State police chief V D Ram and his wife Pushpa share a light moment in their residence in Ranchi. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Oct. 3: The newly wed had wept the whole night when her husband left home in a huff to go on a patrol duty soon after a power failure.

Puzzled where was he going in the middle of the night leaving her alone in the house, the terrified young woman had merely asked her husband when he was expected to return, inviting a bitter admonition.

That night, Baby could not help but feel angry with her parents for selecting a police officer as her life partner.

And in her 29 years of marriage since January 28, 1976, Pushpa Dayal, nee Baby, has understood the advantages and disadvantages of having a police officer husband, especially now that he, Vishnu Dayal Ram, holds the highest post of a police officer in Jharkhand ? the director general of police.

Sitting next to her IPS husband in the drawing room of the Police House on Circular Road, the daughter of an excise official is afraid of telling her DGP husband that her only grievance against her husband is that he does not seem to have time for her.

But, otherwise, she acknowledges Vishnu was a ?caring and loving husband?.

She smiles while letting out that he always bought her the right kind of sarees and sometimes even volunteered to make tea to make her happy.

He was not fussy about clothes or food, Pushpa says affectionately, ?though going to shop with him is a different story altogether. He want to buy whatever the salesman shows him first?.

What about family front?

Vishnu has always found time for the children, says the mother, before proudly informing that their daughter, Smita, is working for a US-based agency in Delhi, son Gaurav Anand is in XLRI, Jamshedpur, while Vikas is in IIM, Calcutta.

Any complaints about Vishnu? ?Vishnu never takes me out in the evenings for ice creams, like other husbands,? she says, chiding him gently.

At this point, the DGP quickly springs to his defence, reminding his wife of the good old days they had in Bettiah, Dhanbad and Delhi and also the trips to India Gate.

What does he like?

To sleep, says Pushpa immediately. ?He loves to sleep, and can fall asleep in two minutes.? Vishnu has no option left but to agree.

Asked to say something about Pushpa that he does not like, Vishnu said he does not like it that she has fixed ideas about people. Although, the DGP accepts, on most occasions she was right.

?The best thing about her is that she has adjusted to everything. She is sober and simple, and never demanding,? says the officer who freaks out on home-made kheer.

He is fond of reading but hardly finds time for it, regretting that he did not complete his masters after clearing the civil services.

Anything he wishes to do? ?I love farming and wish I was rich enough to buy a farmhouse, where I could live and grow fruits and vegetables,? says the officer with a smile.

Was there anything that disturbed him in his career? Yes, he says. ?I lost sleep for a week once, after the Indian Express exposed the Bhagalpur blinding case. As the SP of Bhagalpur, I had to work seven days and nights continuously.?