Love is powerful & magical. Falling in love with the right person makes it the strongest force in the universe that could help us overcome any challenge in life.
And, that’s how strong and powerful is the love of Mukta and Sanjeeva, who have been together for more than 34 years, and their love for each other has only grown stronger.
It is this love that has given Mukta an unparalleled positivity, energy, and power to fight against Breast Cancer so bravely and courageously.
Recently, Mukta shared her love story with Sanjeeva on HoB. She proves how true love heals you when life tries really hard to break you!
“I was born in a small town, and had 9 siblings. So growing up, we had limited means. I had never travelled, explored, or even taken time off. Things changed when I got married. My husband and I only met on the day of our marriage.
And one of the first things he asked me was, if I had travelled.
I told him that I didn’t even have a passport, but he said, ‘We’ve got to make you one, because together, we’re going to travel the world.’ Both of us had very hectic jobs — but we decided to travel at least twice a year. Our first trip was to Darjeeling, where we went for our honeymoon.
I remember we were on the bus, it had started raining very heavily. The window was open so the water kept coming in. He saw that and tried to shut the window — but ended up breaking it in the process. The entire bus was full, so we had to sit for 12 hours, with the rain water spilling onto us! By the time we reached, we were totally drenched, but we just laughed it off! We’ve been to places like Kathmandu, Shimla, Delhi.
We’ve had to sleep on our suitcases because we’ve missed trains and we’ve had to spend hours stranded in the middle of nowhere because our buses have broken down. But it’s all been worth it!
This one time we were on our way to Badrinath, but midway we realised that the path ahead was blocked. It was late evening and there was no way we could drive back. So our tour guide arranged our stay at a local’s house.
The area around was so eerie, I was really scared, and the whole night we could hear a weird sound — it was like somebody was outside. But in the morning we realised that it was just the sound of water hitting the rocks!
When we grew older, we dreamt of travelling to Europe and even started saving up for it. We’d use every free minute to read books and research on Euroepean cities!
But suddenly I was diagnosed with breast cancer — the doctors were hopeful and so, I started my chemotherapy.
But he was really scared of losing me.”
Recalling the shocking moments when they came to know about cancer, Sanjeeva shared with TBI:
“It was a major shock to the entire family and me. But we had to take a stand. We immediately decided to go ahead with the procedure and came to Mumbai from Patna, for her treatment.”
And then life cheated on them once again. When they just thought she was out of danger, her medical results revealed a relapse. Her body had become resistant to the drugs, and cancer had spread to her bones, lungs, and brain. She had to undergo rigorous radiation and chemotherapy for it.
But during this tough time, Sanjeeva made sure that his soulmate, love of his life, Mukta remains motivated about life. He further shared:
“It was the course of her treatment that made our travelling plans abroad even stronger. When I spoke to her radiologist, he appreciated the thought and encouraged us to travel.”
“We sit together mapping the places we want to visit. Once we are back from one trip, we plan the next. I saw how the first trip motivated her. I don’t think our travel plans will stop anytime soon.”
Recalling her journey to battle cancer and being in love with her soulmate, Mukta shared:
So for the 5 years of my treatment, we left everything and went to Europe — for us, it was now or never. We travelled to London, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, and even Italy!
Once I was completely cured of cancer, we decided to use our savings and go to every country we’ve dreamt of going to like Australia and Russia. We plan to visit at least one country every year.
On the day we first met, he was a complete stranger, but now he’s the man of my dreams. Life with him has just been amazing.
I never thought we’d fall in love, and when we did I never thought that our love would take us around the world. He never fails to surprise me and I couldn’t have asked for anything more than a lifetime of new experiences with him.”
There are so many women struggling with Breast Cancer today, but there are a few fortunate ones who receive such great support, love, and affection from their husband and families like Mukta.