Arranged marriages may sound unromantic, but the couple has a more realistic approach toward love and romance. Dr Reddy and Shylaja believe that a wedding is the union of two souls and their families that are filled with love. “The day you get married you are proud to be with your beautiful wife and then it dawns upon you that you love her because you are longing to see her every second and it is never boring,” feels Dr Kasu Prasad Reddy, 67, ophthalmologist and founder and co-chairman of Maxivision Eye Hospitals.
Trip down the memory lane
He was 24 and she was only 14. They had no choice but to trust that their parents knew what they were doing, and they had full faith in them. “Marriage is an institution and arranged marriages are something that we have no clue about. It is just that elders wanted this to happen and we needed to respect and follow their orders. I learnt that life is a way of imitation. Everyone around you are getting married and so should you,” says Dr Reddy, who got married in the year 1974.
Storing up one hour’s worth of wedding memory in his mind, he says, “The very first hour of the first night, when you suddenly realise, that this is the person God chose for you and you are going to love and live with for the rest of your life. Our parents and families bring us together and the sweet magic happens. Through Pellichupulu (marriage proposal), I was more interested in buying a horse in Nellore and she was only interested in all the attention she was getting and all the ornaments she was wearing and also a saree for the first time. Everything happened as it was the written Law of God.”
Was he nervous? “Ofcourse. The future, because the past had no responsibilities with parents taking care of everything. That is when I realised, yesterday is for learning and tomorrow is for dreaming, therefore I was left with that day. On the day of marriage I needed to be awake, dream, plan and execute,” says Dr Reddy, who after studying in Guntur Medical College, completed his MS in general surgery from Stanley Medical College, Chennai.
Exuding the warmth and contentment of a husband and wife who’ve been together for nearly four decades, he feels arranged marriages are more successful. “You meet and marry, you gain an understanding of each other and share your feelings, then you become close and fall in love.” With so many marriages falling apart around us today, he says, “First everyone should understand that the grass is greener on the other side. Therefore divorce is never a solution. Mistakes do happen but we should learn to forgive each other and cross the hurdles together. It’s a long journey together and you can make it successful by respecting each other’s belief.”
Residing in the UK for 20 years, Dr Reddy started with the first Excimer Laser centre in UK called the ‘Corneal Laser Centre’ (now known as the ‘Ultralase Centre’ of UK) but not before he added Aviation Medicine along with a British Pilot License in 1990 to his repertoire. “We lived in India until 1978 and lived in England from 1978 to 1996 and came back to India to start my first LASIK centre,” says Dr Reddy, who is also the qualified British Pilot.
Dr Reddy’s typical work day at Maxivision Eye Hospital (Hyderabad branch) is best described as hectic. He starts working at six in the morning and finishes at nine in the night, six days a week. Dr Reddy has the distinction of conducting 4000 PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) during his time in the UK and was the first in India to introduce Lasik, first in Asia to introduce Wavetec ORA and first in the world to introduce the VICTUS Laser cataract machine.
Love is...
Shyalja feels, “Sometimes, you don’t find love, but love finds its way to reach you.” So when did you first know you were in love? “For me, it has been a gradual process. I’m way more in love with him now than when we got married,” she says and he adds, “The day you get married you are proud to be with your beautiful wife and then it dawns on you that you love her because you are longing to see her every second and it is never boring and that I came to know when she arrived at my house after one week.”
This couple for sure knows that the rules and expectations of such a union helps them in making their marriage last. For a successful relationship – even though an arranged one – love and respect for both families, is really crucial. “Love or arranged it is an institution and you need to constantly work very hard to make it work,” he says and adds, “She has the quality to make everyone around her smile. She has the magical positive energy. Her cooking and her ability to take care of guests at home, with a smile and she also thinks that I am unpredictabe.”
Funda of their relationship
Disagreement and conflict are part of the daily lives because you are two different people. But if done in a healthy way, fighting fair can be one of the best things.
“We fight, we disagree, we don’t talk to each other and then we can’t escape each other and she smiles and I know we are back together,” he says. Their motto in life, never speak about any person in their absence, unless it is good. “Rest of everything is North Pole and South Pole, like most married couples.”
The most adventurous things they have ever done together, “I am a qualified British pilot and whenever I took her flying for aerobatics, I was stressed out and nervous, whereas and she enjoyed every moment because she had no idea about the risks I took,” he says.
The couple, who has two sons, Venesh and Anand, considers Rajeswaramma and Late Ramanaidu’s to be a model marriage. “The most I admired about their marriage was a love affair in their arranged marriage,” says an ophthalmologists, who loves to spend time with his family and grandchildren – Aanya Kasu and a grandson Rayan Kasu.
It was 1996 when he started the trend of offering world-class vision care in India. Having established seven centers in Hyderabad, two in Chennai, two in Delhi, one in Goa, one in Vishakapatnam, Bhimavaram and one in Vijayawada, Dr Reddy now plans to consolidate his business. He has plans to expand it further in the next year. All the centers are well equipped to serve all areas of Ophthalmology