The Unstoppable Sharvari by Manisha Varde

Sharvari would look out of her balcony at moving vehicles and follow some till they were outof sight. One such day she said to herself, “I’m going to get this car,” she didn’t have her ownat that time. Never before did she make such a wish. She was jobless. It was February. In Julyof that year, once she joined her new company, she stepped out the first Sunday eveningaround 7:15 pm to check if the car showroom of her desired brand was open. Being a metro,it was. She walked towards the entrance, the lights were dim, and there were a handful ofpeople inside.

A man saw her and asked what she wanted. “I came to enquire about purchasing a new car,” she said. “Please come.” The salesman, Bhimrao replied. For the next few minutes, she hesitantly discussed her interests and her preferences, however, she was confused and not keen on deciding at that time. She wasn’t confident of several things. “Get this Alto vehicle, it’s an AMT model and a higher version. Don’t worry, you’ll drive confidently within a few days, regarding finances, since you are in a reputed company, getting a loan will not be a problem as you already have a home loan from the same bank. Don’t overthink, go for it, I can tell you based on what you shared.” And the next moment, she paid Rs.5000/- as the booking amount. She drove the car home a day before Ganesh Chaturthi that year. She kept it a surprise until December when she learnt to drive confidently.

Neither her parents norher friends knew about it.Driving a car was a closely-held dream for Sharvari. She had a driving license, but never drove even the family car. She never had the courage, but the subtle yet strong desire lay inside her for years. Now that this dream was fulfilled, she noted how she did it and moved on to fulfil her other dreams. She felt faith would take her to her destination.

Just a year back, she had filed for annulment of her toxic marriage. The judgement was yet to come through.

She was fighting a lone battle. Her parents and sisters weren’t with her. Her father insisted on her second marriage, but she wasn’t in a frame of mind. All she wanted was to complete the annulment process and clear the baggage of her marriage. Her friends Susan, Apurva and Ranjit had been her moral support system throughout the process. In a way, a deep sense of unwanted feelings from her family seated inside her. Once the annulment came through, she set on the path to release all the unwanted emotions she carried with her. Sharvari was also pursuing an MBA while she travelled 65 km daily. She passed the exams on her first attempt with a distinction. This was the third big achievement in two and a half years. Getting an MBA was important for her, her husband silently wished against her higher studies and never encouraged or supported her. This achievement boosted her strength and gave her a sense of fulfilment.

While Sharvari struggled to bury her past, her mother troubled and taunted her. Her sisters
too taunted her. Despite her strong will, her wounds would come alive with every comment.
She regularly visited home as she was attached to her family. She had none in the big city
whom she called her own. Susan and Apurva had sidelined her by now as she did not respond the way they wanted of her. She was so entangled in her world that she forgot she had to give time to her friends too. She stayed in touch with Ranjit, who had now shifted from Bhatinda to Rajkot.

It took her another 5 years to get by her past. In the meantime, she achieved another feat.
She relocated from Bangalore to her hometown with a remote job in tow. She transported all her belongings by packers and movers and packed her artwork along with the materials and tools in her car for home. Before doing this, she paid off her car loan and completed the paperwork to move her car out of the state. All this while, whenever she travelled home, she got her parents’ home repaired and maintained.

By now, she had buried her past fully and the memories remained devoid of any emotions.
Reflecting on her journey, Sharvari observed she had started journaling and writing down her desires and dreams. She continued it and made it her driving force. Soon, she paid off her home loan and fully renovated her parent’s home and her apartment. However, the thought of being single ate her from within. Her father was tired of asking her when she was getting settled down. Her mother still taunted, but the intensity had lessened.
She moved to meditating regularly besides journalling. That gave her immense strength. Her relationships had been damaged all these years. She knew she was responsible for this to happen and took the ownership to bring them back to normal.

Sharvari would work tomanifest her marriage too but it wouldn’t work. She believed she could achieve all she wanted. She set sight on getting her relationships fixed first, as was intuited to her and in six months, she received invitationsfrom every nook and corner for family functions, lunches and parties. She confirmed to herself her meditation was helping her achieve all this. Her sour relationships of two decades and more had been healed. Her mother was her friend, and her sisters happily shared their joys and sorrows. Her neighbours loved her. Her cousins waited for her company. Everyone wanted to hear her and have a bite from her.

Now was the time, she thought, to go for marriage and settle down finally. If everything else is working, this also should. She was doing well on her health front. She was also going great guns in her professional life. While every aspect of her life was settled, marital happiness was absent. However, she did not express it to anybody, not even her parents. Earlier she used to do and her father would ask someone to look for a boy, and they would have fights at home. She had decided to be silent on the matter. Sharvari resolved one fine morning – “My soulmate, the one perfect for me, younger to me in age, highly intelligent, with good health and vitality, the one who will settle down with me in my apartment, the one who is going to be my bestie, guide, philosopher, husband and father to our kids and who is a Vedic scholar, must meet me within the next 15 days.”

