! May be I should learn how to relax? Rahil: She is the buzzing bee in the house!
He should
Maithreyi: I feel he should basically be more involved now.
Rahil: I think it’s happening very slowly, but it is happening.... She’s brought balance in my life.
