Munawar Faruqui’s childhood: Worked at utensil shop, mother earned Rs 30 a day, abusive father

Munawar Faruqui is one of the most well-known stand-up comedians in India today. While he is currently enjoying fame and success, his journey has been full of struggles from a very young age. Faruqui comes from a middle-class family in Junagadh, Gujarat. He lost his mother early in life, an incident that deeply impacted him and shaped his feelings for his father and other family members.

Munawar Faruqui on his mother's passing away, physical abuse and a lot more

Faruqui has several times spoken about his mother's death on public platforms. Recently, during his appearance on Prakhar Gupta's podcast, the actor recalled the heart-wrenching incident about his life, how it impacted the equations with his father and a lot more.

Saying that he didn't have a lived an average childhood, the famous comedian recalled the hardship of her mother and how she ended her life after 22 years of marriage, during which she suffered abuse from the hands of his father and the pain she endured.

‘’I was 13 years old, and someone woke me up in the morning and told me that she is in the hospital. When I reached there, I found out that my family refused to tell anyone that she had taken poison, for reasons I never understood. There was a nurse at that hospital who was a family friend from my mother’s side, and I told her. She was shifted to the ER immediately, but she passed away,” shared Munawar

He said, “Since the age of 4-5, I saw so many wrong things happening that I thought this is how the world works. I used to see my mother and father fight all the time, and every argument would end with my mother getting beaten up. I would sit in the corner and just cry, because you couldn’t do anything about it. It could happen twice in a week, in a month, or for four days in a row.”

''Through those 22 years that she was married to my father, she displayed a lot of patience, and it was never easy. No one can endure such pain, and the decision she took was the culmination of everything she had endured for all those years. But she passed away, and I still question the way she went, but I think this was the way she was supposed to leave us,” said Munawar.

Talking about his mother's struggles, the standup comedian recalled how she used to earn Rs 30 for the day and manage everything with that little money. He also recalled the other odd jobs that she used to do to provide the family with food.

''She used to get Rs 30 for the day, and she had to manage the whole household with that money. The milk alone cost Rs 6, and everything else, from meat, vegetables, pulses, and rice, had to be bought with the remaining money, and it just wasn’t possible. She used to do embroidery and make torans to earn some extra money so that we could afford to eat. She was everywhere, and she was ready to help everyone. When people used to come back from weddings, with the new bride and all, someone had to cook for the entire group. It wasn’t a city where you could just call someone up; it was a village. Kisiko toh pakana hai na khana (someone has to cook the food), so she used to cook for 200-250 people all by herself.''

Munawar also revealed that despite his family struggling with financial issues, he never focused on it as he had many other things to deal with.