She repeated
it with visualization that night before going to sleep. She was told meditation results came
faster now.

However, she did not expect any results. She continued her regular work routine and followed her passions while thanking for everything in her life. She made it a point to journal particularly in expressing gratitude for what happened that day – good or bad. One day morning, a young man landed at her residence looking for an address. Her mother did not know who he was looking for. He was an architect with an appointment with his prospective client. Sharvari and her sister had decided to get a structural stability test done on their parents’ house and get an architect to re-design a home in the same place with two floors and a terrace. She noted down his number and guided him to the correct location. He had landed in a different locality, so she didn’t know the address either.
A week later, the same man called up on her number assuming he dialled his client’s number.

She picked up only to know he called the wrong number. However, she made it a point to tell him she was looking for an inspection of her parents’ home. He obliged. The talks increased and converted into casual meets. Shantanu wasn’t from her state but had settled down with his family due to his professional life and their cultures matched. They both enjoyed each other’s company and it was a natural bonding. It was only a few days but it looked as if they had known each other for a long time.

Soon, Sharvari set another intention, “My dear higher self, let me know if this man is meant for me. Send me signals and let me know that these are the signals and how I should respond to them.” She started receiving them and also responded as was intuited to her. Sharvari said,“This must convert into a marriage alliance within the next couple of days, and we must get married within 15 days. Everything must get aligned accordingly in our favour.” Her next day was hectic. All that she did was sleep after finishing her office work. On the third day morning,she went to her regular supermarket to procure the family’s grocery supplies. This man greeted her from behind and asked her soft-spoken, “Will you marry me? I know we will be happy together; will support you in everything you desire.” Shocked and with goosebumps,she turned to see who it was, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

She got her answer, asked him a few questions and replied with a yes, the same evening. He brought his parents to meet hers and they married exactly 10 days later.

They both desired a close family and friends affair. He disclosed he had adopted a son, who
was now 17 years old, though he didn’t stay with him as per the laws. They brought him home.She had left some aspects of her apartment for her partner, which he happily completed. After about 2 months, Sharvari declared her marriage to the extended family.
She then helped Shantanu re-design her parents’ home by taking input from everyone in thefamily. Each sister had a bedroom, one for the parents and a separate guest room. There was an additional living cum community room and an added kitchen, besides solar-powered systems and rainwater harvesting systems in place. She partnered with Shantanu in his business, and quit her job permanently.

The last thing on her mind was kids – she wanted three for herself after hearing the
demographic changes. All these years kids were never on her mind although she loved kids
very much. But now that she had resolved, and everything else was manifested, she also
worked to bring her children into her life – two daughters and a son. They were triplets and
born within a year of their marriage.

It was only after the triplets were born that they announced a huge get-together for an
extended guest list of family, friends and associates, for by now, everyone knew she had
soared heights in every aspect of her life, all her troubles were behind her, and wanted to
know how she had made it. The couple used the opportunity to share how they met, and what drove them to be where they were.

The two families mingled well and supported each other. Nobody could point a finger. Whilst
earlier, someone would doubt a behaviour, but now, the way everyone had seen Sharvari
moving up the ladder silently, nobody had any means to say anything.
It was a live demonstration of strong resolve and willpower to achieve what an average human called impossible.

KNOW YOUR AUTHOR

Manisha Varde is a solopreneur, author and artist.  

She quit her rewarding IT career to pursue the passions she held dearly to her heart for a long time. Having travelled extensively for work, she drew inspiration from diverse experiences with people she met.

She has debuted in writing with her self-published nonfiction eBook “Behind the Veil: 11 Mystical Stories about Life and Beyond” – a collection of extraordinary short stories from real-life experiences involving her and those narrated to her, bringing out the mystical nature and life lessons in each story. The book is published on Amazon globally.

Manisha loves to read biographies, memoirs, business and romance, and any non-fiction work based on metaphysical or spiritual intelligence.

She is also into sustainable products from handwoven textiles. Manisha appreciates all kinds of art and paints on canvas or terracotta in her leisure time.

An amateur horticulturist, she has grown organic fruits and vegetables primarily for home consumption. She also experiments with the soil and nurtures it to retain its fertility through sustainable means. 

Ms Varde is currently working on the manuscript of her next non-fiction work. 

Manisha is back to her roots and lives with her family in Goa.