I come from the mud houses and thatched roofs, I come from my Nani’s pallu and Massi’s stories. I come from the hot roti’s in the chulha and the smell of the wet earth. I come from dusty roads and chai- biscuit, I come from sleeping under starlit skies and kacchi kairi. I come from the notorious backdrops of Uttar Pradesh, and chatapati chaat. I come from Doordarshan and the lazy afternoon movies. I come from Avadhi, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and tooti English. I come the city of dreams Mumbai, I come broken hopes of my father and the resilience of my mother, I come with my sisters, my village, my cities and communities. I come from Portland, Oregon. I come from love.

I was born in Mandhana, a tiny village in rural Uttar Pradesh, India and was raised in Mumbai. I acquired a lot of my narratives from my rich cultural heritage as an Indian girl with privilege of being a Brahmin in a Hindu male dominant society.

Most of my personality, was shaped by observing my single, highly educated, feminist mom, in a poor but modern household in Mumbai. My understanding of life’s process, preciousness and purpose, comes from my father’s tragic death when I was eight years old.  My grit and resilience comes from my grand mother, Shivkali Dwivedi.

With my Nani
With my Mom

My mom, Usha Pandey, taught me to question my relationship to life, people and power with sincerity. I have lived between polarities since childhood and have always loved observing and interpreting the dynamics of systems through which I moved. 

I am a post graduate in Microbiology and started my career as a scientist in multinational company Colgate- Palmolive, however soon my passion to work with people channelled me towards facilitating in house programs on values and human Interactions at Colgate. After a 9 year stint at Colgate, I started to work independently as a leadership mentor, consultant and coach in various organisations ranging from multinationals, SMBs, family owned and non- profits. Interestingly, my work as a microbiologist and understanding of microbial systems also informed my understanding of human systems and models. 

You will be surprised at how all living systems interact similarly! The learnings of complex adaptive systems that exist in nature can be used to create models for transformation and change in human systems.

The lens of power, social consciousness and equity has been an important container for my work. My designs include thought models, playback theatre, dreams, art and somatic work, that support my clients with deeper exploration of self and its dynamics with the system in which, the self exists.

Along my journey I have met inspirational friends, colleagues, partners, mentors and communities that I feel blessed to have in my life.

I currently reside in Portland, Oregon with my husband and two kids.

 

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