“I lost my father to an intense car crash right after my tenth grade and life was never the same again! Within a matter of minutes, my world had completely turned topsy turvy with no sight of happiness or hope anywhere for the entire family. He was our sole breadwinner and his demise also called for a shift in our priorities. My grandparents, for one, had to take over the responsibilities of the house, mom had to launch her career in her forties and I’d slowly given up on my lifelong dream of pursuing medicine.

Nevertheless, having seen how studious I was, everyone around encouraged me to take up some form of healthcare and subsequently enrolled me into speech and hearing pathological studies. And as rigorous as it was, I couldn’t be more thankful for the suggestion, for it opened me to a whole new dimension called ‘special education’ in my life. Working with disabled children was a fulfilling experience and after a point, all I wanted was to attend patient after patient, driving them towards their betterment in some form.

At the same time, I was lucky enough to have a very supportive family too, by my side. My husband, for example, doesn’t hesitate to take weeks off from his work to look after our kids when I have musical performances across the globe. Having stemmed from similar scenarios, he’s always ensured to support my dreams in whatever capacity possible. The elders in his family were also incredibly progressive and they definitely helped me juggle various facets to running a household with ease.

Finally it felt like I had finally had the best of both worlds, which is often rare to hear amongst married women. Today, I have fifteen years to my credit in the field of speech pathology and I operate as an independent professional striving to raise the bar in her field ethically. Having studied under some fantastic teachers during my time, I try to create a similar experience for the children under me now. In the end, I guess not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear the path as well!”