“I spent my life believing that a woman’s dreams had to fit around everyone else’s. Marriage, motherhood and managing a home seemed like the only milestones I was expected to reach. I never thought to question that script. That was my world.

That belief began taking shape when I was in school. In Class 10, my mother experienced depression, and I took on responsibilities at home. I cooked, managed household chores, cared for my younger brother and then went to school.

I grew up quickly, learning to put others first. Without realizing it, I began to mistake responsibility for destiny.

Soon after college, I married through an arranged match and became a mother to a baby girl within a year. I cherished my family, but I also began to recognise a part of myself that had been left behind.

Having to ask someone else for money, even for personal needs, made me uncomfortable. I did not want to keep seeking permission to meet my own needs. I wanted the confidence and freedom that came from earning for myself.

I tried to find my footing in ways. I learnt tailoring, designed and stitched blouses for people close to me, and even explored baking after my second pregnancy.

Each attempt was a step towards independence, even when I was unsure where it would lead. I had the willingness to work, but I was still searching for the thing that truly felt like mine.

Then came an unexpected spark. After watching Jyothika’s film ‘Kaatrin Mozhi’, I wondered whether I could become a radio jockey. I started attending RJ workshops, carrying that small possibility with me. But I figured that my age was a constraint to many opportunities in that industry.

Friends often told me that my conversations helped them see things differently and feel reassured when life became difficult. Their words stayed with me.

At one workshop, I met someone who spoke about visiting a life coach. I had never heard of the profession before, but the idea stayed with me. I researched it and booked a one-to-one session with Pooja Puneeth.

That conversation did something I had not expected: it made me turn the same care I had always given others towards myself.

That first coaching session became more than just a session for me. It opened a door to a version of myself I had never considered. I began training under her, and as my journey progressed, she invited me to work alongside her.

I went on to complete an advanced coaching certification from the United States, determined to turn what I had discovered into a meaningful profession.

When the pandemic disrupted life for so many, I chose to build something of my own. I started ‘Empower Academy’ to turn my personal transformation into a purpose and help others find clarity, confidence and direction in their lives.

Today, I work with people navigating their own journeys and train aspiring life coaches to support others through theirs. I want every person I work with to experience that same real possibility for themselves, too.

There is a powerful difference between the woman I once was and the woman I am today. I once believed my identity was defined by the responsibilities I carried.

Now, I help people recognise that they are not limited by the roles they have been given, the expectations they have inherited or the chapters they have already lived.

My work is not about telling people what path to take. It is about helping them realise that they have the power to choose one.

Recently, I published ‘Women With Wings’, a book that encourages women to look beyond society’s definitions and rediscover who they are for themselves.

It carries a message close to my heart: being a daughter, wife or mother can be part of a woman’s identity, but none of these roles should be the boundary of her possibilities.

If my journey has taught me anything, it is that independence changes more than a bank balance. It changes the way you see yourself, the choices you can make and the future you believe is possible.

My message to every woman is simple.
Become financially independent!

Give yourself the freedom to choose, the confidence to speak and the courage to begin again.

You do not have to wait for life to make room for your dreams. You can make that room yourself!”