The Bhimanis are one of the city’s best-known couples ? a husband and wife used to the spotlight. Kishore is one of Calcutta’s most-respected journalists and sportswriters. But if he’s enjoyed major success, it’s during his innings as a cricket commentator, something he fell into by chance. Fifty overseas tours and 157 test matches later, Kishore still manages to add his own unique spin on things.

During the course of his career, Kishore has also penned 11 books, nine of which are devoted to what else, but cricket. Currently, he’s enjoying a new-found role as director of studies of the Pailan School of Media Studies, where he shares with students his experiences in print, television and broadcast journalism. If that’s not enough, Kishore has another ace up his sleeve ? an ESPN programme about the game of poker. The pilot has been completed and Kishore is looking forward to the show once it hits screens around Diwali.

The very glamorous-looking Rita has been running her own public relations company, Ritam, for almost 15 years. A writer in her own right as well as an anchorperson who hosts many shows across the city, Rita is also visiting faculty at the Pailan School of International Studies.

How did two such ambitious individuals manage to make a go of things?

KISHORE:

When it came to Rita and myself, the basics were all there from the very beginning. Here was this journalism student from the US, and there I was, the working journalist. What’s more, Rita’s brother was a college friend. Our first meeting was at The Statesman where she had come to drop off some book reviews. I gallantly offered to pass it on to the person in question, and after that, our romance took off right and proper.

What drew me to Rita from the very beginning was the fact that she was attractive, interesting and terribly intelligent. Also, we were opposites in almost every sense of the word. I love a good action film, she’s hooked on serious drama. I’m a pure vegetarian, she’ll eat anything that moves! I was an extrovert who loved his parties, gambling and a good, stiff drink. Rita on the other hand, was more sedate, measured and self- effacing. Yet, I think we balanced each other just beautifully!

Now while I came from a wealthy business family, I chose a journalist’s life in Calcutta. So naturally, money was tight ? my salary was all of Rs 600 at the time. Nevertheless, Rita and I managed to have a ball during the courting stages. We’d catch a movie on a Rs 1.50 ticket, hang out at Trincas or Blue Fox and enjoy the live music there courtesy Pam Crain and other friends. Money was never a deterrent to having a great time!

Now even though Rita was a lot less flashy than me, it’s not at all surprising that she has earned a name for herself in the field of public relations. She always had the talent ? she merely grew into it. Now she does a better job at anchoring shows on stage than me!

There’s a lot I love about Rita. She was born on October 2, and I always rib her about sharing a true Gandhian virtue ? that of complete honesty. I call it the second October syndrome, though I’m not necessarily sure that I’m so terribly honest all the time. Also, what I appreciate about her is that she never tom-toms her achievements ? be they big or small. My only grouse is that Rita usually falls asleep while watching a movie of my choice, which is usually anything Van Damme, Bruce Lee or action-oriented.

The best part about life with Rita is the great companionship. We both have a great sense of humour and manage to look at the funny side of life. As you grow older, things do tend to go wrong. But the secret to surviving these incidents is to laugh at them. Summing up the last 35 years, all I have to say is: ‘I’d do it all over again’.

RITA:

I did my masters in the US and it was only after I returned to Calcutta that I first heard of Kishore. I remember my mother telling me about this brilliant writer in The Statesman. I must’ve been impressed for I went down to his office to meet him and show him a couple of my book reviews. Kishore and I hit it off from the word go. So you could say it was love at first sight.

Soon we began dating and after about a year, we decided to get married. I was slightly apprehensive though, about the reactions from our families and also whether we were on the right track since both of us come from different backgrounds. He hails from Kutch and I was a Mukherjee from Calcutta. Our minor apprehensions though, were overcome by our determination to be together. So we both broke the news to our respective families on the very same day. Thankfully, they accepted our decision. I remember we had a beautiful Brahmo ceremony, which my father performed.

Looking back on the past 35 years of married life with Kishore, I must say it’s been a fabulous time indeed. And things are only getting better! What cements our relationship are our similarities and more so, our differences. Kishore and I love to travel and we are also drawn to the same art ? both of us love the Impressionists. But we are also diametrically different in certain aspects. For instance, Kishore loves listening to singers like Mehndi Hasan, and Begum Akhtar while I prefer Western classical music. Even our reading habits are different with him liking biographies and espionage fiction and me favouring a wider range of literature. Yet, I think it is our differences that draw us closer together.

I believe that trust, appreciation of your partner and giving each other space are the cornerstones of a successful marriage. And that’s where Kishore and I got it right. When you’re younger, you tend to be a bit competitive with your spouse. There’s a sense of one-upmanship. But that was never the case with us. We were both ambitious to begin with but we adjusted very well. Kishore encouraged my ambitious yearnings every step of the way. We still encourage and appreciate each other. I make it a point to read his articles and critique them and he does the same with me.

There are a couple of things that I admire about Kishore, professionally. The first is his tremendous retentivity ? he never needs to pick up reference books for things he has read ages ago stay with him. And second, is his intellectual sharpness. On a more personal note, what I love about Kishore is his immense sensitivity to my requirements. I believe that hadn’t he to build me up, I would never be what I am today. He takes a special interest in me right down to what I wear. He buys all my Kanjeevarams and I swear by his taste, so much so that I don’t like to buy anything without him being there.

But yes, I do have certain pet peeves where he’s concerned. Kishore always insists on sitting on the left-hand side in the car. This can get rather annoying, as sometimes, I have to walk right around the car to get in.

All in all though, the life lessons I’ve learned from Kishore are many. And chief among them, are tolerance and learning to give space. I remember in the early days, Kishore would frequent the racecourse, something I didn’t much enjoy. So I learned to let him go on his own. There’s no point in anging on to each other all the time because then you’ll never learn to appreciate your time together.

Photograph by Rashbehari Das