The Marriage Of Moksh And Money

She runs a 100-crore company. He teaches spirituality with Siddha Samadhi Yoga. Yet, Manoj and Nina Lekhi have a marriage that thrives on their differences, and their shared spiritual values, says Shivi Verma.

- Shivi Verma

When a married couple achieves personal and conjugal happiness despite disparate pursuits, it is rare enough to make you want to find the secret of their success. The lives of Manoj and Nina Lekhi is a shining example of what happens when a couple chooses to consider each other as divine beings instead of mere mortals. While Manoj chose to devote himself to spiritual pursuits and became a full-time teacher at Siddha Samadhi Yoga, an organisation founded by Guruji Rishi Prabhakar, Nina touched the sky as an entrepreneur and became the force behind Baggit, the multi-crore bag making brand. I met them at their residence in Dadar and found a happy, harmonious couple at ease with each other and with themselves.

Tell us how you both met and tied the knot.

Nina: We were married in December 1988. He was my best friend’s brother and I used to go to her place and bump into him. In those days we were 15 years old, and used to go out for parties. He used to brag about what drugs he had tried and I used to think how cool and hep he was, and that I should hang around with him, because smoking and drinking were considered cool in those days. After that I became quite close to the family. His family went through a bad financial crisis and my own family too was in the same boat. They started manufacturing clothes by converting one of their bedrooms into an office, and I also did the same with my handbag unit. I converted my bedroom into my workstation. They would put up sales in an art gallery, and I used to showcase my bags too over there. So it became more of a friend-family relationship. Manoj: We used to party every weekend, and one day I proposed to her.