I still remember the day I logged back into work after my second child was born. It was the middle of the pandemic. Daycares were shut, nannies were out of the question, and both my partner and I were working full-time from home—with two young children who had no concept of 'Do Not Disturb'. There were days when I’d be on a video call with a baby on my lap screaming in the background and a toddler tugging at my sleeve. Nights blurred into mornings. Meals were often a negotiation. And amidst all this, I found myself in a conversation with a mentor, venting about everything I wasn’t able to do—missed meetings, delayed commitments, and the constant feeling of falling short. She listened patiently and then said something that changed my perspective: “Instead of focusing on what you’re not doing, try looking at what you’re building. You’re surviving something incredibly hard. That’s not a weakness—it’s a strength. What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.” That conver...
Let me tell you a story that’s been rusting in the history books for a while. It was around the early 1200s. The Warangal Empire in Southern India was under the remarkable rule of King Ganapati Deva of the Kakatiya dynasty. Known for his extraordinary leadership, Ganapati Deva expanded the Warangal kingdom to encompass most of present-day southern Indian states. He tirelessly fortified the Warangal Fort, implemented policies to ensure the security, law, and order of his people, and fostered overall well-being. Under his reign, the kingdom transformed into a flourishing empire with vibrant foreign trade and cultural monuments, some of which still stand today. Ganapati Deva's childhood was marked by trauma; he lost both his biological and adopted fathers in a war with a neighboring kingdom and was taken captive as a child. Thanks to the loyalty and efficiency of Warangal’s chief of the army, young Ganapati was eventually released unharmed after a series of diplomatic peace ...