I am spiritually-minded, cisgender East-Indian woman who has spent more than 40 years in the United States as the product of two worlds, the ancient customs and traditions of Indian Hindu society interspersed with global religious studies and Eastern wisdom, and the high-achievement mindset of the modern Western world. I was born in Switzerland where Telegu and French were my first languages and moved to Wisconsin, where I spent my formative childhood and teenage years in a relatively homogenous community that did not match the way I looked or spoke. My closest friend was my older brother of four years who shared my experience of living with parents who struggled to fit into a work and societal culture that was not kind to foreigners, despite their academic achievements. To this day, I am filled with awe at how they and other immigrants like them, stay committed to raising children in the United States with the hope that their children will fit into this society and achieve success in Western terms. I carry their perseverance and strength in the projects I pursue.
Perhaps one of the most influential components of my childhood was being raised by a mother who introduced me to as many religious and spiritual texts and practices as feasible. I grew up with neurologic and cardiac ailments that equally defined me and served as my launching pad to break free from the fixed identification they imposed and the false stories of impending mortality. In 1987, practice became personal after I visited an ashram in India with my parents to try and “heal” me of a few of these ailments. This experience stayed with me to my adult years when I returned to that ashram to conduct fieldwork in cultural anthropology. I now draw on this global Hindu upbringing along with my Buddhist practice as I work in the space of animal welfare, engaging in expanding my view of social justice concerns, the impact of human activity on our climate, and the critical nature of engaging youth in their education and futures.
The Journey You Own embodies the path that I have taken and the roots from which I come. While the stories shared come from many, the content speaks to an expansion of knowledge that has been a value passed on to me from generations before me. My paternal grandfather lived in a small village working rice plantations in India without modern conveniences of electricity or plumbing and emphasized education and knowledge as a means for advancement for all six of his children, eventually leading them to emigrate to the United States with solid educations, something not easily accomplished by villagers living in remote parts of India at that time. My maternal great-grandparents were educators with Gandhi and taught their daughter to read and write in English and eventually become a respected female leader in her community. I am fortunate to have known my grandmothers who both encouraged the myriad of my interests. I contemplate the impact of caste in their lives and how privilege has manifested itself in my life and see my role in acknowledging this privilege while transforming it to raise awareness.
The Journey You Own embodies the path that I have taken and the roots from which I come. While the stories shared come from many, the content speaks to an expansion of knowledge that has been a value passed on to me from generations before me.
I now travel internationally when feasible with my three children and husband, learning, expanding, exploring, and being. Curiosity stirs insight, compassion reflects awareness, and courage leads to evolution. I will continue to live my life by these values.