Mestry grew up in Roha, Raigad, with three sisters and a brother. The Class 8-dropout got hitched to Santosh Appa Mestry in 2008
Dr Aneel Murarka takes a ride in Sarika Mestry’s auto. Pic/Atul Kamble
After her husband’s cancer diagnosis, Sarika Santosh Mestry, 34, decided it was now on her to run her household while tending to her husband and two daughters.
“I got talking to an autorickshaw driver, who told me he made a decent living,” said Mestry, who underwent a 15-day training course at the Regional Transport Office.
How she would afford getting her own autorickshaw was another matter altogether. As it turns out, it was a serendipitous meeting that brought Mestry her very own rickshaw as a Rakshabandhan gift.
Mestry grew up in Roha, Raigad, with three sisters and a brother. The Class 8-dropout got hitched to Santosh Appa Mestry in 2008. After marriage, they moved to Mumbai, where she started working as a domestic worker earning around Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000. Her husband brought in Rs 11,000 himself.
“We ran our house smoothly, with our kids studying in English-medium schools, but my husband’s diagnosis came as a shock. The doctor said he couldn’t work for at least six months. That is when I had to start thinking of a way to earn more money,” said Mestry.
Four months ago, she started driving a rented auto, which she leased for Rs 9000 a day, as well as Rs 3500 for fuel. From 1 pm to 7 pm, she ferries passengers around Andheri, and then goes to the BMC night school from 7 pm to 9 pm to complete her high school education. “I always wanted to study more and now I have the chance for it; I will finish Class 10 this year, and I aim to learn English while pursuing higher studies,” she said.
A common acquaintance, Nandini Vishwanathan, introduced her to Dr Aneel Kashi Murarka, the donor who would go on to give her a new auto rickshaw. Dr Murarka was inspired by Mestry’s will power. “When I asked her why she wasn’t buying her own auto, she said she was saving for it and it would take her two to three years,” he said.
Deciding to buy Mestry an auto of her own as a rakhi gift, Dr Murarka and his team surprised her on Rakshabandhan, handing over the vehicle to her in her neighbourhood in Lokhandwala’s Joggers Park. Mestry was left speechless by the kind gesture.
She now earns around R35,000 a month and uses it to pay for her husband’s treatment and daughters’ education. “I am very thankful for Dr Murarka’s gift. More than anything, it is important to me that my family is safe and well fed,” she said.
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