When principals wed

BANGALORE: It is not so easy for a principal to shoehorn other things into his busy schedule, but then he must, if it is a question of getting married. Benny Joseph, who has been winning all kinds of awards for his Clarence School, has obviously discovered that love is the only anchor against the storm of change. Call it a matter of principals for Grace Nirmala, his chosen one, was principal herself (earlier), of Baldwin Girls School.Did we say married? Well, we meant remarried, its the second time around for both of them, and that is perhaps what put the tang into it, made the New Year''s day air ripple with excitement. The Benny-Grace marriage and reception on the merry morn of the first Monday of the actual millennium dwarfed every other event in the city. The venue was naturally Clarence School, the deep blue stage curtains of the auditorium sported sharp contrast sunflowers with that wonderful crested reminder: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Kanjeevaram-clad gracious hostesses of all ages (teachers, we presume), gave personal attention to every guest. Everything was so orderly and precise that it could have been just another class or school annual event. Joshua Prabhakar, with his now familiar guitar brought from the Netherlands or some such outasite place, led the singing with great elan. The academic presence of the morning was awesome. Every school principal from north, south, east and west of the city made it a point to attend. Mrs H.T. Sangliana looked stunning in her white ensemble. Where is your husband, we whispered to her in-between hymns. In the jungle, she smiled back. Imagine spending the year with Veerappan! But the fearless police chief did make a brief trip home for Christmas, bringing with him a jungle thorn the size of a hand span to show his family the kind of terrain he is scouring to catch up with the dacoit. He informed them of his resolution: Either he (Veerappan) will live, or I. Like Monica says in Friends, OH-MY-GOD! Reji Chandy and wife Esther, jet-setters of late, had dashed in almost straight from having arrived back from Mumbai. Now returning to the bridal couple, vindicated after the unimaginable horror, pain and injustice following the disintegration of his first marriage (at which point he opted for the most courageous policy of all-- silence), he has only one thing to say, "Only God can set these things right. If you try to put your trust in human beings, you will meet with disappointment, again and again." After living in a frozen shell for more than a decade, a couple of years ago, his heart began to warm up again and that is when Grace walked into it, regally, and she is everything his heart could desire. Graceful, loving, kind and talented. And if there was an award for the day, we believe it should go to Pastor Benjamin of Richmond Town Methodist Church who delivered the pre-nuptial ceremony sermon. The pastor, however, had been hounded by angry telephone calls till 11.30 the night before: We always thought you were a man of God; how could you have agreed to this assignment? the callers wanted to know. But he did, his message said it all: Today God has brought together not two perfect people, but two forgiven people. And Benny Joseph and Grace Nirmala walked radiantly down the aisle as man and wife; not to the triumphant crashing chords of the wedding march, but to a tingling crystal piano rendition of those lovely lyrics of John Newton beginning with Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.