MY SON

Somewhere in the beginning of April 2006 we decided that we

will have a Son...
From April 2006:

I am Ronald Raajesh, aged 27yr 2 months as on Apr 2006, happily

married to my wife Aarthi, who was to complete 27 years on 15 th April 2006. At
that time I was posted in Vizag as Territory Manager in TVS Motor Company, and
Aarthi had recently resigned from ICICI.

Aarthi had just recovered from a troublesome experience – an abortion in

Feb’06. We had conceived a child though we were on pills. On consultation with
doctors they had informed us that the child might have been conceived because
of irregularity in usage of pills, and Aarthi had been taking the tablet for 3 months
after the child had formed, with regular period happening. We were given a
choice to either continue to delivery or abort the fetus, but no guarantee that the
child will be without any deformities. Hence with a heavy heart we had to decide
for abortion.

But after this bad experience we decided that we would have our son
(somehow both of us had a strong conviction that it will be a son) in a planned
manner. In fact I remember us having a four hour discussion, sitting with my
laptop, on this subject in April though I have forgotten the exact date. We decided
that the child should be born anywhere in July-September 2007, as we felt that it
would be the most ideal time with the season being immediately after summer
and just before the rainy season. We drew up a Cash flow plan as to see what
are the expenses that would be incurred in the next 2 years and whether we will
be able to support our son as best as possible.

We came to understand the few difficulties that faced us. First, we were
posted in Vizag. Vizag is one of the most beautiful cities I had seen and it still
remains as one of my favorite city with lot of memories because it was the city to
which I was posted immediately after marriage with a promotion. For 2 year
before my marriage I had been handling Vijayawada territory in TVS as Sales
Officer. On the very next day of my marriage I received the information that I was
promoted as Territory Manager with a grade promotion and pay increase and
moving to the Second largest market in Andhra, first being Hyderabad. Being
slightly superstitious, our family was thrilled that Aarthi had brought in the luck in
my life, something which I have been strongly believing from the day I saw her.

Vizag is known for its pleasant climate and its scenic beauty. Lying on the
coast line Vizag should be proud of its beautiful beaches like RK beach and
Yerrada (our favorite). We had seen Vizag’s complete splendor when we visited
the Borra Caves –a fascinating natural formation and Arrakku Valley – a
fascinating Green Valley. People are very cordial and jovial than the people in
other parts of Andhra and I had formed some long lasting friends who are my well
wishers even today.

We had taken up one of the most luxurious apartment, MVV Gardens, on

the beach front with a clear view of the beach from our long balcony. And unlike
Vijayawada territory all the dealer and sub dealer locations were closely knitted.
So after any tour to other districts I was able to return back to home on the same
day. Also the city is one of the safest places to live. Any time we felt, we used to
take my two-wheeler and drive on the beach rode and enjoy the scenic beauty
and soothing breeze of the Vizag beach, sometimes as late as 1 o’clock in the
night.

But the only problem that we had was the location of Vizag. Vizag is
located near to the borders of Andhra and Orissa, which was a long distance of
22 hours journey from Karur, the place where my parents were staying and 20
hours from Trichy, where Aarthi’s parents and my relatives are based. We were a
newly wed couple and it is customary, in our place, for relatives to visit the home
of the newly wed. But of the one year that we stayed there our relatives and
friends were finding it difficult to visit us primarily because of the distance. Even
our parents from both sides of the family have visited us only twice in one year.
Hence we thought that during the time of delivery our relatives will not be able to
visit us immediately, the pain of which we had felt during the abortion.

The second problem was the money factor. Though we were earning a
decent pay pack, I had asked Aarthi to quit her job after Feb, to take care of her
health. I also did not have any intention of sending her to a job for quite some
time. Our Cash Flow Planner indicated that though the cash flow was sufficient
there was little room for contingencies. Also I was not sure of an immediate
promotion in TVS because I had been promoted continuously for the past 2
years, and sales in Vizag was increasing in spurts in tandem with the general
industry, unlike Vijayawada where I was able to push a steady growth. And if
promoted, I was not sure of getting posted in Tamilnadu. As a matter of fact, 3
years in Two-Wheeler Sales had become a bit too much boring for me and I had
been requesting my management to shift me to IT department where my
Systems skills can also be utilized.
 Considering these factors, we decided that I should move to a better job in
Chennai, where there would be high scopes for career improvement and medical
facilities are abundant and we would be at a strategic location which would
facilitate easy access to our relatives and friends. Aarthi applied for me in ICICI’s
web site, I was called for an interview and was selected as Sales Manager for
Medical Equipment Loans in Chennai, with a better pay, better grade and higher
responsibility in a new field of work - Finance. In May 2006 I resigned TVS and in
June 2006 we move to Chennai…

Preparing for my Son:

Shifting Chennai was no easy task. When I had taken up the posting in
Vijayawada I moved in with 2 bags and 1 suitcase. When I moved to Vizag I
moved luggage in half of a mini van. But when shifting to Chennai, I had
accumulated so much goods that I had to hire a full van. With the help of our
service staff and a hired packers and movers I was able to shift things to
Chennai. But the main issue lay in Chennai where we had to urgently find a
rental apartment for moving in. Finding an apartment in Chennai is no mean task,
the labor of which will be only known by persons who have tried. The city is
infested with broker of all sorts who keep showing useless places which would
neither fit our requirement nor fit our budget. They are the main reason for the
rental amounts to sky rocket to crazy amounts.

