OF UNIONS AND REUNIONS

Our member, Ms Gayatri Ghosh, shares some of her memories, as the better half of a marine engineer.
I got married when I was still doing my graduation at Jadavpur University. My husband went off sailing just after 15 days of our marriage. He had just joined a new organisation, which did not allow him to take his family for the first six months. He, however, managed to convince them and asked me to get ready to join him. I was very excited at the prospect of going out of the country for the first time. Soon, however, I realized that I did not even have a passport. With my uncle-in-law by my side, I managed to get the required documents and was all set to join my husband in Muscat. I was looking forward to it, when the trip had to be cancelled as Muscat port was not considered safe for a lady. I was very upset and cried like a child. I still remember how my elder sister and brother-in-law took me to Outram Ghat to show me a ship and console me. Within a few days, I received the message that I had to reach Kuwait to join my husband. My father-in-law, who worked in a different city at that time, came to see me off. I still remember that there were at least 20 people, who had come to see me off at the airport, and one of my relatives, who worked at the airport, almost went up to the pilot to ensure that someone would take care of me. With mixed feelings, I bid goodbye to everyone. Everything was so new to me that when the cabin crew asked me if I wanted to have a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian meal, my reply was “Yes”. My sons Our member, Ms Gayatri Ghosh, shares some of her memories, as the better half of a marine engineer. still tease me about it. Moreover, I had no idea that it was a hopping flight and when it landed at its first stopover, I thought I had to disembark. Thankfully, the airhostess made me understand and asked me to wait for my destination. This experience will always be one of the most memorable for me, as meeting my husband was like a dream come true from me. I remember another incident. This was years later, after I had already had my two sons. My elder son and I were to accompany my husband to France, as he had to take charge of a ship from Marseille. I went off after keeping my younger son with my parents, as he was too young to travel on a ship. Once we landed in France, we realised that our luggage had not reached, as there was some strike back home. As there was no time to wait, we had to carry on with our hand luggage. When we approached the ship, the parting Captain saw that we were without any luggage; his wife asked us how we would manage without any clothes for the next 20 days of non-stop sailing, all the way to Douala port in South Africa. But I was so excited that being without luggage didn’t affect me. The captain’s wife was kind enough to open her suitcase and give me a saree and a night suit. But I had to wash my son’s attire every night and dry it, so that he could wear the same the next day. I had to disembark from the ship when it reached Douala port as my younger son had suddenly fallen ill. As a gift for him, I bought a rocking chair. On my way back, it was getting almost impossible for me to manage all my luggage at Mumbai airport. So, I handed over the rocking chair to my elder son and asked him to carry it for me. As I was rushing towards the check-in gate, I suddenly found my elder son missing. Worried, I rushed back and found him sitting and rocking on the chair in the middle of the airport. His innocent face and his actions still hold a special place in my heart.
(As narrated to Support Elders by our member.)