It was a sunny Easter Sunday at Innoshima, in Japan. Takoka Hashitani, a young Japanese girl after a stroll on the mountains walked along to catch a bus to get back to her grandparents place. Walking down the street, she caught sight of a short dusky man at the bus terminal. Seeing the man, she thought, ‘I am sure he is not from Africa. Maybe a South Asian.’Curious, she went up to him and asked, “Are you an Indian?”The man was a bit taken aback but said, “I am from India.” She seemed to be interested in knowing more about him. And so asked him, “Which part of India are you from?” He replied, “I am Thomas Mullor from Kerala, employed in the Merchant Navy, working as a radio officer with the Bharat Jayanthi ship.” She had no clue about Kerala.The two, after talking for a while, felt that they could be good pals and so decided to exchange addresses. They boarded the same bus as they were to travel by the same route. They were pushed apart in the crowd of passengers. As she knew that he was not familiar with the place, she helped him out by pushing herself onto the crowd, reaching him saying, “The bus has reached Hitachi shipyard. Get down,” and then waved to him.The two became pen friends. Thomas on one of his trips to Japan felt like giving her a surprise visit at her college. By the time he reached, she had left for the day. The next day when her friends told her about a young Indian man who had come in search of her, she was pleasantly shocked.Gradually they developed a liking for each other. As the bond became stronger, they thought of taking it to the next level.It was his sincere nature which drew her to him, not the attraction of his naval uniform. And he in turn fell for her soft, gentle nature. Thomas took the initiative of presenting the matter to his parents back at his ancestral home in Koonamaavu, Kochi. Born in a Latin Catholic family, Thomas had four generations staying together under one roof.His parents asked him whether he would be happy with her. Thomas’s positive response got him his parents approval for the marriage.Immediately he wrote a letter to Takoka asking her hand in marriage. In Kerala, as this was a time when men used to settle down at an early age, his father attached an affidavit stating his son’s marital status along with the letter of proposal. The reply to the letter was not acrid, but a firm ‘No’.Takoka’s mother was dead against the marriage and was hostile till the end. Whatever the situation may be, the couple decided that they would get married. She belonging to the Zen Buddhist community, got baptized at a Catholic Church in Japan and soon the parish priest fixed their date of marriage.One day before the marriage, she brought her wedding gown. Next day she stepped out of her house quietly letting no one know that she was set to tie the knot in a few hours. At a Catholic church in Japan, they got married after their two years of courtship.They couldn’t possibly go for a honeymoon as Thomas’s job required him to sail to Goa. So they sailed together. “Our life together started with a voyage from Japan to Goa, spending some memorable moments on the deck, watching sun sets and gambolling dolphins,” says Takoka. The voyage ended but their life’s journey continued.Ask her about their life together, and she says, “Looking back, from the year 1967 we were there for each other, sharing life’s ups and downs, joys and sorrows. This March we will be celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary along with our three children and their families.”Recollecting her initial days in Kerala, she says, “My in-laws made me feel at home. My mother-in-law was a good cook. The quantity of food she used to serve me was so much. So to stop her I learnt my first Malayalam word ‘mathy’ (enough).”Used to Nihongo (Japanese language), learning Malayalam was not easy for her. But practice made her perfect. She is now a guest Lecturer at the Department of Foreign Language in CUSAT translating Japanese to Malayalam and an interpreter at Obey Machinery and Industries, Cochin Shipyard. She watches Malayalam movies and her favourite actor is Shankaradi and actress Sukumari. For her the best movie till date is ‘Mathilukal’ starring Mammootty. She says, “Youngsters these days hesitate to speak Malayalam as they feel it to be out of fashion. It is not right to consider his/her mother tongue to be outdated.”
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