At least we were lucky that my father in law’s apartment was vacant at that
time and we moved in swiftly. After staying in a vast apartment in Vizag this
apartment was relatively tiny and we had dumped our entire luggage in one
bedroom and were using the hall for sleeping. Only Aarthi felt the major brunt of
it.

As I had joined ICICI recently I had to spend majority of the day in office
going through the learning curve. I had to really slog for accumulating as much
knowledge as possible because this field was new to me. In fact it was a u-turn in
my career – from product sales to finance; from two wheeler sales to medical
equipment loans. I was surprised to know that there exists an industry for
Medical Equipments and far more surprising was the fact that ICICI has a
dedicated loans division for funding customer to purchase medical equipments
like X-Ray, CT, MRI, etc.. In the initial phase I was putting in literally 12 hours of
work with 2 hours added to travel to and from office. And I was spending only 10
hours with my wife.

Aarthi had lot of issues to handle and she was handling it all with a smile.
First the water was no good and brackish, the kitchen was too small for cooking
and the apartment was too small for moving around. Above all, after staying in a
pleasant climate in Vizag the Chennai heat was bearing down upon her and she
had to spend the entire day in the heat. In fact since we were not able to sleep in
the sweat we were going to late night movies every alternate day to at least be in
air conditioning till 1 in the night. We had hoped that we would be able to find a
new house in a week or so. But when the search stretched to two months it
became unbearable for her. I immediately got an electrician to unpack our air
conditioner and install it in the flat, which at least brought her some relief.

Transport was an issue as we were using a company owned two-wheeler

and had not thought about purchasing one. But thanks to Nirmala, our dear
friend, that problem was solved. Nirmala is one of our best friends whom we first
met in Vizag. When I was posted in Andhra I did not know Telugu, but the three
years spent in coastal Andhra, known for pure Telugu, I had even started to read
and write small words. At the same time, being Tamilians, any where we heard a
voice speaking Tamil, we used to feel happy to hear it.

Sashidhar was one of the dealers whom I was managing. He is a

promising entrepreneur having two TVS dealerships. He also became my good
friend primarily because of his good nature and also he was very fluent in Tamil.
It was in his dealership in Vizag, that I met Nirmala. Nirmala is a Tamilian, and of
very cordial nature. She treats every one as her brother and is a real sales
woman with the never quit attitude. Aarthi became her close friend very soon.

After coming to Chennai, we went to Nirmala’s sister wedding in the month

of July and on coming to know that we were finding it difficult to travel, she
immediately asked us to take her Scooty Pep which was not being used by any
one after she had moved to Vizag. The Scooty became very handy in searching
for a house. Very soon I took a loan from ICICI and purchased a white Matiz on
July 7th and started driving though I had seldom driven a four wheeler before. The
idea of purchasing a four wheeler can be attributed majorly to Aarthi, who
rationalized that a four wheeler is essential even before our kid is born, as it
would be difficult to carry him around in a two-wheeler or bus.

We decided to take a house any where close to Santhome, where my

office is located. The search for the house was becoming too tiresome but also
too urgent as the month of Aadi (inauspicious Tamil month for starting new work)
was nearing. We had tried 32 different houses and not satisfied. In that
desperation we were in the verge of taking up two flats with a rental of 10 k per
month but finally decided against it and thought of giving up the search and shift
after Aadi.

On August 15, 2006, being a holiday we thought of giving it one more last
go and went on our final hunt. Luckily we met a broker who in turn introduced to
another broker who in turn checked with a maid servant in an apartment and
showed us an apartment in Besant Nagar which was not only good but also fitted
our HRA. We decided immediately and met the house owner Mrs. Lalitha
Ganesh who had come on a visit to Chennai from Coimbatore and paid the
advance and had the milk warming ceremony on the very next day. Finally on
August 20th we shifted our luggage also and moved into our new home.

After settling down, we reiterated the entire plan and checked on the
dates. We decided that for having a child in July-Sep of next year Aarthi had to
conceive in the month of October. At that time my brother, who was in love with
his college mate, was requesting my mother for marrying that girl. Finally after a
lot of hassles my mother and father agreed. It was initially proposed to have their
marriage in January 2007 in the month of Thai (an auspicious Tamil month). We
once again drew up a Cash Plan and decided that our cash flow would become
steady only by Jan 07. Hence contributing to his marriage also will not hinder our
plan. But when after checking horoscopes, it was decided to have my brother’s
marriage in November 1st 2006 that we had to think and rethink. In fact in these
discussions happened till October 10th and then after a lot of discussions
between Aarthi and me, we decided to go ahead and have our son. We went to
Karur on 26th October for my brother’s marriage.

On the way we went to Felix’s marriage with Sharmila. Felix and

Karunakaran are two of my closest friends since my engineering college days.
This friendship has lasted over a decade. In fact, I am more attached to them
since they were the persons who helped me in proposing to Aarthi. In 2006, Felix
was working as a Software Engineer in Hyderabad and Karunakaran was in
Thermax, Pune. Karuna was married a month prior to our marriage and he has a
daughter. Felix was getting married a week prior to my brother’s marriage. Being
close friends we went to his marriage and came back with a blissful mood for my
brother’s wedding preparations.

Aarthi had her regular period in 16th Oct and we took the first step towards
creating our son on 30th October 2006 in my parental home in Karur….

A Star in the Making:

November 17th Aarthi felt that she has conceived.