India's first test-tube baby ties the knot

18.05.2015

Decked up in a glittering red and golden saree, Harsha Chawda looked like any other anxious newly-wedded woman. Little did the wedding guests present know that the bride is actually an important milestone in the field of medical science.

Harsha, which was born on August 6, 1986, is Mumbai’s first test-tube baby. On May 14, Harsha crossed a milestone of her own, as she got married to Divyapal Shah, a financial advisor from Matunga, in a traditional Jain ceremony attended by 200 guests at Achalgach Jain Hall.

‘Happiest moment’

“This is the happiest moment of my life; it is all I could ask for,” said the emotional bride, for whom the wedding has opened a new, positive chapter of life far from the days of struggle she had gone through after he father passed away in 2003.

In 2012 she met her soulmate, Divyapal. The couple clicked almost instantly, and two months ago, Harsha — originally a Kathiawadi Gujarati — accepted Jainism as her religion and cemented the path to their wedding.

“I am really very happy. Divyapal’s family is warm and loving; it’s going to be a wonderful journey,” said Harsha, barely managing to fight back her tears.

“I was shocked to witness the magic of medical science standing in front of me, in flesh and blood. Such things are commonplace in these times, but the fact that this happened in 1986 is almost unreal. However, I have always treated her special, not because of the history behind her birth, but because she’s a great person,” said Divyapal.

In 1986, IVF was new science in the country. After her birth at KEM Hospital under an efficient team headed by IVF specialist Dr Indira Hinduja, Harsha was regarded as a medical marvel. For her mother, Mani, she is just her daughter, a gift from science. “We were all anxious, but my family supported the idea. When Harsha was born, it felt unreal. Science gifted us our first child,” said Mani.

Based on: mid-day.com