Finding Love When Least Expected: Two Inmates Of Mental Institute In Chennai Get Married

The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in Chennai was founded in 1794 by the East India Company and is crowned the second-largest mental health hospital in the country. This institute now holds yet other feat - that of having married off two of its inmates in first ever such incident in over 200 years of the institute's history.

Two previous inmates, Mahendra (42) and Deepa (36) had come to the institute to get their mental health back on track and were working at the institution as they were recovering. Having met at the IMH, they both fell in love and decided to get married, unfurling a series of joyous events witnessed for the first time at the institute.

Everyone Deserves A Companion

"A woman marrying with a mental illness is seen as a triple tragedy. But here is a woman, who recovered, got married, and it became a triple blessing," says Dr Purna Chandrika, Director and Full Additional Charge (FAC) of the IMH. While speaking to The Logical Indian, she recollected Mahendra and Deepa's story and said they have been working with the institution for the past two years.

After their recovery, the institution found it challenging to place them back in society because of the lack of social support. For the simple fact that they were earlier suffering from a mental illness, people viewed them with a stigma. With the help of certain CSRs, the institute enabled them to work with the institution.

Currently, both are working as employees at the organisation. Mahendra is workinh at the daycare centre at the campus and Deepa is working at a cafe run by the inmates of IMH.

They had come to the institute as patients seeking help, and somewhere down the path of recovery, they found a companion in each other. Once news about the love story reached the administration, they strongly opposed their relationship. Laughing it off now, Dr Purna said, "when we first heard it, we thought it would bring in a lot of problems. So we put some restrictions on them."

Two weeks later, they discovered that the couple were still in touch and pondering about marriage. Taking this concern ahead with Deepa, she wanted to understand the decision the couple had finally made. Deepa, without hesitance, assured Purna that she knew what she wanted - a partner for the rest of her journey.

She also conveyed that she saw that companionship with Mahendra. The way she had expressed her interest in taking her life ahead with Mahendra impacted Purna, who told The Logical Indian, "At that moment, I simply saw a woman who found a companion in a man and was hoping to get married."

'The World Conspires To Make Good Things Happen'

Translating their interest to a reality, many people from the institution came on board with the decision to arrange their marriage. Talking about the event, Purna said, "Everyone went overboard with the celebrations because we were all that happy."

The Thali chain that the bride wears after her wedding was sponsored by the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), and the event saw participation from the honourable Health Minister, minister Sekar Babu and Member of Parliament Dayanidhi Maran. Purna mentions how most of them had arrived at the wedding simply out of goodwill, without any form of official protocols accompanying them.

After all the celebrations, the couple is now elated to start this new phase of their life and will soon be appointed ward managers at the IMH.

Also Read: Men's Mental Health & Societal Expectations: Why Traditional Gender Roles Refrain Them To Seek Help?