My mother in law loved to go and watch Hindi movies in the theatres around Suva and Nausori so my husband and father in law would volunteer to baby sit my children and let us go to the Regent, Regal, Ajanta and the Lilac or the Phoenix theatres. Thus my mother in law and I bonded well to live a pleasant and enjoyable family life. She was always my mother or Amma because she never made me miss my own mother.
My In Laws
In order to get a better job in the city of Suva, I then went to Fiji Institute of Technology to upgrade my qualifications and better my shorthand and secretarial skills thus I completed my Diploma in Secretarial Studies. To continue my studies while attending to family matters and this was somewhat difficult at times but with the willing assistance of my husband, mother in law and my brothers in law and sisters in law we managed life well.
In addition to my fulltime studies and work I was fortunate to attend a variety of relevant in-house courses, on the job and off the job training courses at Fiji National Training Council and the University of the South Pacific. All these upgrading enabled me to perform my duties effectively and that enabled me to get better job opportunities and serve the customers with additional enthusiasm.
The technological innovations compelled me to further update my work skills to enable a smooth transition from manual typewriter to electronic devices such as laptops and desktops. A bit of extra effort and enthusiasm enabled me to easily adjust to the system. Nothing seemed hard and distant when I had the support of the empathetic management and friendly colleagues.
I had to learn to drive and get my driving licence because the transport needs of the family were growing. With the purchase of another car travelling to and work and transporting children to and from school became easier and manageable.
Apart from our home sweet home at 11 Kaba Street in Tamavua Suva Fiji our next most valuable assets were our two children, Dhanajaiya Krishna and Jaya Lakshmi whose educational needs were our main objective. Consequently we made every effort to ensure that they received the best, relevant and the most appropriate education both in Fiji and overseas.
They themselves worked hard and produced excellent results which made us very happy parents. After successfully completing their high school studies, Jaya gained entrance to Fiji School of Medicine to complete her medical studies and Dhanajaiya went to Fiji Institute of Technology to do his studies in refrigeration.
Dhanajaiya or Jai as we lovingly called him initially went to Vishnu Deo Memorial School in Raiwaqa but later went to the same school I went to namely Nanuku Sangam School in Wailevu Rakiraki to complete his primary education. He gained admission to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School where he completed his secondary education. Then he attained his trade certificate in refrigeration from Fiji Institute of Technology before joining Mechanical Services to work.
He wanted to do further studies in his area of interest but since it was not available in Fiji we sent him to Adelaide in South Australia. In order to get his education visa Australian Immigration wanted to see that we had enough funds to support him. Finally he made it to his College and while studying there he managed to support himself by working part time. It was here that he met his wife Luta Taia Lisam who was from Papua New Guinea and also studying there to become a qualified chef. We were indeed happy when Jai came back to begin working as an air conditioning and refrigeration engineer.
When he was promoted as a manager he got married to his college mate Luta and they have two lovely children, Immanuel Veeraj and Nishtha Isabel. They began living with us in a joint family. They made us feel as if we were leading the life of the best parents and grandparents.
Immanuel Veeraj and Nishtha Isabel both began their primary education at Holy Trinity School in Suva. Immanuel gained admission to Marist Brothers High School and is doing well there in his studies and sports.
After their marriage Jaya and Murli migrated to USA and their two boys Nirav and Aayush are at school in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
Jai, Luta and their two children Veeraj and Nishtha
Our grandchildren Veeraj and Nishtha have been our real inspiration and we still share a lot of good times together and enjoy our conversation. This is because I feel that our grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation. My children's children have been the shining jewel in the crown to me because in a lot of ways they are equally dearer as our children. We had similar bondage with Nirav and Aayush when we visited them in Jacksonville, Florida.
Then our daughter Jaya Lakshmi had a brilliant educational development when she completed her primary school at Vishnu Deo Memorial and MGM primary to gain entrance to MGM high where she gained her form 7 certificates and was accepted at Fiji School of Medicine to do her MBBS course. After the first year of excellent results she was awarded government scholarship to complete the course in 1998. After her graduation she got married to Murli Krishna and migrated to Jacksonville in Florida USA and worked as a family practitioner and they have two children, Nirav Aman Krishna and Aayush Ishaan Krishna. Murli Krishna works at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.Florida.
Jaya Laksmi and Murli Krishna
The Krishna Family of USA in 2018
We are proud of the achievements of our two children and are completely satisfied that the interest and efforts we took in their educational development have paid great dividends and made us happy. My husband Veera Swamy Naidu was thrilled with all their achievement before he passed away in August, 2008. However, while I was left alone I had the support and love of my children and grandchildren and continued to work at Fiji National University at Hoodless House until December 2016 and took my retirement to migrate to Brisbane to start a new life.
Although I was living with my children in my own home, life needed a change in old age. I began my new relationship eight years after the passing away of my husband. I then retired as Personal Assistant to various Deans of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences of the Fiji National University and decided to settle down in Brisbane to begin my new life. I got married to Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad, a retired Education and Human Resource Consultant. The ceremony took place in Bellbowrie in Brisbane, Australia on June 10th 2017 with the blessings of my family, relatives and friends.
After my retirement and before my marriage to Dr Ram L Prasad we were invited to visit the family members in Brisbane and then in Kuala Lumpur to spend a few weeks to enjoy with Ram’s younger son Dr Rohitesh Prasad and Winnie Tam. We received a very warm welcome everywhere we went which gave us a head start to our new life. We have great memories of that warm hospitality.
