Their love story is what great legends are made of. The Boy meets the girl in a college, they fall in love and promise to spend life together, through happiness and sorrow. However, in India, where even inter-caste marriage is frowned upon, theirs was an inter-faith love. Despite all, they managed to cross hurdles and get married but in less than one year of their marriage, the wife was diagnosed with stage IV cancer.
Inspite of this, the couple is only going stronger. As the wife started losing her hair during the treatment, the husband also tonsured his head. On their first year anniversary, he posted a moving message on Facebook.
A dare in college which turned into a lasting romance
In 2014, during Onam, when Shaan’s college was immersed in the fervour of celebration, he was given a dare by a girl. “It all started with a hibiscus flower. A girl who came into my life with a dare during my college days- challenging me to walk across the college verandah wearing a hibiscus flower on my ear. If there is a girl to hold hands with, I would walk, I said,” tells Shaan in a moving Facebook post.
This was just the beginning, Shaan told The Logical Indian, “That was the beginning. We slowly moved to become friends and before we knew it, we fell in love with each other.”
Shaan Ibraahim Badhshah and Sruthy were inseparable. Soon the families got a whiff of it. “I had to start working early to support my family. In 2016, Sruthy’s family got to know about us. Her family threatened her that they will stop her B.Com course, which she was enrolled in. I met her family, assured them and convinced them to let her continue her studies.”
After her studies, in 2017, Sruthy’s parents started looking for a groom. “Sruthy refused to get married to anybody. By that time even my parents got to know about us. Neither of our families agreed. My parents said that Sruthy would have to change her religion, but I did not agree. Nonetheless, under the Special Marriage Act, in November 2017, we had a registered marriage, followed by a small party for our friends,” told Shaan.
Diagnosis and life after that
Shaan and Sruthy moved to Hyderabad where Shaan was working. In January 2018, Sruthy developed a swelling on one side of her neck. And later she developed a swelling on the other side as well. A visit to the doctor revealed that Sruthy had contracted Tuberculosis. “We soon started medication for it. However, Sruthy’s pain refused to subside. We initially thought that it was the side-effects of the medicine she was taking. But later in June, when we got a checkup done in a Cochin hospital, we got to know that she was in stage IV of Lymphoma (cancer of lymphatic system).”
Soon the treatment started, and till now Sruthy has undergone ten chemotherapy sessions and has two more to go. The testing time has even brought the families together, who are lending their full support to Sruthy. But it is Shaan, who has stood like a rock with her. This November, Shaan shared a beautiful post on Facebook, commemorating their one year anniversary.
ഒരു ചെമ്പരത്തിപ്പൂവിലായിരുന്നു തുടങ്ങുന്നത്. കോളേജ് ലൈഫ് തുടങ്ങുമ്പോൾ ഒരു വെല്ലുവിളിയുമായി കടന്നുവന്ന പെൺകുട്ടി….
Posted by Shaan Ibraahim Badhshah on Wednesday, October 31, 2018
This post in Malayalam translates to, “It all started with a hibiscus flower. A girl who came into my life with a dare during my college days- challenging me to walk across the college verandah wearing a hibiscus flower on my ear. If there is a girl to hold hands with, I would walk, I said. From that day Sruthy became hibiscus in my life. When she was terrified by the boys who were following her, I held her hands and said- ‘Don’t worry, you’re my girl’. She went with a grin on her face, hiding a lot of happiness inside. Sruthy became hibiscus, hibiscus became my friend, the friend became my love, love became my life. To realise romance into practical life, she stood strongly beside me in all my efforts. So as to her honour her love towards me, I married her…my love became my life partner. A petal of the flower that spread fragrance in my flower garden has fallen off. It was a year of realisation, the first year in the journey of life. Happy wedding anniversary, my dear love.”
The Logical Indian take
The power of love cannot be defined in words. If one were to speak with Shaan, they would understand the immense affection he has for his wife. Not just this, Shaan is very optimistic about the future and calls his wife an extremely brave woman. One cannot fathom the immense pain what Sruthy might be going through, but with a life partner like Shaan by her side, one could safely say that she would not have to tread this path alone. The Logical Indian extends heartiest congratulations to the couple on their anniversary. We also wish Sruthy a speedy recovery.
