I am writing this column from my hometown of Tampa, Florida, U.S.A. With a great deal of guilt I left my kids, husband, and marketing job during India’s busiest season to fly all the way here to attend my 20 year school reunion. As I’ve...
As children and teenagers, we have ample opportunity to try our hand at a range of extracurriculars, encouraged by our parents and teachers to find an activity that we are passionate about. Over the years, our focus narrows, and we may continue to dabble in...
We humans are communal creatures; social relationships and closeness with others benefit our hearts, minds, and bodies. But as our work and family responsibilities increase, it is easy to let maintaining friendships slide down the priority list. Some people are so infatuated with their spouse...
Many of you remember your parents toting you along to dinner parties throughout your childhood. If you were lucky, there were other kids to play with, but either way, you probably passed out on a sofa or in a guest bedroom, the background noise of...
Fifteen years ago I came to Chennai on a gap year to teach spoken English at an NGO that gave free vocational training to underprivileged women. One day the administration asked me to dedicate a class to personal grooming and hygiene, and I couldn’t believe...
How invested are you in mitigating the climate crisis that is rapidly reducing our water supply, increasing temperatures, and polluting the air we breathe? While the race to save our planet from the deleterious effects of global warming is a shared responsibility, women in particular...
People who are about to become parents receive no shortage of warnings for what is to come. Seasoned parents love telling expecting couples things like “Enjoy your freedom while you can!” or any variation of comments on how little sleep they’ll get, how much money...
The defining narrative of my life is that I straddle two cultures. As a first generation American, I thumbed my nose at my parents’ attempts to make me embrace their culture, refusing Bharatanatyam and Carnatic singing classes, and making friends mostly with my white peers...
Feminine energy and masculine energy are present in both genders, and as the yin-yang symbol beautifully illustrates, balancing both energies leads to harmony. You may think that being a woman means you are already chock-full of feminine energy, as a default setting. But living in...
Many deride Valentine’s Day as a purely commercial holiday, where corporations pressure us to express romance through flowers, gifts, and fancy dinners. But I believe February 14th can serve as a reminder for people to evaluate their relationships. Anyone who has been married a long...
