"It is not often these days that college romance fructifies into a wedlock. Corporate Citizen unlocks the story of love that has culminated into marriage, for we believe in the stability of a relationship and family unit. We bring to you real life romances that got sealed in marriage."
The Agrawals are a corporate couple who talk the walk and walk the talk when it comes to shared dreams and goals and good old team-work
The easy bonhomie they share can only come from 15 years of togetherness. The kind that starts well before marriage, and simply goes from strength to strength in the years to come. Tell that to Rajesh and Bhavna Agrawal, and they nod in unison. Lest you think they are alike, perish the thought. “We are chalk and cheese,” grins Rajesh. “We have little in common, and are far from being ‘compatible’ in the conventional sense of the term.
But who needs compatibility when there’s friendship and laughter and truckloads of memories coming from six years before marriage and nine thereafter? He’s a realist; she a romantic. He’s matter of fact and reserved, she’s friendly and outgoing. He’s a Marwari Agrawal; she’s a Punjabi Agrawal. He’s an MBA (Finance), while she has an MCA. He is Vice President, Investor and Public Relations with Uflex Ltd, Mumbai; she’s Associate Vice President, Bank of America. If that sounds impressive enough, what’s even more so is that both give each other the credit for having risen up the professional and personal ladder with each other’s support.
The Agrawals met in 2000, at 20 and 23 respectively at a competitive exam coaching centre. At the outset, Bhavna was impressed by his ‘sharp, questioning mind’ that had him arguing with teachers over complex maths questions. Turning to her friend, the 21-year-old said: “There’s something about this guy...mark my words he will go far.”
There were low moments too. “I still remember the day I wanted to give up my MCA at DY Patil and return home. I was home-sick and conscious of the fact that I wasn’t earning yet... I just wanted to drop the ball,” says Bhavna. But Rajesh talked her out of it. “He said, ‘When you become vice president of a big organisation and then wish to quit, I will respect your wish. But right now, you need to do this for us.’ Thank God for his wise counsel...”
In fact, it is precisely this quality of pushing her to challenge herself that Bhavna loves the most about him. “He is one guy who makes no room for complacency; each time I have achieved something, he says: Fine. So what next? He keeps me on my toes all the time,” smiles Bhavna
Not one to mince his words, he also lets her know when she has been in the wrong at the workplace. “At the same time, he is hugely supportive and appreciative of all that I do. He is also very much the hands-on dad for our six-year old daughter Prishmi,” she says.
From rented apartments and slim bank balances to a plush home in Kandivli and an upmarket lifestyle with all its perks, at 35 and 38 respectively, the Agrawals have made it in life together. “Both of us are from middle class homes, and we have earned our own money,” says Rajesh. “Our first goal was to save enough for a home of our own. We did that—with discipline and mutual understanding—and there has been no looking back ever since.”
What works big-time in the couple’s favour is that Rajesh is a man who truly practices what he preaches. A rarity, surely, in a world notorious for broken marriages and fly- by-night relationships.
“Corporate jobs do have high pressures,” he concedes. “Besides, people these days are spoilt for choice; if they are independent-minded enough to choose their own partners, they are independent enough to choose not to be with them a n y m o r e .”
For his part, though, Rajesh believes not helping out at home is not an option. “You can’t say that you need a break with your buddies while she stays home with the kid; it doesn’t work that day.”
So even as Bhavna leaves for work at 11 am after finishing the household chores, Rajesh is back early to pick up Prishmi from day care and take her to the park.
“He’s the only dad on the playground,” says Bhavna. “It makes me so proud that this giving person is my husband. I always tell my mother that while I am grateful for all that she’s done for me, my husband is the one person who has taken care of me like no one else ever has.”
However, Rajesh feels he’s only doing his bit. “Look at things from the other person’s perspective, and you won’t go too wrong. Most people only pretend to do so... and that’s the problem. I remember the time I had made a presentation at BIIM on change management. I took off my shoe and asked a volunteer to step into it. The volunteer asked whether he ought to remove his shoe before he put mine on. I told him: it was his choice. It’s the same mantra that works in a marriage.”
‘There would be arguments; she would feel we were not ‘compatible,’ that we did not have much in common. What is compatibility anyway, other than the ability to iron out incompatibility? We cared for each other, and that was enough.
That, apart from trust, respect and commitment. “Meet the other person half-way. It’s not that difficult, honestly.”
Like eating meals prepared by the cook; or even making a meal for wifey while she puts in long hours at work. “I really don’t see how you can expect your spouse to excel at the workplace and be an outstanding cook, at the same time. It’s not fair,” he points out.
Both have changed for the better since the time they met. “He’s much more social than he was; while I am a lot more organised,” smiles Bhavna. “He taught me the importance of being practical. I guess I am the one who brought in the angle of meeting friends, going for movies and attending cultural fests together.”
Rajesh couldn’t agree more. “She’s this absolute bundle of energy who simply adores travel and long vacations. Thanks to her, we have had some truly memorable trips, both domestically and internationally,” he says. “Whenever she calls me from work, all excited with ‘I have an idea,’ I just know she’s making plans for another holiday together.
And even as the Agrawals charter new territory together, their relationship is based on the solid footing of being best buddies. “From the way we squabble and pull each other’s leg....our friends say we are more like siblings than husband and wife,” guffaws Rajesh.
“Marriage is about comfort, after all,” rounds off Bhavna.
By Kalyani Sardesai
