The secret of a successful marriage

Fashion designer and politician Shaina NC has been married to her husband Munish for the last 15 years. Shaina is as busy as can be with her work and bringing up their  children. After this period of time, Shaina and Munish have come to an agreement on certain issues: “One understanding that Munish and I have is not to fight in front of the children. And if we do at all then we engage in constant dialogue until we have sorted it out between ourselves.

Also, as far as the children are concerned we observe at least two rules when dealing with them jointly: the first is that if one parent says ‘no’ to the kids for a particular request, then the other parent will not contradict the first or go off in an opposing direction. Secondly if one of us is more indulgent with the children on a particular issue, then the other will be more strict on that issue — so that there is a healthy balance as far as the kids are concerned.”

Ad filmmaker Kailash Surendranath and wife Aarti both confess that they’re two completely different personalities. “I love to
party, Aarti does not. I’m non-vegetarian, Aarti is not,” says Kailash.

“What we agree on is to give each other plenty of space to do our own thing. I like my night out with the boys once in a while and I leave her alone when she wants to go to the spa or get a head massage or things like that. Also when it  comes to the kids, we both agree that we should treat them like grown ups and not baby-talk them. Rather when they want to know something we answer them as truthfully as possible, as we understand it,” continues Kailash. “Aarti and I are also totally into fitness and so we both encourage the kids to pursue sports both consciously and unconsciously,” he adds.

Actor Vikas Bhalla and his wife Punita have been married nearly a decade and they abide by two golden rules: “The first is total honesty. We have a pact that no matter how much the truth may hurt, we never lie to each other. The second is that if we ever have a fight we never sleep on it or carry it forward to the next day.”