Ekta Oswal Nahar, a 29-year-old creative designer from Satara, is living her life to the fullest and making each day count. She helps her husband run two businesses, advocates vitiligo awareness and promotes a matrimony brand at the same time. She is happy how things turned out for her. Today, it will would be hard to believe that Ekta’s childhood was quite the opposite. She did spend years in isolation, and vitiligo has a lot to do with that.
Ekta was diagnosed with vitiligo at the age of 13. In a country like India where stigma attached to vitiligo is crazy, she had many difficulties lined up ahead. Ekta recalls, “In school, kids used to avoid sharing their tiffins with me. I used to sit alone as there was no one I could play with. Sometimes, my teacher used to motivate me, but no one can fill that gap. No one can bring me back my childhood and the enjoyment I could have had during my school days.”
It is said that one’s most difficult years belong to teenage. During those years, Ekta had an added pressure of living with vitiligo too. She shares, “My relatives constantly taunted and distressed my parents for my marriage. They had an impression that vitiligo is contagious. I heard many people saying that they should keep their kids away from me else my vitiligo will transmit to them. Sometimes, I used to internalize these comments. Sometimes, I used to laugh at their immaturity.”
During this time, Ekta’s sister-in-law, Urmila had a positive influence on her life. Soon, Ekta was joined by some special friends who made her feel okay about living with vitiligo. “I met Akshu, Shitu, and Khush. They started hanging out with me and changed my life for good. One of my dearest friends, Smita suggested some excellent books. Books like The Secret, The Magic, The Power and The Alchemist changed my perspective. With the support of my loved ones, I started smiling, laughing and became confident, Ekta pours her heart out.
After struggling with vitiligo-led isolation for six years, Ekta is now able to acknowledge vitiligo as a tool to test people’s true colors. In fact, it was vitiligo that helped her meet her the lover of her life, Rakesh, a fellow Vitiligo Crusader. ” Ekta makes a point, “I met Rakesh on a matrimonial website. I found a perfect partner and a beautiful soul in him. We spoke to each other’s parents and got married in April 2016. There is a saying that everything happens for a good reason. And, for me, it really happened for a beautiful reason. Today, I feel blessed to have vitiligo. I have a wonderful, loving husband who understands my emotions and needs without me uttering a word and it is just because of vitiligo.
This unique marriage of two beautiful individuals with vitiligo got the couple media’s attention. Ekta and Rakesh were featured in Times of India (Bangalore edition), Jeevansathi Successful Marriage Stories and a video by AARUS Foundation. They were chosen brand ambassadors for dermamatrimony.com, a matrimony website designed specifically for people with vitiligo.
After being honored by Charity Commissioner of Satara, Ishwar Suryawanshi, and tonnes of articles featuring her in the local newspapers, Ekta spends time in creative designing and promotes vitiligo awareness. We wish her a lifetime of love and happiness.
