When I read about 79 year- old Prabha Nene, I immediately shared her story with my mom who is after my life to get married.

She is happily living the life she designed for herself. Working in Pune’s traffic control alongside the cops for the last 16 years, Prabha ji has had a fulfilling journey till present and aspires to continue leading the same.

Living her life on her own terms and conditions for all these years, one thing the society couldn’t impose on her was the idea to get married.

Yes, she is 79 and happily single!

In a post published by Humans of Pune on Facebook, this ecstatic woman shared her reasons for not getting married despite growing up during in those days when getting married was compulsory and not a choice.

She says, “In our time, the traditional system where the boy comes to see the girl over tea was what decided the marriage. Since I didn’t agree with that, I told my father that I won’t get married this way. But if I do happen to like somebody, I will tell him honestly. And he respected my wishes. Eventually I did meet a few people, who I liked, but I never asked them, and life moved on. But I have so many social contacts, that I’ve never felt lonely at all!”

Age is no bar for her. Even at 79 she loves driving and riding her scooter. She has lead a very inspiring life and plans to continue living with the same zeal ““till my body supports me.” Her retirement plans are quite adventurous too. She has decided to drive to the Vidarbha-Marathwada region to explore parts of India she hasn’t visited before.

Read her full post below:

Read the full post here: 

“I have been working with traffic control for the last 16 years. The traffic in Pune is hardly disciplined, so as a help to the police force, we started working under a trust called ‘Nirdhaar’. In the year 2000, we started a scheme called ‘ Schoolgate Volunteers’ under which we regulate the traffic outside schools when during its opening and closing hours. I go to three such places throughout the day. I am 79 years old, but I’ve decided that I will continue doing this job till my body supports me.
I love driving. I have participated in many rallies and have won many trophies as well. My first rally was on a scooter. In 1970, I took part in the rally from Nagpur to Mumbai, where I covered 896 km on my Vespa. I was the only female participant from all over India. Since then , this has become my passion. I’ve taken the scooter to Tasgaon, Sangli, Bijapur; driven my 1934 Austin to Bombay and Hyderabad; and taken this Ambassador to Ratnagiri in 7 hours. I’ve decided that once I retire from this traffic control job, I will drive to the Vidarbha – Marathwada region, since I’ve never explored those parts of India.”

Why didn’t you get married?
“Oh! That’s another story altogether. In our time, the traditional system where the boy comes to see the girl over tea was what decided the marriage. Since I didn’t agree with that, I told my father that I won’t get married this way. But if I do happen to like somebody, I will tell him honestly. And he respected my wishes . Eventually I did meet a few people who I liked, but I never asked them, and life moved on. But I have so many social contact, that I’ve never felt lonely at all!”