Recently, in a home adorned with elephants, orchids, and accents of purple — her partner’s favourite colour — fashion designer and stylist Tejaswini Anjan Kumar remarried, with her 15-year-old son Maneet Kumar walking her down the aisle to Abhishek Nagarkar, a singer and percussionist. “He walked me into my new chapter with such grace — it was overwhelming,” Teju recalls. The images from that intimate ceremony have since gone viral, amassing hundreds of messages — most from women. “Eighty per cent of the messages were from women who said, ‘You’ve given us hope.’ We don’t realise how many of us are quietly surviving, not living,” she says.‘NO ONE SHOULD STAY IN AN UNHAPPY MARRIAGE’ “Many women stay in unhealthy marriages because they believe they’re protecting their children or because their children have ‘grown up’. But little do they know, by staying, they’re doing more harm than good,” she says. “One day, Maneet looked me in the eye and said, ‘Amma, if you’re not happy, I won’t be either.’ That moment of clarity unravelled years of emotional restraint. We often give second chances to the people who hurt us—but never to ourselves,” she recalls. ‘HAVING A PARTNER WHO UNDERSTANDS IS A LUXURY’ In an industry like fashion, having a partner who understands is a luxury, she believes. “For the first time, I realised I don’t have to do it all. He doesn’t question my career. He just says, ‘You do what you need to, I’ll handle the rest.’ It sounds simple, but for many women, it’s revolutionary,” she says. ‘IT’S OK TO RETHINK CAREERS, DREAMS, RELATIONSHIPS’ Teju believes second chances aren’t just for love. “We should be allowed to rethink careers, dreams, relationships. One wrong choice shouldn’t mean a lifetime of compromise. You can choose again—and again, if needed.” And most importantly, she urges parents to trust their children with the truth. “Kids today understand so much more than we think,” she says.
