Sunita and Arvind Kejriwal: Just Made For Each Other

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres - The Holy Bible Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own. It sounds beautiful in novels and films but are people fortunate enough to find this kind of love?Surely Sunita Kejriwal is one of those few women who have actually proved that such love exists.Everyone talks about Arvind Kejriwal and his determination to change the system. But would he have been able to achieve all of this without the ultimate sacrifice of his wife, now the sole bread winner of the house?Arvind Kejriwal, who we now recognize as the former Chief Minister of Delhi and AAP supremo, is a blessed man in several ways.He has many achievements to his credit but his greatest achievement is finding his true love, without whom he would have been invisible to the world.This is a story of two souls, who despite differences in thoughts sail through smoothly in high tide because the fire of love is ever bright in them.Arvind a specky young boy was always glued to books. One may go to the extent to call him a nerd. He was a dreamer who spent hours and hours pondering over issues regarding the society. This could have been an overload for a boy of such young age, but that's how Arvind carried himself.His sincerity to education got him a seat in the prestigious IIT. While he was surrounded by piles of books and his engineering tools, little did he know that his life was about to take a complete u-turn.By the time he was in the fourth year of his B.tech, there was a constant buzz amongst his friends on their future course of action. Most of them opted for jobs that offered handsome packages.Arvind too started his career fabulously by joining Tata Steel. But life had other plans for him. Kejriwal tried his luck in Civil services and succeeded in qualifying for IRS.Arvind and his family in Hisar (Haryana) enthusiastically prepared for Lal Bahadur Shashtri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie (Uttarakhand).Just about 170 kms from Arvind's hometown, another family in Delhi was exuding with happiness as their daughter, Sunita, too had qualified the exams. Sunita was a brilliant student.She was very shy and timid. Being an introvert, she was apprehensive about the new environment that she was about to face. Arvind and Sunita joined the academy as batch mates. Initially they rarely spoke to each other. Arvind was always vocal about his opinion and never left an opportunity to speak his mind out. Sunita on the other hand was seldom heard.But just as the law of nature says – opposites attract - Arvind adored Sunita's shyness. He liked to watch her work with her lips tightly sealed. Her innocent smile always made his day. Her presence filled him with warmth despite the chill of Mussoorie.Arvind wanted her to know that she was very special for him. But probably for the first time, he held his silence. He was worried about her response. But Sunita too was love struck. She admired his simplicity. Arvind's honesty towards his work and his passion to bring about change in the nation won Sunita's heart.Within a couple of months, they were transferred to National Academy of Direct Taxes in Nagpur (Maharashtra) to complete their training.By now Arvind and Sunita had become goods friends. But Arvind craved to express his love for her. So one fine day, he plucked up some courage and approached her. Without any ceremonious speech, he blurted out, “Will you marry me?”Sunita was taken aback by this sudden proposal. She simply stared at him before responding with a ‘yes'. In a way Sunita was relieved that he had approached her. She didn't feel strong enough to take a stand on her own and perhaps Arvind had sensed that.In most love stories, parents play the role of antagonists who create obstacles in young people's love life. But Arvind was always independent in making decisions and his parents respected that.They had firm faith on him. And in his usual blunt way, Arvind Kejriwal rang up his parents and confessed to them that he had found his love and life partner. Sunita too discussed Arvind and her relationship with her parents.Sunita's parents approved of the match and were ecstatic that he too was pursuing IRS. Their parents communicated with each other and even before they had completed their training, the couple united in holy matrimony.Here began an entirely different journey for the love birds. On completion of their training they moved to a small apartment in Delhi.Some say that love becomes stagnant after marriage but here it was contrary. Sunita gave birth to their first child in 1996 - Harshita, a beautiful baby girl. Then in 2001, Pulkit was born.Life became more difficult for them as they had two children to take care of and at the same time pay attention to their job.Working with the government as Civil servants has pros and cons. Yes, you are a recipient of all the benefits that the government provides to its employees and at the same time you are a witness to the corrupt practices of the government. Arvind was restless.He had spent most of his life pondering over how he could change the system and here he was working with corrupt officials.So in December 1999, while still in service with the Income Tax Department, he helped found a movement named Parivartan (which means “change”), focused on assisting citizens in navigating income tax, electricity and food ration matters in parts of Delhi.But that alone didn't satisfy him. Arvind's restlessness stole his mental peace. Finally in 2006, he quit his job as Joint Commissioner of Income Tax in New Delhi.Sunita felt worried for her beloved husband but she supported his action. She simply wanted him to be happy and live his life on his terms and conditions.He became an RTI activist and an anti-corruption crusader and led the Jan Lokpal Bill movement along with social activist Anna Hazare in 2011.Arvind Kejriwal became an important part of Anna Hazare's core team to draft a version of the Jan Lok Pal Bill.All this time Sunita took care of the family. Harshita and Pulkit too proudly supported their father. Sunita had taught her children to respect their father's virtue.During this phase Arvind could not spend much time with Sunita yet she could not have been happier. She was proud of her man.India Against Corruption movement was not very successful as eventually the Jan Lok Pal Bill was not passed. The never – ending list of scams and callous attitude of the government agitated Arvind.Corruption had spread its roots to such extend that Arvind Kejriwal realised entering into the political fray was the only solution. He along with few others formed the Aam Admi Party (AAP)His decision was criticized by many. Even his mentor, Anna Hazare distanced himself from Arvind. Here again Sunita and his children stood by him. They encouraged him to follow his heart.Arvind's political journey was rough. He won the Delhi elections and became the CM for 49 days. When he stepped down from his position, people ridiculed him. He was severely criticized by the media and masses.During this phase, Arvind felt extremely low. He had acted for the best. He did what he felt was right. But surely there was another person who felt worse than him at that point of time. It is extremely difficult for a woman to see her husband being abused and mocked at. Sunita felt helpless. Yet she knew that she had to be strong for him. She had to be strong for her children who had to face the world.During election campaigns an auto driver slapped him, someone threw ink at him. The internet was full of jokes regarding Arvind. The media was all out against him.Every political party looked at him with disdain. It is hard to imagine what all Sunita had to go through after being a witness to all of this. It was the most difficult phase for the family.We have heard of women leaving their husbands during difficult times, but Sunita was not one of those weak women.The shy and timid girl, who was apprehensive about the new environment at Lal Bahadur Shashtri Academy in Mussoorie, now stands as an exemplary example of strength. Her love for her husband has not faded with time. It has only grown stronger.Her children are not embarrassed by snide remarks on their father. They are proud and consider him their ideal. Harshita recently acquired excellent grades in her Board exam and has qualified for IIT. She values her father immensely.People have all sorts of opinion about the self acclaimed ‘anarchist' but his wife's sacrifice is worth thousand salutes.For Sunita Kejriwal her husband is a true gem. Come what may she is there for him.Sunita has lived up to the matrimony oath – “from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish ‘till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.”Arvind Kejriwal may not be aware of the kind of life he was about to face but God had plans for him. Sunita and Arvind are JUST MADE FOR EACH OTHER.