All my recent experiences have been pointing to just one thing- the answer to the above question! The first of these experiences was my unexpected encounter with the unprecedented floods in my hometown in Kerala in mid-2018. All other challenges that I had faced in my life until this point had seemed insignificant in front of the challenge of several lives at stake. When I left behind my precious belongings and waded through the floods without even once turning back, I had a

“Compassion is an extremely valuable virtue for the survival of our species. Our experience showed us that only mutual care and support can help us overcome adversities and not the instinct to selfishly secure limited resources. ” A Fateful Independence Day In the past, whenever I have watched news on natural disasters around the world, I have felt sad and bad for the affected people, but I had never thought that it could ever happen to me! Most of us, humans, tend to take th

“To have fear is human, but those who overcome their fears become extraordinary humans” Recently, when my 7-year old spoke of his fear to sleep alone, after hearing 'ghost stories' from friends, I narrated my own stories to him when I conquered my fears and went onto do what I wanted to in my life. This is one such story- an account of my first trip to the US as a 21 year old graduate student in 2001, a time so different from now when cell phones and credit cards were still

The elevator door closed leaving the image of my 3-year old’s tearful face in my mind. As I headed towards office, my heart felt terribly heavy. His little hands had reached out to me in despair and I had walked away. How stone-hearted am I to walk away from my little child! Drops of tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked out of the car window. Here I am, on one hand, an ambitious woman with dreams, vision and aspirations, and on the other, a working mother who contemplates