Brave daughter breaks cycle of abuse against mother, participates in Kalolasavam

Thrissur: She crossed state lines for love, only to find herself trapped in a cycle of abuse. Now, her daughter has crossed the threshold of fear to break that cycle. After leaving Gujarat 16 years ago and enduring years of domestic violence, Manisha is now fighting back at life alongside her daughter, Ameesha.

A native of Vapi in Gujarat, Manisha saved every rupee she earned from working as a domestic help and as a henna artist to bring Ameesha to the State School Kalolsavam in Thrissur for her first-ever Oppana performance.

Manisha had met Aneesh, a native of Kayamkulam who had come to Gujarat for work, 16 years ago. What began as a love story led the then-17-year-old Manisha to Kerala. But life soon turned into a nightmare, marked by relentless abuse from her alcoholic husband. A year later, Ameesha was born, and Manisha began working as a coir spinner to survive.

She later took up lottery sales and, as her daughter grew older, also worked as a domestic helper. During this time, a son was also born. Ameesha too often became a target of her father’s violence. Unable to endure it any longer, she once approached the Pink Police while on her way to school and narrated her ordeal. Although the police contacted Aneesh, the abuse only intensified.

Determined to protect her mother, Ameesha later took Manisha to the police station and filed a formal complaint. Following this, the family where Manisha works provided temporary shelter to both mother and daughter. The younger son, Aman, is a Class 2 student.