Friday, October 30, 2020

Celebration time for quintuplet family

Last week, the quintuplet family of Kerala state was in the news again. But before getting into the details, some background to it.

Back in November 1995, four girls and a boy were born to Rema Devi, a homemaker in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. That's very rare, is it not? It seems the chances of having natural quints is 1 in 55,000,000, according to Baby2See. So, quite understandably, they hit the headlines of the local media there.

Since they were born on the Uthram star of the Malayalam calendar, the daughters were named Uthra, Uthraja, Uthara and Uthama, and the son Uthrajan. (In case you are interested: Wikipedia pages on Malayalam calendar and star)

The quintuplets with their mother.
Courtesy: Mathrubhumi

Raising one child is tough, and this is an ordinary middle-class family with just one earning member. And one can imagine how hard the days must have been for the family.

Tragedy struck when the children were nine. Their father ended life. That made the struggle for the mother, Rama Devi, unimaginably tough. The Kerala government helped by offering her a job in a bank. 

Good Samaritans and community welfare organisations also reached out to them so that the mother's hardship could be reduced somewhat, and the children got access to good and quality education.

Their struggles were amply rewarded as all the children did well in their studies and got placed in good positions.

Three daughters at their wedding.
Image courtesy: Mathrubhumi

Last week, it was another milestone for the family -- wedding bells. Three girls got married. If fact, it should have been four, but one of the girls has to wait since her groom couldn't travel to Kerala from Kuwait because of the travel restrictions on account of the pandemic.

Fortune favours the brave, doesn't it? This family is a testimony to it.

References:

Mathrubhumi, Malayala Manorama

(This post is part of the monthly We Are The World Blogfest that goes out on the last Friday of every month to highlight the positive stories around us. On Facebook and on Twitter.)

29 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    Lovely to see a post from you Pradeep - and that too, one filled with joyful news to offset so much that is negative now! Such positive outcomes are a blessing to read about - thank you for sharing this story!!! YAM xx

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  2. What a lovely story Pradeep and the background to it, ie the quintuplets being born under the Uthram star and hence their names. I'm glad that Rama Devi's hardships on the death of her husband were lessened by the reaching out of many. Amazing also
    the wedding of 3 of the young women! All happiness to them. Thanks you for this wonderful #WATWB post.

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  4. When there are multiple births like this, or even twins or triplets, I feel concerned for the parents and the children - that they have a decent roof over their heads, food in their mouths and a good chance at education and life. I am glad to see that this family survived and thrived, even with the tragedy of their father's death. I hope they continue with great lives and happiness.

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    1. Hi Mary - Thanks for visiting and for the comments. Indeed one can imagine the hardship they must have gone through.

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  5. Hi Pradeep - so pleased to see that after their father's death the neighbourhood and locals all helped their mother - then the children all supported each other to achieve. Wonderful to see three of the girls getting married, while another celebration at some stage.

    Wonderful positive story - which we all need right now .. take care and all the best - Hilary

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  6. Nice happy news from Kerala. Wish these 3 couples a long, happy, and peaceful married life.

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  7. What a lovely family! I'm so sorry the father committed suicide. That's awful. And yet they persevered. Kudos to them all. May they have long and happy lives.

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    1. Hi Darla - It's sad that the father wasn't around to see the success of his children.

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  8. Wow, quintuplets. How sad about their father. It really is uplifting to hear that they've made it through their struggles to happier lives.

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  9. Wow, what a story! Glad to hear things are going well at the moment.

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  10. What a lovely story Pradeep - I always like reading about people who beat the odds - and even more so when the community rallies around them to give support. How lovely that these young adult children have grown and thrived and are now creating families of their own.

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    1. Hi Leanne - Yes, a story that gives us hope of triumph in the face of adversity.

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  11. I have never come across anything more than triplets. At least in this case it was more of a chance than choice.

    One family we met before a few years told us that the lady was one of 15 kids. And she didn't know if she was 7th or 8th born. No wonder India is close to becoming #1 in population explosion!!

    Destination Infinity

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    1. Hi Rajesh - Yes, in this case it wasn't their choice. Thanks.

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  12. Yes, true, Remadevi could turn the stones of her life, with the help of philanthropist. At least, she didn't follow her husband's footsteps.

    Yesterday, I posted my comments in the posts of some people, through my phone, but didn't loom any.

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    1. Hi Sarala - Thanks for the comments. An inspirational story!

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  13. Very interesting news . I saw this news but dint know the background story . Yes 5 kids is definitely a blessings when getting 1 these days itself is a big thing . No words to tell the mothers love and hardships to bring her kids well .The father could have been alive but yea gone is gone . God bless them all

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  14. Wow, Pradeep! What an uplifting story! I'm so glad it has turned out happily for the family after the tragedy of losing their father.

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  16. What a lovely story! Glad that the family is doing well despite the challenges.

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  17. Great and lovely story, we need happy endings in these days ;)

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