“I had an intercaste love marriage when I was in my twenties. I was Jew and he was Maharashtrian, but that had hardly mattered to me. His parents hadn’t entirely approved of our marriage and matters got worse when I gave birth to 2 daughters. They would taunt my husband everyday and slowly he started drinking and raising his hand on me. Despite everything that happened, I tried to work things out but over time it just got worse. More than putting myself through it, I didn’t want my daughters to be witness to such an environment.

One night, after he got really violent I woke my daughters up and left. We didn’t even have money at that point because his family never permitted me to work and I would have to beg him for the smallest amounts. We somehow managed to make a phone call to my parents after which they picked us up and we never looked back. He passed away at a very young age because of the same alcoholism that drove us apart.

After I left, my entire life was about rebuilding. My parents and brother played the most supportive role as I looked to stand on my feet, get financial independence and raise my daughters all at once. I enrolled myself for a masters in HR management. I also completed my Training and Development Management course along with Behavioural analysis. I’ve been in the hospitality service, an International Diplomat as well as a National Champion in Gymnastics and Yoga — all because I was determined to make the most of my 2nd life. There were days when I would be working or studying all night and I would return in the morning to get my daughters ready for school, study some more and the cycle went on. I’m not bitter at the end of it, because all said and done I got myself out of a very dark space and raised my daughters with love, care and values. I achieved so much only because my experience taught me that life can stop at any time and we have to live it through every moment."