Dramatic was the meeting of 24 year old Sarika Patel from Asian extraction and the dark skinned soft spoken Timothy Khamala, 25, from the Luhya’s Bukusu subsection.
Theirs was a love bred in the remote village of Nangina in Webuye, one that has swam against the torrents of race, color, religion and even more, social hierarchy.
“This is the man of my dreams, he knows how to love and it is him that will be the father of my unborn children, I love him with all my life,” stated a determined Sarika when The Standard visited their home.
It is chilly rainy evening when we meet the two lovebirds. Moments earlier we learn that Sarika’s relatives have just left their homestead trying to unpluck her from the shackled village.
They left with an egg on the face as their effort went west.
She adamantly stuck to her guns and refused to leave the love of her life. This is her new home as she stresses. But just what tickled the young lady to be drawn so close to the poor boy?
Timothy lives in a beat-up and scruffy hut and inside there is just a single mangy bed that is squeaky and moth-eaten to say the least.
How a daughter of a wealthy business magnet would fall for a poor Bukusu boy is something that has left many awed.
Sarika is the daughter of Chabbadia Patel, the owner of several business enterprises in Western Kenya. She is the fourth born in family seven, those close to the family say she is her father’s favorite.
“You touch her, you touch his father’s heart and that she is here I am sure the father is boiling hot,” said a family friend.
Sarika first met Timothy when he came to work at their family business enterprise in Webuye as a casual labourer. Today however, Timothy no longer works at Sarika’s family premises, he was long reprimanded and sent home for falling in love with a family way above his class.
“I do not have a job right now, they sent me away, I am currently thinking hard on how I will get money to take care of my love and our daughter,” says Timothy.
And this is how Sarika recalls meeting Timothy that fateful day.
“I liked him the moment I saw him. I remember he was washing my father’s vehicle, they were two of them washing the vehicle and I remember ejecting the other fellow just to be closer to Timothy, I was crazy I tell you,” said Sarika during the interview.
She added: “He is the most understanding man I have ever met, he makes me feel like a woman, he is my second love but definitely unmatched to the first, he is golden,” says Sarika.
It has not all rosy though for the lovebirds opposition is emanating from all quarters especially from her family.
“We have known each other for four years, and it has been dramatic, my parents do not support the relationship, they have on more score than one tried to pay my fiancée to leave me, this has been vain because we love each other,” notes Sarika.
The tall and dark skinned 25 year old Timothy Khamala is a palpably shy Bukusu young man and right now he is the talk of the village.
“ I have met ladies, but this is one is sent from above, I remember I tried desisting her fearing that her family would kill me but not anymore, I love her,” declares Timothy, a visibly determined lad.
Shockingly even more, she has adopted Timothy’s daughter from his first marriage who calls her mother. Timothy broke up with her first wife and at the time the baby was at a tender age and Sarika took up the breast feeding.
“This is my very own blood, I breast fed her like my own and now she is my daughter and I am proud of her,” observed an elated Sarika.
An easy going Sarika portrays an aura of confidence and buoyancy as she goes about her chores.
She associates impeccably with her mother in-law Evelyn Khamala who has taught her the Bukusu dialect and she is learning slowly.
“It is quite difficult to adapt to this kind of life I must admit, I was born and brought up in a wealthy family. However, I am comfortable living in this beat up hut, I adore this love than riches,” she said.
Evelyn Khamala Timothy’s mother says, when Sarika came at first she was afraid of the Indian culture and she even tried discouraging his son but later on she came to accept her.
“My daughter in-law is very different despite coming from a rich family, she is very down-to-earth, and takes care of me like her mother. She does house chores for me like washing clothes and cooking, she even helped me in planting maize in my shamba,” Mama Evelyn said.
Sarika was born in Mukumu, started schooling at Webuye Kindergarten and proceeded to Booker Academy for her o-levels. Later on she joined several schools in Nairobi before returning home to administer her father’s businesses.
Some villagers have even started proffering their theories some saying Timothy may have used black magic to win the Asian beauty.
Interestingly though, Timothy tells us that it was Sarika who in fact first approached him and not the other way round.
He tells us that he was first approached by Sarika while washing their car. She asked for his number but he was too afraid to give it out. For him he thought this was an ingenious scheme to have him fired from his work place.
“There was no I was going to give out my number, to my disbelief however she traced it through a friend,” notes Timothy.
He reiterates culture does not matter and parents should know that. He advises youth to investigate before getting into a relationship in order to identify genuine love.
“Sarika’s parents were bribing me with money to leave their daughter but I declined. They have tried taking her away but she keeps coming back. What surprises me is that for every occasion we made, she has kept some special stones for remembrance. Even the clothes she wore when we first met she has kept the cloth religiously,” Khamala states.
Mama Evelyn urges parents to support their children when they get ready for marriage and avoiding coming in between their decisions.
“All we should do is support our children when they decide,” she advises.
Photos: Chrispen Sechere