In today’s episode, we’re joined by Aranyani Bhargav—dancer, educator, and activist—who shares how motherhood has reshaped her practice, redefined her art, and expanded her perspective on teaching, activism, and what it truly means to inhabit the body.

Motherhood often begins with hope—with dreams, plans, and the growing anticipation of new life. As the bump grows, so does a deep and quiet sense of responsibility. But for 1 in 4 pregnancies, that journey ends in loss. It’s a kind of grief few talk about—a heartbreak that often has no ceremony, no ritual, and no shared mourning. Bereaved parents are left to grieve alone, their pain invisible to the world.

Becoming a mother is full of contradictions — the lived experience often betrayed by the expectation to play a role instead of remain a person. The powerlessness, rage, and weariness that come with this identity are often hidden, though nearly every mother feels them. Motherhood is heavily judged and policed. How, then, can one enrich her own experience while building resilience against its challenges?

In today’s episode, Bakul and Priyas share how, sometimes, we need to pause our passion to understand context, crisis, and the way forward.

When we think of the mothers who have inspired us, our minds go to women who hold motherhood with a distinct lightness and nurture themselves and their children with palpable joy and easy wisdom. Shena Gamat is someone who fits the bill. Her work in theatre and with the Rock Street Journal brought together young people and gave them the space and vocabulary to thrive, much before the dawn of social media. Her beautiful daughter Aditi, Dot. is a veritable treasure trove of talent and a true reflection of her mother’s inimitable spirit. Shena has found a way to redefine herself with every passing decade and embodies the transformative power of self-awareness and resilience.

As Adrienne Rich puts it “All human life on the planet is born of woman. The one unifying, incontrovertible experience shared by all women and men is that, months-long period we spent unfolding inside a woman’s body.” Today’s episode we delve into a deeply personal and insightful exploration of feminism and Motherhood with our guests Tanushree Seth and Tena Pick. They show us that self-actualised motherhood within a capitalist construct is achieved through radical equality, focusing on emotional intelligence and rebuilding ourselves without shame or guilt. Our conversation highlights the value of developing compassionate language for ourselves and how motherhood can be a truly healing experience if we let go. _ Tena pick Bio Tena Pick is a social impact consultant passionate about women empowerment, community development and social impact measurement. She is based in India with extensive experience in the Middle East, Caribbean, Africa and South and Southeast Asia. She is the Founder of Project Kal, a gender leadership academy focusing on dismantling toxic masculinity patterns in India. Project Kal works in the prevention of gender-based violence by proactively and intentionally engaging men in the greater conversations around equality. As a Founder, Tena works with schools, corporations, universities and social enterprises around India. Project Kal also focuses on policy advisory and thought leadership in the gender and development space. She is also co-founder of Parenthesis, a feminist parenting platform. She lives in Bangalore with her husband, Josh, and her soon-to-be 4-year-old son, Leo. Tanushree Seth Tanushree is a seasoned business leader with 16 years of experience in the US, India, and Southeast Asia. After graduating with an MBA from the Wharton School, Tanushree joined Booz & Co. in NYC where she advised leading fortune 500 companies in beauty, personal care, wellness, and fashion on marketing and growth strategy, turnaround, restructuring, and retail operations. She then joined Estee Lauder Companies in NYC to lead growth strategies for 30+ prestige beauty brands across makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance. She moved back to India after almost 2 decades in the US, to run the business in India for Estee Lauder, Tom Ford, and several designer fragrance brands. More recently, Tanushree launched an acne-focused brand with $2M in pre-seed funding, which she exited last year. Tanushree lives in Bangalore with her husband, Raja, and two kids, Nirvaan and Tara.

Motherhood is best described as a roller coaster ride through social, personal, and emotional highs and lows. From the ecstasy of holding your baby for the first time to the depths of despair that come with the baby blues. Within the Indian context, we have layers of imagined social propriety and cultural narratives that define the visceral reality of motherhood but rarely invoke a deeper understanding. On the episode today we have Pooja Pande Author of Momspeak - the funny bittersweet story of motherhood in India. Also joining us is Swati Chattopadhyay, a writer, dancer, and entrepreneur who contributed her own life-affirming experiences to the book.

