Shyla Becomes Pardeep Kaur

After he broke Milkha Singh's record, sprinter Paramjit Singh decided it was time to get married and settle down. The bride, long-time companion and athlete from Karnataka, E. B. Shyla, too, was ready, but his Jat Sikh parents had reservations, for Shyla is a non-Punjabi, non-Jat girl. This hurdle was as daunting as any Paramjit has faced on the track, but his persistence paid off in the end. Recalls Paramjit's father, Kirpal Singh: ``He threatened that he won't get married at all, so we had to yield to him.''

But Paramjit's parents made up for all their reservations by organising a grand reception for the newly-weds at their native village, Nathowal Jattan, 15 km from Hoshiarpur. The entire village showed up at the celebrations and there was much merry-making for two days. Also present were veteran shot-putter Bahadur Singh, coach Harbans Singh, and trackmates Lizo David Thottan and Jata Shankar. The family left no rituals unperformed after dressing up Shyla in traditional Punjabi finery and changing hername to Pardeep Kaur.

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