Tillitonse - A Transformational Journey Together

94!!! Man, that sounds old. But then, so does 49!!!  As my father turns 94 today, it gave me an opportunity to dive into the photo cabinet and find this gem. I first tried cropping out the two gents, but then I found that they added so much not just to the picture, but I guess, speaks about our relationship that much more.  I was a little over six when my father retired from the army. And so, while I recall little of the Army life that he, my mother and my older brothers experienced, his 43 year tenure starting from WWII to the early 70s has loomed large for me.  Being on the ship to Burma when the Bomb dropped in Hiroshima, the time as the Military Attache in the High Commission in London, living in the tents in J&K and jumping of airplanes minus a reserve parachute were part of the folklore of a rich life before I came along.  My father was 44 when I was born. So, while I missed a big chunk of his actual army service, I was amazingly fortunate to e...

Devdutt Pattanaik stresses the importance of epics in our lives.....,  Of all the mythological stories which is the one that beautifully brings out the relationship of a mother and a child? Every relationship is unique and one must not grade them as better or worse. For example, with Kaikeyi we see a relationship that is shaped by her ambition for her son, Bharat. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? With Sita, we see a single parent, who ensures her children, Luv and Kush, grow up learning good things about their father, even though he abandoned her. Who is that one mythological woman that has impressed you the most? Child psychologists tell us that we should never compare children as that can have serious issues with their self-worth and self-esteem. And yet, we are obsessed with drawing lists based on comparison. I feel every woman is unique and has something impressive about her. I find Sita remarkable for her ability to make choices and blame no on...

A few weeks ago, I espied this cut-out left behind after an event in a hotel in Daman. Just had to take this picture – for a laugh….but clearly there was more… There are never any co-incidences. The next day was my 21 st wedding anniversary. Over the past few weeks, its been a series of open, emotional and honest conversations. Yup, we needed to initially ride the emotional roller coaster in order to reach a new equilibrium. All too often, we get busy…and life catches up. Like most things in life that are alive, relationships too need constant and proactive attention, nurturing, tweaking and above all compassion and understanding to constantly evolve in a mutually productive way. We had not really spoken openly for a while and boy, was that evident! This roller coaster ride has come to and end and we have moved on to other fun aspects of the amusement park. But, like with most things, the wound is indeed, where the light enter...

He put out his hand as he said "Hello Sir, my name is Amos." And in that moment, I was reminded once again about class-driven most of my life in India is. Amos is the gardener at my host's wonderful home in Harare, Zimbabwe. As I interacted with him, something stirred within me. Some learnings. 1. We were actually introduced to each other. (will say no more) 2. He walked up to me, a little shyly, and then shook my hand. 3. Providing for a uniform for domestic help, regular working hours, vacation time and above all civility in discussions are the norm. Indeed there is so much to learn......

HAVE YOU TRULY FELT SUPPORTED TO PURSUE YOUR DREAMS? Imagine being unconditionally supported to chase what your yearn for!  How would that make your feel? As part of my second and truly transformational coaching certification program, we participated in an exercise where we shared and received unconditional support to follow our bliss.  Appreciation and support is so rare in our lives, that this was a truly moving 12 minutes of unfiltered, unabashed luv and support seeps into oneself. A great tonic for me towards living life more fully and more passionately and helping others do the same! Looking forward to spreading the positivity and alignment I felt....

July was an awesome month for me. Between the 1st and 20th of the month, I scaled peaks in my new found career/passion that were exhilarating! Seven workshops and 10 coaching sessions across three countries experimenting with new approaches and each one of them paying off was intoxicating! Yep, I was on a high....So, when I found myself down in the dumps and feeling void around the 22nd, it was a SHOCK! Was it a coincidence that the low had to follow such a high? I asked myself repeatedly. Then I stopped and just stayed with this feeling... I had to dig deep and shut myself in. So, on July 25th, I got out of the multiple Whatsapp groups/Facebook, avoided stepping out of home and except for going to yoga (asana) class, I spent time journelling and holding the space for this angst. Creating this space provided opportunities for skeletons in the cupboard to be uncovered. Ah yes, deep conversations with my coach my wife and daughter were important milestones in this journey wi...