On 8th August 1980, as arranged by my eldest brother Kochachen I, along with him, his wife, and my brother Jose went to see my possible life partner, Thankamony daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Zachariah, Lakaparambil at Kurisummmoodu, Changanasserry. At the first sight itself, I was mesmerized by her innocent smile, and the stunning beauty. She was short at 5' 2", light in weight, slender and slim with a square face. Her shoulders were broad, and carried herself with the relaxed power of a tigress. She was graceful in all ways. She was pretty, attractive and good-looking. Her face was luminous radiating charm and warmth. She looked gorgeous in her modest home clothes. Her womanly fragrance filled the room.

I could describe her in the words of Lord Byron
"She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies."

The marriage was fixed and the betrothal was held on 21st August 1980 at Saint Mary's church, Pareppally, Changanasserry, blessed by the vicar of the Parel church. My wedding day was on 28th August 1980. The preparations were flowing seemingly. The night before the wedding, my sister had drawn strands of thread from the manthrakodi, (a bright colored saree, embroidered with gold and silver threads), twisted them to form a cord and the thaali (mangalsuthra) was tied to this cord. The manthrakodi has to be placed on the bride's head after tying the thaali. It symbolizes the love, care, and protection the groom promises to give his bride. Finally the day had dawned. The weather was calm, the sky was cloudless with lots of sunshine. Relatives started pouring into my house. The wedding was to take place at 3.30 pm. I wore a blue suit because blue was my favorite color. Blue symbolizes a new beginning. It is the color of loyalty and faith. It is also the color of protection. When we arrived the St. Mary's Metropolitan church, Changanasserry at 3.30 the bride with her entourage was there. It was in this church my parents were married half a century ago. The bride was wearing an off-white saree with a veil and crown. White symbolizes a bride's purity, virtue, faith, humility, innocence and a successful beginning. The ceremony was officiated by the vicar of the church and also by Rev. Fr. Thevalasserry, a longtime friend. During the ceremony, I tied the thaali around the neck of the bride, we exchanged rings and the vows, and I placed the manthrakodi on the bride's head. It was a solemn ceremony witnessed and blessed with relatives and friends.

It was the most precious day in my life. I had found my joy. There is no word to describe my feeling of that day, a day filled with emotions and love, a day of good wishes and blessings. 'We'll walk together, this day and every day, husband and wife, to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; until death do us part'.

After obtaining the necessary visa from the Nigerian high commission in Delhi, I and Thankamony travelled to Nigeria on the 8th of October 1980. It was a very emotional farewell to my wife from her parental home. She had to leave behind her elder brother Varkychen and her younger sisters, Susymol and Treesamol. I could see tears in everybody's eyes when she waved her hands to say bye at the airport. I held her tightly. Soon the aircraft cruised at 38000 feet. The flat T.V screen showed the altitude, the outside temperature and the time to destination. Thankamony was wrapped in her own thoughts. I allowed her emotion to melt down at its own pace. I peeped through the window and to the future. It was the beginning of a long journey for both of us, miles to go endlessly, to travel so much and so forth in life together. The beautiful air hostess was very courteous and served the food obligingly. She could easily sense that we were a newly wedded couple, and every time as she passed through the aisle she smiled at Thankamony grudgingly. We talked endlessly and found warmth in each other's company. I had already planned to have our honeymoon at Nairobi, capital of Kenya on our way to Nigeria. And so when we landed at Jomo Kenyatta International airport, we were driven to Safari Park hotel to stay for a couple of days, without knowing that one day destiny would bring us back to Kenya to work. After enjoying the splendor of Safari Park hotel and a few game drives we proceeded to Nigeria and then to Mary Knoll.

Mr. Adinya, the principal was very gracious in welcoming us. He was a father figure for me. He soon arranged an interview for my wife with the Teaching service Commission, Calabar and was employed at Mary Knoll to teach Mathematics. There was a small community of Keralite in and around Ogoja and we used to meet and celebrate all religious and national festivals. They were the families of Mr. Joseph, Mr. Mathew, Mr. Mani and Mr. Benny. We used to visit my sister Kochu and family at Itam every month. There, we also met the families of Mr. Job, Dr. Mathew, Mr. Chacko and Mr. Abraham. Such visits always united us and was refreshing.