They first met in 1979. The decision was made jointly by their families — in accordance with tradition. Kanna Lakshminarayana, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Guntur and Vijaya Lakshmi got married on June 14, 1979.
Hailing from a small background this couple has come a long way. And he credits his success to his better half and says, only after getting married and having kids his career graph took off.
“We both are from Krishna district — I from Guntur and she’s from Nuzvid. One day, my parents called me saying they are going to meet my “to be bride” and her family. Then I got a chance to meet and talk to her, after a brief introduction, we liked each other. So this is how our arranged love story began and led to marriage,” recalls Kanna Lakshminarayana, who was then the youth Congress worker.
Walking us down the memory lane, she shares her favourite part from wedding. She says, “My favourite part was when he tied mangalsutra and the vows we both made to each other. It’s still fresh in our minds, the ceremonies, and all of our friends and families showed up.”
He jokingly says, “She comes from a very large family that included six sisters and seven brothers, as big as a cricket team.” And adds, “But we’re glad people can see that love stands strong 40 years later.”
Like any other couples, they face disagreements but they make sure to sit down and sort it out. “We don’t let an argument go on for too long and fix things before going to bed. No one’s perfect and it’s so easy to give up, but someone has to say sorry first and let go of their egos. And after staying together for so many years, we know each other’s likes and dislikes, we try not to leave scope for any disagreements. Even if we have, we sit down and talk it out.”
The two, who have been happily married for over 40 years, have key advice for younger couples. “Patience and respect are key mantras to a successful marriage,” Kanna Lakshminarayana further shares.
“The real challenge is to stay in a long committed relationship, and we both are more than willing to make sure this relationship lasts forever. We value the relationship more than anything else.”
So, has the marriage changed their lives? She says, “He has changed a lot after marriage especially his anger has come down.” Kanna Vijaya doesn’t like talking about her feelings, but she says he is her favourite person and her two children — Kanna Nagaraju and Kanna Phaneendra are the best gift she could ever get.