As we form life-affirming connections with our kids the value of persistence and resilience grows. Each one of us is wired uniquely. For parents with kids who are on the spectrum, forming connections and coping mechanisms run parallel and this goes hand in hand with navigating life in a neuro-typical world. Soumini Menon, a seasoned developmental psychologist and arts-based therapist. In our conversation we explore aspects of neurodiversity and the path for parents towards acceptance, advocacy and allyship in order to create positive role models for our kids.   Recommendations: Out Of Sync Child - Carol Stock Kranowitz The Reason I Jump - Naoki Higashida Empathy, Education and Inclusion: A Guide to Real Friendship - Emma Liu Neurodiversity, The New Normal - Cynthia Coupé Reimagining Parenting In A Neurodiverse World - Allison Burgess Much Much Spectrum, Instagram Profile __ Find us on Instagram: Priya, Bakul, Gunjan, The Mommy Mix Tape and Soumini Menon

Most of us seek to surround ourselves with people who wear their Authenticity with a certain ease. There is a decidedly transformative power in unabashedly unique women, those who have learnt to embrace all their indiosyncrasies and celebrate their wonderful worlds. None more so than our guest today- Natasha Badhwar- Her books My Daughters Mum and Immortal for a Moment are the perfect starting point for anyone looking to rejuvenate their life force.

The feeling of being burnt out is unique to individual context, yet universal in its prevalence.  One of my favourite authors wrote “ love yourself like you love your child”. I wonder if that could be a catalyst for each one of us to lighten the load.

Motherhood is an identity that transforms with every passing year. Raising children also means raising mothers and we all seem destined to have distinctly unique journeys based on our context.  On our show today we have a mom who’s raised a young man of 22 while staying true to her creative and adventurous spirit as she weaves stories and narratives that flow from  a wealth of lived experiences as documentary filmmaker, author and fellow podcasting mum. We chat about how one develops a sense of belonging for ourselves and our children, our chosen families and the realities of diversity and how she has touched upon all of these through her work.

For Most Indian Parents Schooling figures on top of the Parenting Pyramid. It’s the decision that sets the tone for what bulk of the childhood experience is going to be like. Schools are a microcosm of the mindset of our society. The challenges brought by increased  peer orientation is something that our parents never thought about.   How are parents supposed to navigate social structures and academic curriculums that have not really responded to the needs of children in the times we live in?

What is so great about our genetics or bloodlines? Do they make us who we are ?  Families are created by people committed to sharing a life together. The family we choose for ourselves in whatever form make our journeys richer.  As a change maker in her own right, this incredible mum filed a motion to ensure maternity benefits for adoptive mothers in India that is up for consideration in the Supreme Court. On today’s episode we have a mum who along with her partner created one of the most idyllic families I have come in contact with. Their story is inspiring, encouraging and dispels the misconceptions that have plagued narratives around adoptions.

Guilt - There are very few emotions as resilient in the context of motherhood. It is for most of us all consuming, that niggle that stays with you no matter how hard you try to let it go. Self deprecatory for most of us the power of guilt is undeniable. What if we could flip the narrative on mommy guilt and look at it as a means of self reflection and give ourselves the permission to delve into the dark recesses of our minds where guilt begins to fester. These are conversations we need to have with ourselves in order to mitigate the often crippling effects of guilt that seem to come free with motherhood.

Is there a Parenting Playbook and what does it look like ? Did our parents think about how they were perceived by the children they nurtured into entitlement? Why do parents today need labels to define themselves?  Nurturing a child's individuality and opinions does not need to be done by hiding one’s own flaws. The best role models for kids are people who are able to be kind to themselves and accepting of all facets of their being.  Parenting Jargon makes google searches easier, sure, but we don’t need to be confused by the language or dragged down by the weight that the words of others may carry.

Our lives are defined by choices, ones made for us and those we make for ourselves. In the constant tussle, between opinion and explanations, what ends up getting lost is probably the only one that should matter - the opinion that we have of ourselves.  In our second episode we chat about the family we choose and the possibilities and purpose of the decisions we take. Hosts: Priya Mathews, Gunjan Grover Gupta & Bakul Dua   Social Media: Instagram, Twitter

They say it takes a village to raise a child. In our first episode we chat about what it takes to curate your own village in a world of social media and virtual communities.