I don’t believe in celebrating women only for a day, so I thought of writing this timeless piece and dedicating it to the pillars who’ve made me the person I am today. Behind this goofy and cartoon~y person (a.k.a me) are 6 women who have invested their time and effort into teaching me a thing or two about life, love, and work.

Let me share with you, the women who deserve to be celebrated every day of their lives.

1. My mom

She’s the reason I exist but that’s not why I owe my life to her. I love my mom, but I don’t want to be her. I don’t want to be that selfless, to be honest. What I’ve learned from her is the amount of love she has to give, the trust she has on me as her daughter and the way she’s raised me to be my own person.

2. My sister

Khushi has been someone who’s the older one, but she never really tried to mother me or tried to teach me things from her experiences. She taught me to fall myself and learn from my own situations. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be in the most comfortable position in my life, at the cost of not achieving a single thing till date.

3. My grandmother

I wouldn’t have had half the confidence, resilience, and love for the craft if it wasn’t for her. She was a living example of how one can make it big on their own just by working hard and fine-tuning one’s skills. Even though she mastered all the things she put her hands into, she makes sure to keep learning newer ways to improve in those. She knew how to get with the times and even managed to succeed in mediums like social media that many can’t find success in. I could go on and on about Dadiji, but most importantly, she taught me to be humble and kind, no matter what. Ah, the words that came out of her mouth were sweeter than honey and purer than gold. I will miss her smile, her generosity of spirit and her voice, always.

4. My mother-in-law

She’s kinder than my own mom (yes, ma, you know it’s true!). We’ve known mother-in-laws to be mean, jealous and selfish but I guess my MIL didn’t get the memo. She’s one of the sweetest, kindest people who have so much to give. She’s taught me to give the benefit of doubt to EVERYONE. No matter who, no matter how they behave or seem, always ask “why?” And put yourself in their place. You’ll often find yourself empathising with others. That’s what I love about her and I strive to be more like her someday.

My mentors – Malini & Nirmika

5. Malini Agarwal

A.k.a MissMalini is the only reason I’m not at a deadens job selling ad spaces in a cut-throat environment I definitely did not fit into. She taught me everything I know but more importantly she taught me how to help others. I wasn’t used to people going out of their way to help you out with no agenda or UM. She put me ahead whenever she saw a good opportunity out there for me. I mean, who does that? I do… Now. All thanks to her. She’s made me a better person (by skill and by traits) to which I will forever be grateful.

6. Nirmika Singh

She doesn’t even know the impact she’s had on my life. I’ve been in awe of her from day 1. Every time she entered a room, the place would just glow up. It was her smile and her voice that made one feel so comfortable and welcomed, always. Working hard and multitasking are two things that I learned from this firecracker.

To all the women in my life, I want to say, thank you for believing in me and investing so much of your time and efforts into making me a better person. I truly am one of the blessed ones to have a girl gang like you.