“I grew up in Chennai, in a home that believed life had to be lived by a rulebook written generations ago. But I was the girl who questioned everything. Why can’t I? Who decides what’s enough? Why should I settle? My family, cautious and comfortable, feared money and risk. They thought safety was survival. I wanted more. I wanted to build the life they were too afraid to imagine.

My mother always told me, “We should draw a circle around ourselves and live within it.” I never understood why. That circle wasn’t safety to me; it was limitation. But whatever everyone around said, it was just chatter. My uncle was my role-model, I often think one day I will be like him but I knew being a woman meant I’d have to fight harder for a dream that big.

I lived within the boundaries for years, doing what made my parents happy, even when it didn’t make me happy. But somewhere deep down, I was collecting courage. And one day, I finally decided to step outside that circle.

When I started earning, everything changed. Confidence, independence, and self-belief came rushing in. The world opened up in ways I never expected. I began exploring everything my family once feared: modelling, fashion, styling, working odd jobs, and carving my own unconventional path. Everything they thought was unstable became my strength. Every risk they warned me against became a part of who I am today.

Now, SITA, the label, is my identity, my creation, my rebellion. It’s the sum of every job I’ve done, every mistake I’ve made, and every time I’ve had to start again from scratch. I built it from the ground up, and it continues to remind me that the greatest battles are always the ones within us.

I’ve come this far not to stop here. I do it for every girl who’s been told she can’t, or worse, that she shouldn’t. I want her to know that how you look, where you come from, or what you do has nothing to do with how far you can go. You can have the chocolate cake and eat it, if you damn want to.

Chennai is home, the smell of filter coffee in Mylapore, the chaos of Mount Road, the calm of Bessy, the nostalgia of Spencer’s and Sathyam popcorn. This city has seen me fail, rebuild, and rise again. You can take me out of Chennai, but you can’t take Chennai out of me. It’s the city that taught me how to dream bigger, live louder, and become more than I was ever allowed to be.”