• Unconditional love: My baby sister, Yaki, grew up supporting her ailing sibling. An evening is etched in my memory when my physiotherapy session ran very late. Mom and I returned home way beyond my sister’s feeding time. I remember seeing her little body propped against the window, staring into the dark outdoors, searching for the glimmer of our scooter headlight. The moment she saw us arrive, she shrieked in happiness. I got a hug first, and then she pranced around like a happy pup until Mom was ready to feed her. This pretty much sums up our childhood to teen years. I was always top of mind for the family. What we ate, what we did for weekends, what we planned for holidays, and so on. Everything revolved around how to make me most comfortable. Her childhood became a shadow of my priorities but she never resented me. Instead, she gave unconditional love that was way beyond her age. She taught me how to lean in, wherever I can, with all the goodness I can offer.
   

• Support: My grand aunt taught me the power of focusing on strengths. During our holidays, we used to spend time in her apartment. We used to have a direct view of a football field. While watching a practice session, I commented on how one of the players was so much smarter in using his stamina and positioning to win goals. How I wished I could run like him. She applauded my observation skills. And, went on to say - “you may not run like him on the field but your mind runs faster than all of them.” She always encouraged my sister and I on our achievements and less on where we fall short in comparison to others. 

 

• Inclusion: During one of the school sports seasons, my class captain walks up to me and assigns me the performance tracker register. He tells me - “you know all the participants, and you are really good at taking notes. Help me with detailed entries so that I can track who needs more training.” Suddenly I was not a spectator. I was part of the event. I didn’t need to force fit myself in  long jump or sprint trials and make a ridicule of myself. I would manage the register and track performance - something I could do on my own, something I was good at. It’s one of my happiest memories from school. I doubt this person even realized how his simple action meant the world to me.
   

• Intentionality: I joined Google in 2004 and have worked for almost two decades at Google. From the early days of search advertising to now leading a team that works on AI offerings in our product ecosystem, I have been lucky to learn from the best. A key theme that defines my learning is intentionality. It translated to how I started creating time beyond my core job to offering coaching sessions, facilitate globally recognized workshops like #IamRemarkable to clients, partners, and non-profit organizations, etc. And, this is how the co-founders and I built diligence to transfer a % of our monthly income to self fund Ahora Foundation. The best use of our hard-earned money has been to help girls at Ahora.

 

• Action: Kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab. Pal me praleya hoyegi, bahuri karegi kab - Saint Kabir Das.
  My husband, Manan, lives and breathes this discipline. It’s the reason behind how much he gets done, how he makes each day count. While I always had a clear vision of how I want to give back to our community, it wasn’t until Manan came in with his game plan that Ahora Foundation launched. I remember being overwhelmed and in an analysis paralysis mode on how to start a non-profit while having a full-time job and living in another country. It was his bias for action that compelled me to see the value in helping even one child instead of just daydreaming about building for a thousand someday.

 

These experiences have shaped the spirit in me to pay forward. It is the root of why I want to do more for the girls at Ahora. It is the source of why I believe in the power of every individual’s ability to make a difference. A simple act that you may not even think about can have a butterfly effect in someone’s life.