Himanshu Mani Tripathi, Associate Writer of Film Manikarnika, Talks about His Journey from a Small Village of Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai

When, in life, we meet with a hardship, yet take it as a Grace from the Lord, the hardship becomes a blessing. That is what happened to Himanshu Mani Tripathi, an alumnus of Saraswati Shishu Mandir Senior Secondary School, Subhash Chandra Nagar, Gorakhpur. The journey of his life from a small village in Uttar Pradesh to the tinsel town of Mumbai is an inspiring one. 

Himanshu has spent his childhood in a small village near Gorakhpur. The village at that time did not even have electricity. The first time he ever saw a city was when his family shifted to Gorakhpur. The journey from there to the glitzy town of Mumbai was not a smooth one. Himanshu had to sail through a lot of rough waters and take steep climbs to reach and establish a career in one of the largest film industries of the world. 

“I had initially come to Mumbai to work as a camera person, but my passion for writing opened new opportunities for me. I got a break with Manikarnika”, recalls Himanshu who has worked as an Associate writer of Manikarnika, a Hindi movie based on the life of the brave Queen of Jhansi. 

Himanshu works closely with Kangana Ranaut, the four times National Award winning actress. He has also been closely associated with actor Sonu Sood as a mentor to his entire campaign of helping people in need during the pandemic since 2020. 

Although Himanshu has worked with the glamour industry's some of the most admired actors, his feet firmly remains grounded. This is because of his education at Vidya Bharati School. “I did not come to Mumbai with a dream of money and glamour, but to seek an opportunity to work”, mentioned Himanshu. He further adds, “The way we were taught history in school by our Pradhan Acharya has helped me a lot when I was writing the screenplay of Manikarnika”. 

Himanshu does not look at India as a mere piece of land, but a Mother he invokes in his heart constantly. He feels it is his duty to give back to society to his best possible means. This feeling gave birth to his NGO, a school for underprivileged children, in 2011. The school, which is located in Hardoi, is self-funded by Himanshu and his wife. 

“Our school is for the children of daily wage earners. The 90 children who study in our school mostly have parents who either work in factories or construction sites as labours”, shared Himanshu. The school is run for 2 hours daily and only 2 subjects, Hindi and Mathematics, are taught. There is a single teacher in the school, who is physically challenged and comes on a wheelchair. 

Himanshu had to overcome a lot of hurdles in order to get these children to the school. “It was initially difficult to convince the parents. But when you understand their pain you can easily connect with them. We share the same experience and same life. I understand how one reads under a candle when there is no electricity in the house”, said Himanshu with a smile. 

Although, presently it runs as an open school, Himanshu is working hard to get funds to construct a permanent building. 

Will a day come when there will be no more poor people and no more suffering in the world? Himanshu is most certain about it with a promise in his heart to keep working for the needy young ones.

If you are a Vidya Bharati alumni and would like to share your experiences and achievements as well, please email us your contact details to info@vidyabharatialumni.org and we will contact you back.