Nisha

Nisha

Human Resource,
Ola Futurefactory

“7 years ago, my husband left his job and became a stay-at-home dad so I could chase my dreams. One night, while I was putting our 8-month-old daughter to bed, he told me, ‘I want you to be an example for our daughter.’ I had never felt prouder of my decision to marry him.

We’d met at a wedding and had connected instantly. If I’m being honest, I was taken by him— it was so easy to talk to him and be myself. When he said,

"‘Tell me about your dreams,’ for the first time in 25 years, I felt seen. And I never wanted to stop feeling that way."

After that first meeting, we kept finding reasons to talk to each other. Suddenly, there was a new spring in my step. Even the worst Monday blues didn’t feel so blue. We were in love!

We knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. But that decision came with as much trepidation as happiness — we belonged to different castes and where we came from, inter-caste marriages were considered a crime. When I told her, Amma disowned me, saying, ‘If you marry him, you’ll be dead to me.’ While his father, a local politician, threatened to actually kill me.

I spent many sleepless nights fretting in confusion. My perfect fairytale was turning into a nightmare and the only way to escape it was to make a choice - love or fear.

"We chose love. We eloped shortly after and got married in a temple."

So, that’s how we started our life together — with no one and nothing to support us. We rented a small place with no furniture, not even a pillow. But there, laying on that cold, hard floor, with the man I loved, I finally felt at home.

With each other’s support, we slowly built our life brick-by-brick. And a year later, we were blessed with our beautiful daughter. We both cried happy tears that day-our family was complete! At the time, I just wanted to spend all my time cherishing her. So, I took a break from work.

But by the time she turned 8 months old, I felt a pull towards work again. As rewarding as motherhood was, I missed working and feeling a sense of purpose. But who would take care of the baby if I went to work? So I kept quiet.

"Little did I know that my husband had been noticing my turmoil…"

That’s when he made the decision to be the wind beneath my wings. All he said was, ‘Soar high, I’m with you!’ He left his job and started taking care of our girl. And with his support, I got back to work. As time went by, he stayed true to his word.

From helping me with cooking, taking care of our daughter and dropping me off to work, he does it all, and with a smile on his face.

Every evening that I get home, he tells me how proud he is of me. And for the last 6 years, that has inspired me to keep giving my best at work and grow in my role.

"Today, we have gone from sleeping on a cold, hard floor to building our own home, full of warmth and love."