This story is a part of Inclov’s “I Am CapAble” series. Inclov strives to provide equal and inclusive opportunity to everyone looking for love.
“My rendezvous with the world of medicines and hospitals began right at infancy. As a child, before I could barely take stock of my surroundings, I had to fight to merely survive”
“Whilst growing up, as most women battled with their self-image issues and fought for the attention of men, I fought to just be accepted and to fit in. I’ve always been treated as an outcast; the little child who was turned away because nobody wants to play with a physically weak child who keeps falling. The girl who nobody took notice of because my lack of vision was horribly equivalent to my core existence in itself. I shunned company, and withdrew inwards, dealing with my health issues and gaining comfort in my solidarity.”
For Upasana, books and writing came as saviour. It was her form of refuge, solace.
“They understood me, and soon enough, I developed a connection with the world of fiction. My romance solely existed in the books I read, and the fantasies I weaved around them. I moved forward to attain two masters’ degrees in English Literature and Geography”
She eventually began teaching as a lecturer in high school, and just when she felt like her feet touched solid ground, everything around her collapsed.
“My brother met with an accident, and he passed away. Losing him was heart-wrenching because he was the only male member of my family. He was the backbone of my family, and he took immense care of both my mother and I. Just as I felt that I was incapable of dealing with this crisis, I met Vijay.”
Vijay is a Chartered Accountant, and had got Upasana’s contact through a mutual associate. Initially, Upasana was under the assumption that he wanted to correspond her to acquire details about Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), but turned out, Vijay had taken a fancy to her. He had a similar condition that she did, and thereafter, their phone conversations began.
“To put it simply, we were besotted by each other. I found him at the time I needed him the most, and he handled me better than I could envision. There was something inside of me that drove me towards him. I couldn’t really understand what I felt for him, because I’d honestly given up on the idea of finding love and being married to someone. But with him, I felt complete. It felt just right.”
Upasana shares that her favourite memory of him was on Valentine’s Day, when she met him at a railway station. She confesses she was extremely shy, and he stretched out his hand for a firm handshake.
“As I shook his hand, he coarsely asked me to give him a firm, authoritative handshake and not a meek one. This was alien to me, because [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”Read more: http://wp.me/p7eOCO-LK”]this was the first time a man touched me, and he did not shy away from me.[/inlinetweet] He wanted me to be in my element, to be fierce, to be alluring, and I loved him instantly for all of that”
Upasana and Vijay got married in a simple ceremony on October 6th, 2011, and it was an ‘inter-caste marriage’.
“I am a Punjabi Khatri and he is a Tamil Iyer, and we realised that in love, none of these flimsy exteriors mattered. Not money, not designations, not caste, but just what we felt for each other. I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, and Vijay left his job, moved back and forth, taking care of me constantly to give me a fighting chance to survive. For most couples, the first year of marriage is a honeymoon period, but for us it was about fighting desperately to live, to exist. It was painful, but the only reason I fought cancer was because I had him by my side.”
The couple made a conscious choice not to have kids.
“I’m blessed to have found Vijay. We support and balance each other perfectly. I think, the most important advice I can give anyone is to just follow your instinct. If you stumble upon him/her and they treat you right, if it feels right, just go for it. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”Read: http://wp.me/p7eOCO-LK”]Forget your inhibitions and just fall in love. [/inlinetweet]I’m glad I trusted my instincts. I’m glad I found him. He is everything I could have asked for. We make each other happy”
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