July is not the right season to be at Kodaikanal. On the 12th of July there was a big crowd at Kodaikanal and that made us think for a second that may be Nayanthara was there for a shoot or something. But then we found out that Irom Sharmila has come to visit the place. Some quickly identified her saying, “the lady who protested with a tube in her nose” and took selfies with her.
What is Irom doing in Kodaikanal? She has come to Kodaikanal to introduce her future husband to this part of the world. Irom Sharmila, who was referred to as the ‘iron lady of India’ had spent most of her youth protesting against the army laws imposed by the government in her state Manipur. Later she also contested in elections and faced a very bad defeat. She has now left her homeland Manipur and has now settled down in Kodaikanal. “She lives in a place called Poombarai, which is located near the solar observatory in Kodaikanal” according to a famous Tamil News website. When she was asked the reason for shifting to Kodaikanal, she narrates as below.
“It is true that I was greatly disappointed by losing the election , but that’s not the reason for my leaving the place. I have decided to give rest to protesting and have decided to live for some time peacefully. Hill stations have always fascinated me right from my childhood and in the beginning I wanted to choose a mountain region in Karnataka, but later I choose Kodaikanal. The reason for this choice is Tamil people. Their life is closely attached to nature and that’s why I choose Kodaikanal to settle down” she said.
When Vikatan asked her whether she will settle down permanently in Kodaikanal, she said “it depends on what her future husband decides”. At a time like this there are some people protesting against Irom Sharmila getting married and settling down in Kodaikanal. When we asked Desmond Coutinho to tell us their love story, he started speaking in a shy manner.
“Irom Sharmila has been protesting for over 16 years, but only recently people came to know about her protests. I have known her for around 9 years and after two years I was astonished by her strong will to protest and I was attracted towards her and fell in love with her. I realized that, having a women like Irom as a life partner, I can achieve a lot more.
I have been in love with Irom Sharmila for 7 years and the book ‘Burning Bright Irom Sharmila’ had a great impact on me. I first came in touch with her through the social media. In the beginning she treated me like everyone else and only after four years she understood my true love and she accepted it. ‘I am no god and love will also come to me’ she once said and I feel proud to know that it has happened through me.
While Irom is protesting there is always a photograph of Nelson Mandela on her right hand side and on the left hand side is the doll I gifted her with ‘I love you written on it’. It was then I realized that she too was in love with me. But even before that director Vishal Barathwaj had told me that Irom was in love with me.
Once we were standing outside the Manipur court I was holding her hand and some people came to attack me because they said ‘it was not allowed’ in Manipur. During that time she stopped them and she spoke to them on my behalf and I could see her love for me in that situation. From now on we have planned to live for each other” said Desmond Coutinho.
It is believed that Desmond is a citizen of Ireland. “I am not from Ireland. I belong to a British family. My native is Goa . So I am an Indian!” said Desmond, who is allergic to media. “Please allow us to live peacefully and we don’t want the media to be around us” he said. He told the people who came to see them that he came to Kodai having full faith on them and took selfies with them, with a smiling face.
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