Leading industrialist Pen pals for 25 years, now man and wife

JOHANNESBURG: Disability, continents and 25 years of never setting eyes on each other... Two pen pals who fell in love let nothing come in their way as they got married at a Hindu wedding ceremony here.

The story of Meenarani Ori, a 47-year-old South African Indian woman born with paralysed legs, and Edward Gerus, a 51-year-old quality control technician from the US, is straight out of a Bollywood film.

With all of Meenarani's cousins and others arriving at the airport to meet him when he first landed in Johannesburg in January to meet Meenarani, reminisced the soft-spoken Gerus, it was just like a scene from a Hindi film.

As her cousins recorded the occasion on video, Edward walked over to Meenarani and gave her a kiss for the first time since she first wrote to him in 1982.

But there were some surprises on both sides for the couple who this week returned to Boston to start their new life together.

"She was much smaller than I expected from having only seen photographs over the years," said Edward. Meenarani was surprised to find that Gerus had put on some weight and had none of the hair left in the middle of his head that she had seen in his photographs.

But before Meenarani's sisters and brother could get the wedding done, Gerus had to win over her father, Harichand Ori.

Harichand only came to know of the long-distance relationship when Edward arrived.

Meenarani's only confidante over the years, her mother Krishnadevi, had passed away in 2005, so Meenarani had kept the secret to herself all along.

"Mum had in fact been very supportive all along as she read every letter that Eddie wrote to me. When I spoke to my father in January, initially he was not happy at all. He said he needed to get to know Eddie first," Meenarani said.

So Edward arrived in a smart black suit, white shirt and red tie to impress the senior Ori.

"We chatted about the typical issues about America, from the Iraq War to President George W. Bush and we got even closer when I started assisting with the cooking in the kitchen," Edward said.

When Harichand gave them his blessing, the couple set about planning the wedding for August.

Confessing to being an avid correspondent a quarter of a century ago, Edward said he had written to girls in Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Austria and Brazil, but it was Meenarani's first letter, written with warmth and compassion, and a curiosity about South Africa that got him most interested.

"As the correspondence increased, we got closer and closer to each other as we realised that we were both very caring people," said Edward, explaining that Meenarani had told him right at the outset about her disability.

An engagement a week after he first arrived in the country in January was Edward's first taste of traditional Hindu ceremonies. Then the August wedding at the Greytown Town Hall saw him togged out in full Hindu bridal regalia as he participated in the ceremony, guided by pandit Alfie Maharaj.

"Although I had done some research through the internet, the pandit explained everything to me and it was fascinating," Edward said.

Back home in Boston, Edward's sister Mary McLaughlin and his brother Paul eagerly awaited the arrival of the new couple.

For Meenarani, it was only her second trip out of South Africa as she had attended a friend's wedding in Mauritius. But this time, it was different. She was flying to her new home after all!