I have had the privilege to be raised by a strong woman. My Mamu, Shanti Chadha, is my world. She is an entrepreneur, a social worker, a change maker, and a staunch proponent of economic empowerment and wellbeing of women.
She has shaped my identity in many ways as I am sure many of your mothers would have yours. There are three life lessons that I learnt from her among many, many others that I wish to share with you in this edition.
I am on top of Mount Everest. You ask her how she is and this is what you will hear. She could be going through the hardest day, a tough challenge or be unwell but I have never heard her complain. I have also never heard her ever say anything bad about anyone. She thrives on positivity and she believes that the gift of human life is too precious not to live fully and to share with others. She has helped shape the women’s economic empowerment movement in the country and she does it with such passion and ownership that I truly feel she can move mountains if she wants.
Information is power. Mamu gave me my love for words, for knowledge, for books and for magazines. Growing up I wanted to be an astronaut, a lawyer, a fashion designer and even an ice cream seller. Everything but a journalist. But she had instilled in me a deep appreciation for reading and listening that my career chose me and I became a word weaver. Today, she is constantly listening to the news, super active on social media and always ready for an intellectual debate. Mamu absorbs news like she has a place in the world with the power to change it. And I increasingly understand how being interested in politics, science, art, spirituality can make you a truly more aware person who walks through their life choices with meaningful and conscious precision.
She always says Life is Beautiful… and that is so, so true. Despite wars, despite corruption, despite anger and injustice, this life is truly a gift. And each moment of every day that we are alive is an opportunity to do something meaningful, to create connections, to close gaps, to love, to learn, to explore, to charge and to heal.
Not everyone gets a hero to live with every day. I do. And if you do too, make the most of this most incredible relationship in the world. She conceived you, carried you in her womb and gave you this gift of life… your flesh, your blood, your body come from her… she holds your joys and your doubts and wounds… you come from her but she ensures you carry the strength to be your own.
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