There have not been many moments in my life when I said just the right thing. I usually grasp for the right words — they are somewhere near; I can sense them but they’re just beyond reach…It is always after the moment is gone that the perfect words make a grand entry, as if on cue.

But once, in my very first job interview, I did say the right thing at the right moment.

In the 90s, one of India’s leading oil and gas companies in the public sector was looking for officer trainees. I applied and was asked to…

In the winter of 1998–99, I was visiting India with my husband and one-year-old daughter when I met K, a nice, friendly person. He was a guest at our family home. Upon learning that he too lived in Singapore, I thought it was a wonderful coincidence and when he said he lived in Simei with his family, which was the very neighbourhood where we lived, I was positively thrilled.

“I can go over to K’s place with Punji whenever you are late from office or out of town,” I told my husband happily.

Ever since we had moved out of…

Today, December 10 is the birthday of C. Rajagopalachari or Rajaji, the well-known Indian statesman and thinker. He is loved by many, criticized by many and like any politician has his share of achievements and unpopular decisions.

But, I am not planning to discuss Rajaji’s life. There is one anecdote that connects him to my uncle which has a big message and I have often shared it with friends. In my extended family, we know this story thanks to my uncle who narrates it with enthusiasm.

My uncle was a budding engineer from the National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysore…

When my grandfather Shri G.K. Timmanacharya retired in Bengaluru in the year 1949 after amassing much respect and love for his work as an educator, little did he know that the most exciting phase of his life was about to begin. But, I am getting ahead of the story.

Born on December 4, 1894, my grandfather (popularly called GKT) went on to specialise in Sanskrit grammar just like his father, his grandfather and generations before him. They were all called Vaiyakarnis or Sanskrit grammar specialists and belonged to the lineage called Arvattu Vokkalu with roots in Ahichhatra (near modern Bareilly…

In every century, every era, it has always been up to the individual to realize her or his own Shakti and do what it takes to get what one wants.

Is there really a battle between genders? Are women being suppressed by men? Do women have no free will? Growing up as a Hindu female in India, I have realized that the narrative of the battle between genders has often been a false one. When issues are looked at holistically, there are so many layers that the gender narrative fades away in the Hindu context.

Take the narrative that women…

In January 2020, I shared the story of Abhinav Goswami, who decided to bring to America the gifts of ancient India — extraordinary health, ethical A2 dairy products, Vedic education and more. His dream is to build or facilitate 108 Gaushalas all over the world. You can read it here; in fact, I recommend that you read it before you proceed with this article: https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/i-would-like-to-offer-america-the-best-of-ancient-india-ethical-milk-vedic-education-and-e240fac2d21e

The story went viral and I was inundated with emails asking to know more about Abhinav’s plans and wishing him every success in the journey. In November 2019, Abhinav hardly knew anyone in Houston but…

2020 and it’s Gandhi’s birthday yet again. I feel liberated that I am not in school. There is no need to answer questions about Gandhi’s contribution to India’s freedom struggle. I am glad I’m not preparing for the Civil Services Exam and writing essays on the differences between Gandhi’s and Nehru’s outlooks. I am so glad that period of my life is over.

It took me years of distance from school to realize the many wrong political decisions that were taken on account of Gandhi. The Khilafat movement, the Direct Action Day, the sidelining of Netaji, the Partition of India…

I ought to be celebrating the foundation-laying of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya coming up on August 5, 2020. The razing of the temple that commemorated the birthplace of one of the dearest human forms of the divine — Ram (or Rama) - by the Mughal marauder Babur and the building of a mosque (Babri Masjid) over it has been a wound that festered for generations of Hindus. Come Wednesday, I know that a large population of India will erupt in joy when the foundation stone is consecrated and centuries of neglect and disrespect showed to a sacred Hindu…