By Ratan Kumawat
Chandmal ji and I shared a life for more than four decades. We built a home with our three children, Manish, Abhishek, and Siddharth and he built a business with Maneesh Media. While I was never actively part of the business, but I have been privy to the struggles and the determination that my husband put into Maneesh Media. Here I share with you a few memories that will stay with me for as long as I live.
My First Overseas Journey & Kindness of Strangers
I accompanied Chandmalji on my first overseas journey in 1989. For a simple woman from a small town, it was a huge leap – especially with a young child in my arms. In those days, women from families like ours didn’t travel much, let alone abroad. But my husband believed journeys should be shared.
That trip—to the United States— was an unnerving and revealing experience. Unnerving because I was in a place where Indian food was hard to find, the language was unfamiliar, and I felt displaced. I remember thinking aloud, “Will I ever get a simple roti and sabzi?” And what happened next reaffirmed my faith in humanity. A stranger overhead me and quietly brought food for me. That day I learned that kindness does not see nationality.
My passport was stolen outside the hotel we were staying at. Fear and uncertainty plagued me. Once again, kindness came to the rescue. The relationships that my husband had nurtured helped us. Within days, a new passport was arranged and we returned home. After that incident, I did not travel abroad for many years. But those acts of goodwill have always remained with me.
‘Together’ as Travel Companions
Many years later, Chandmalji convinced me to travel with him again. I sat through meetings, listening to him make people feel comfortable. They would start as strangers, and no matter which country or culture, by the time we left it was almost like they were family. And the next time we met them, he would ask them about everything, much to the surprise of these people.
He was always asked two things: How did he manage to remember so much about others and did he always travel with his wife?
His response would be a simple “Yes. Together.”
Together, we have journeyed across the US, Canada, Africa and the UK. These trips were primarily work trips, so the stress of building the business was always there. But he made sure that it was fulfilling. We would return feeling tired but accomplished. I would always feel pride, watching my husband win everyone over with his honest and sincere charm. That is who he was.
Relationships Come First
My husband worked hard but never let money be the focus. He valued relationships at home and at work. Time and again, I saw him make friends, turn them into family. Someone became his younger brother, someone else became an elder. Others became confidantes. Many called him Chand bhai (brother) and I, naturally, became Bhabhi (brother’s wife).
As is the way of life, things did not always go smoothly. Yet he never gave up or broke contact. He would always tell me, “Breaking a relationship takes one second,” he used to say. “Building one takes a lifetime.”
This is the belief that shaped Maneesh Media and every publication it has ever brought out in its more than two decades of existence.
Love for his Country, & Countrymen
My husband’s vision was to bring to light the hidden stories of Indian achievements amid the struggles of an immigrant life. Everyone saw the success, but no one knew what it took to get there. He wanted to give the Indian spirit a platform where it could be recorded, celebrated, and passed on.
That is why each book became a witness to triumph of Indian values, family, humility, success, and more. Every time we’d meet someone, they would be sure to appreciate the work. They’d say, “In just a few pages, you’ve told us everything that matters.” That was his intention and it was being manifested with every word, page, and book.
What Books Gave Me
Books are everyone’s portal to new lessons and experiences. They were to me as well. But not in the conventional sense. I must admit that I did not read every book. But I came to know them through the process of book-making. During our travels, I met the families, shared tea, meals, and conversations of our home, our country, and nostalgia. Slowly these faces turned into stories, into my own understanding of our diaspora, who made their lives in foreign lands but remained true to their roots. They still believed in honesty, eating together, and celebrating festivals as a community. What impressed me most was their humility.
After Him, Still With Him
My name is Ratan, but my husband was and will always remain my true jewel. His encouragement and love made me a different person. I found a new sense of confidence. From that first trip where everything felt unfamiliar to finding spaces of belonging in the people we met on these travels, I was a changed woman.
Today, our children are doing us proud. They are carrying forward their Papa’s legacy by taking Maneesh Media to great heights. What more could a mother ask for!
I hope you will continue to support them the way you have supported my husband.
Jewels of India – Bharat Ki Shaan, Bharat Ka Abhiman is being released after my husband’s physical absence. But that is only physical.
I believe he is still with us—watching, blessing, guiding. If he were here, he would say “Stay united. Keep talking to one another and stand with each other in difficult times. Together we are always stronger.”
To Chandmal Kumawat, my husband, our son’s Papa, vyavhaar (conduct) was always above everything else. Above success. Above profit. Above ego. We promise to keep that alive.
Pranaam!
Ratan Kumawat
