When Manish Singh Shakya found out his mother had oral cancer, he didn’t just try to get her through surgery. He sat with her through eight and a half hours of an operation that removed her lower jaw. He stayed awake for weeks, watching a breathing tube in her neck that blocked three times, each time almost taking her away from him. He put his music career on pause. And when she finally came home and needed a reason to keep going, he handed her one: let’s work out together, and we’ll film it, and maybe it’ll help someone else who’s scared and doesn’t know what to do next.She said yes. So did he, every single day, for 103 videos before the world even noticed. Their 104th post reached four million people.What’s remarkable isn’t the numbers, though. It’s the reason the camera was rolling in the first place. It was for a mother who was depressed and needed a purpose, from a son who wasn’t ready to lose her and wasn’t going to let her lose herself either. That’s the whole story. Today at 57, after battling cancer Javitri Shakya is stronger than those who are decades younger to her. She has no calf muscle in one leg, is on a liquid diet, but lifts weight with confidence and smile on her face. When Times of India spoke to her son, Manish about his Instagram journey, he replied, it means a lot to see my mother’s journey reaching and inspiring so many people.”
What inspired you to start sharing videos on Instagram? Was there a specific moment that made you hit “post” for the first time?
Manish Singh Shakya: To get my mother to start exercising, I had to convince her for a long time. At that stage, she was very stressed and, honestly, quite depressed. I wanted to give her a purpose and something positive to focus on, so I told her that we could upload videos of her workouts. I said that if another family or child was going through a similar situation, seeing her journey might give them hope. She agreed to that idea and started showing up every day for the videos. Because of that, she also stayed consistent with her exercise routine. Interestingly, our first viral post was our 104th upload, and it reached over 4 million views.
Can you tell us about your mom’s cancer journey?
Manish Singh Shakya: We discovered my mother’s cancer on August 13, 2024. Before telling her, I spent time researching treatment options and understanding what could be done. Once I had clarity, I sat down and told her everything. What surprised me the most was how brave she was. She didn’t panic or break down. Looking back, I think part of the reason was that she had been dealing with the problem for almost five years but never told us because she believed there was no treatment. Unfortunately, she had seen a lot of false information online and accepted it as the truth.
Her surgery lasted eight and a half hours. After the operation, she couldn’t speak for about one and a half months because her lower jaw had been removed and reconstructed using bone from her leg. When she returned home, she still had a breathing tube in her neck. That tube became blocked three different times, and each time was terrifying. My mother nearly lost her life in my hands. The first time it happened, her blood pressure shot up to 350, and we had to rush her to the hospital. From that moment on, I decided to stay with her constantly. For about one and a half months, I barely slept because I was afraid that if the tube became blocked again, I might not be able to clear it in time. Since she couldn’t speak, she wouldn’t even be able to call for help. I put everything else on hold, my music career, my social life, and everything in between. But through all of it, my mother showed incredible strength and fought alongside me every step of the way.
How has your mom reacted to becoming an internet favorite?
Manish Singh Shakya: It’s actually quite funny because even today she doesn’t really understand that she’s become popular on the internet. She often says, “What does any of this even mean?” But whenever someone recognizes her in a market or on the street and tells her how inspiring she is, she becomes excited like a child. Afterward, she’ll turn to me and ask, “Was that one of your friends?” It still makes us laugh every time.Has running this Instagram account changed the way you look at caregiving, family, or resilience?Manish Singh Shakya: Running this Instagram account has changed my perspective in many ways. We started with a simple vision: to show people that it is possible to come back from something as difficult as cancer and that exercise—especially strength training—can play an important role in recovery and quality of life. As the platform has grown, another goal has become important to us. We hope that as we start earning through content creation, we can dedicate a portion of that income to helping cancer warriors with their treatment and recovery journeys.
Looking ahead, what do you hope people take away from your videos?
Manish Singh Shakya: Looking ahead, I hope people take fitness seriously, especially young people. I want them to learn about exercise, health, and nutrition and then pass that knowledge on to their families. Parents don’t always listen the first time. Sometimes it takes months of encouragement, patience, and persistence. But I believe children should keep trying because helping your parents become healthier is one of the greatest gifts you can give them. No matter how long it takes or how many times they say no, don’t give up on encouraging them to exercise and take care of themselves.
