Vintage; a word that in itself is the royalty of aesthetics we all love. Vintage things are cared for. They are treasured and are considered to be unique. Want to hear a story of a soul that fought through the race of time and is still living her vintage swag amongst us? Well, without any further ado, I will introduce to you our protagonist of this story, meet Mrs. Manjula Nayak. She is a fierce vintage soul, aged a whopping 78 years, and breathing on her will to survive and see her family grow.
For many reasons that I am not going to bore you with now, there’s one aspect of our yesterday that we have been not appreciating enough, that might be because we take them for granted, or maybe we don’t find it exciting enough to stick with. But what if I tell you that there are some vintage souls, some vintage stories that aren’t quite yet known to the world but should be?
A woman in her one lifetime breathes life into many beautiful roles. Be that of a daughter, a sister, a wife, or a mother, our protagonist, too, has lived through all stages of life. Still, similar to the stories of many women, her story was left to be heard as well.
Manjula Nayak – Her Story
Today we will talk about a fierce lady that didn’t only survive through the thick and thin but also thrived. Manjula Nayak was born in 1943, India, a time when not only her but the country was growing too. Like her, the struggles of the country were too on the verge of exploding. After the partition and independence of the country of India, she and her family faced storms of poverty like many Indians, a vast family of 7 siblings and grandparents, her parents were under a lot of liability.
A young girl at the age of 7 took a decision so fierce and so responsible that it shocked the entire family. She decided to move with her mother’s parents to a village far away from her own just so that her parents would have one less kid to worry about. She started her journey of being a kid alone at her age with one goal in her mind to be what her mother wanted her to be. She was a good student and a great help to her grandmother. For a kid to be gentle and kind, and responsible was a trait that she was always appreciated.
A girl child is often seen to be a liability since birth. All their life was made to be was of how good a cook she can be. And how good is she at taking care of her family? Her life wasn’t meant to be lived but just to be breathed through. Nothing more was expected out of Manjula as well. Despite her determination and sound scores, she was married young to a man twice her age. Manjula’s dreams were crushed, but just like a fresh breeze of hope, the man she got married to wasn’t like any other man. He understood her dreams to be independent and supported her in dreams.
Manjula, after marriage, was allowed to work upon herself. A right of every human being was bestowed upon her as a privilege. But soon, that privilege was about to be ripped off of her as well. In one year, she got the news of her pregnancy. It seemed to her that her dreams were once again shattered, and this time it was permanent damage.
Manjula took up the role of motherhood, and painted her life with the shades of her first child, and promised herself that her daughter wouldn’t have to face the troubles of life like she had to. She worked extra hard to make up time to sit with her daughter and help her grow into the woman she constantly desired to be. But Manjula’s worries didn’t end here. She was pregnant yet again, and after that and after that.
She gave birth to 3 more children, one girl, and two boys. She realized that now not only did she have to be a mother, but a teacher, a wife, and a partner all in one. But our iron lady wasn’t going to give up that easily. With her husband, she started a small business of mangoes. She and her husband traveled for long durations, brought in Mangoes in considerable quantities to the city, and sold them. With her four kids now, she had a business to take care of too. Her husband was a government servant and was busy finding time to sit with her or help her.
Alone and swamped with work, she realized when her hair was white and her bones weaker. She still cannot fathom being old, but I guess the thought of her whole life passing by her and her not being able to live at all is one of the regrets that she very smartly has hidden away. Manjula thought that her old age would be different, that finally, she would get the time to live with her husband and spend her remaining life living, but instead, life had planned something entirely different.
Finally, when her kids were all grown up and responsible, she thought she and her husband would get time alone, but in 1995, she lost her husband in an accident. And suddenly, she was left alone yet again. Her dreams were crushed again. The Love of her life left her alone. She couldn’t see in front of her anything but loneliness and pain.
She realized that her whole life, she couldn’t ever confess to her husband how much she loved him, and now that he was gone, all that was left of him was his one photo and one shirt that he always wore on special occasions. When I asked her, “What did she like the most about her husband?” She told me, “His smile, he never really did just smile with his face, but with his whole body instead, he was the light of my life, and I know I never said I Love You, but I now every night before I sleep, I confess my love for him, wishing that he might hear it someday.”
Manjula’s life was more than just a story. It is a saga. She lives with her youngest son and his family in Ahmedabad, in the house that she and her husband built decades ago. Her laughter and her words are both inspiring and full of light. It’s true what they say about vintage. It has an aura to itself that we could never replicate. She is a queen in herself, a proud feminist, businesswoman, and mother. She truly has lived through ages to see the world grow. So here lies a vintage story of a vintage soul. Let us know in the comment section what you think about Mrs. Manjula Nayak.
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