MAADHYAM

It began like any ordinary Sunday. The fan hummed lazily above the dining table. Plates of half-eaten parathas lay scattered, along with a math notebook Riya had quietly pushed aside. At fifteen, she had mastered the art of appearing busy while feeling invisible. “Still not finished?” her father asked, glancing at the open notebook. “I’ll do it,” she replied softly. Her mother added, almost casually, “Your cousin Aarav finished his syllabus last month. He’s so focused. You should learn from him.” It was said in passing. Not harsh. Not loud. But it landed. Riya lowered her eyes. She nodded, the way she had trained herself to do when comparisons surfaced. The conversation moved on. The comment did not. Over time, the statements became patterns. “You’re too sensitive.” “Why do you overreact to everything?” “Girls these days have too many distractions.” “When I was your age, I never answered back.” Each sentence sounded like advice. Correction. Guidance. But slowly, they formed...

   Microaggressions at Work.     I conducted a session on the topic. But as the discussion unfolded, I realised something deeper: this is not just a corporate conversation.  This is a life conversation. Because microaggressors don’t live only in boardrooms. They live in classrooms. They live in homes. They live in everyday conversations. And they rarely shout. They whisper. The Whisper We Ignore A meeting where someone is interrupted — again. A child being told, “You’re not leadership material.” A teenager was laughed at for their accent. A spouse said, “You’re overreacting.” A colleague’s idea is acknowledged only when someone else repeats it. No one thinks they are being biased. No one intends harm. But impact does not wait for intention, and confidence does not disappear in one loud moment. It shrinks quietly. What Microaggressers Really Do They make people rehearse before speaking. They make children stop raising their hands. They m...

 “Don’t confuse setting boundaries with lacking ambition. The boldest generation is the one brave enough to protect its peace.” – Sandhya Lal We’ve all heard the murmurs:  “Gen Z doesn’t want to work.”  “They’re entitled.”  “They lack drive.” But what if we’ve been asking the wrong question all along? Rather than labeling Gen Z as lazy, what if we looked at their mindset with fresh eyes?  What if, instead of resisting this shift in workplace culture, we paused to reflect:  What are they doing differently—and what can we learn from them? As a wellness and communications coach working with teams across generations, I’ve seen firsthand how Gen Z is not destroying the workplace—they’re redefining it . And in doing so, they are offering the rest of us a roadmap out of burnout. The Stats: Gen Z Is Not Lazy. They’re Just Done With Burnout. Let’s begin with a reality check. 50% of Gen Z workers are considering quitting their jobs in the next ...

People often ask me how I became a content creator, learned to write, and—most importantly—how I found the courage to stand up for myself. The answer is simple: Professor Jerry Pinto. I still remember our first day in class. Forty girls, all slightly nervous, trying to figure out what journalism school had in store. Jerry walked in and said something none of us expected: “You will not call me ‘Sir’. I haven’t been knighted by the Queen of England. I’m not your teacher. Call me Mr. Pinto or Jerry.” We were stunned. Then came a question that truly shook us up: “How many of you can ask your friend to return the money they borrowed, without feeling guilty or awkward?” Only a few of us raised our hands—including me. Then he asked, “How many of you have money saved up that nobody knows about?” Again, just a few hands went up. Mine included. And then… the real shocker. He told each of us to stand up and say, “F@k off.”* You can imagine our expressions. We were frozen. Some giggled...

  When Was the Last Time You Truly Paused? “Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is breathe, reflect, and begin again. " - Sandhya Lal We live in a generation that is constantly moving. The moment we wake up, the world demands our attention. Notifications, deadlines, responsibilities, meetings, social media updates, expectations, emotional pressures — they begin before our mind has even had a chance to rest. Somewhere in this fast-paced lifestyle, we started believing that slowing down is unproductive. We glorify hustle. We celebrate exhaustion. We admire people who are “always busy.” But very few people talk about the emotional cost of never pausing. And that cost is silently showing up everywhere. In rising stress levels. In emotional burnout. In anxiety and irritability. In strained relationships. In mental exhaustion. In the inability to stay present. In the feeling that despite doing everything… we still feel disconnected. Disconnected from joy. Disconnected from pe...

I   am not going to use the photo of the child in the topic, but here is my take on this. Being a mother and a media person who knows exactly how these programs work, here is my opinion, unedited and unfiltered. In a world where every moment can be clipped, captioned, and shared, even a child’s innocent remark can become fuel for public outrage. The recent Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) controversy, involving a 10-year-old contestant, is a case in point. What was meant to be a fun, inspiring moment of curiosity turned into a nationwide debate — and unfortunately, a digital trial of a child. The Viral Storm During his appearance, he confidently told host Amitabh Bachchan that he already knew the rules and didn’t need multiple-choice options. Within hours, social media was flooded with comments calling him “rude,” “overconfident,” and “arrogant.” Worse, people began to bash his parents, dissecting their parenting based on a few edited seconds of footage. He lost, but was it punishment f...