Life behind the words
Hello there, if we were sitting together over coffee, we'd probably be talking about how beautifully messy life can be. Born in New Delhi, raised across the Middle East, I now call California home. Living across cultures taught me that every story deserves kindness. For years, I've helped people see more clearly as an ophthalmic doctor but the deepest kind of seeing was never about eyesight. It's about perspective and awareness. Today, I still care for patients, but I also write, create, speak, and share what life has taught me and what I'm still figuring out.
My work spans books and journals, Ārogini, Canvas & Quotations, and YouTube - alongside recognition as a Pushcart Prize nominee, Rotary International's 2025 Poet of the Year, and service on Fremont's Art Review Board. Away from the clinic, you'll find me on a nature trail, doing yoga, reading, or sitting with a notebook and coffee, learning to slow down and live with intention.
I don't have all the answers, but I believe in a thoughtful word, an honest chat, and a little more awareness.
Before it all, there was a girl who felt
everything but said nothing.
Even as a young girl, I noticed things deeply, felt them fully, and put them into words. I dreamed of becoming a doctor, but I also loved to write. The world got my medicine but my words stayed private, held back by fear. Then, in 2017, life shook me in a way I never expected.
In the aftermath, I kept asking the universe: why me? That question cracked something open. It led me toward karma, spirituality, and a deeper understanding of how our experiences shape us. Slowly, I began to see that perhaps not everything comes with an immediate answer. Sometimes, meaning reveals itself only with time.
And somewhere in all that questioning, I began writing again not tucked away this time, but shared, one word and one verse at a time. One poem became a book. A journal became something more. What had once been private slowly became part of my path and, perhaps, a way for my words to mean something to someone else.
The pen. The practice. The presence. All one calling.
and there's more...
Rotarian
Mindfulness Wellness Advocate
Domestic Violence Counselor
Ayurvedic Counselor
Art Board Commissioner
Why I do what I do.
My work has always circled one question: how do we help people see clearly, not just with their eyes, but with their whole being?
As a doctor, that means restoring sight to children who might otherwise never read a book or recognize their mother's face. As an Ayurvedic counselor, it means helping people notice what their bodies and minds have been telling them all along. As a writer, it means putting words to the parts of being human we feel but rarely say aloud. And through Ārogini, it means carrying all of this into communities where clear sight, in every sense, is still a privilege rather than a given.
Medicine taught me how the eye works. Ayurveda taught me how the whole person works. Writing taught me how to make sense of both. Together, they have given me a way of seeing that is uniquely my own, one that brings science, awareness, and the human experience into the same conversation.
None of these are separate callings to me. They're different lenses on the same purpose: helping people see, feel, and live a little more clearly than before.
Much of who I am began with my parents. My father always says, “There is no substitute for hard work,” and he gave me the courage to dream beyond boundaries. My mother, a calm pillar of few words, taught me more about grace than words ever could. They believed in me long before I knew what I was capable of. Their love gave me roots, and their trust gave me wings. Wherever life takes me, a part of everything I do will always belong to them.
The words that mean the most to me are simpler than any of that:
“Thank you, I needed this today”
That's why I keep writing.
The moments, choices, and humble beginnings
that shaped who I am today.
New Delhi — Where It Began
A young girl who felt everything, but said little.
Medicine — Learning to Help Others See
My journey in ophthalmic sciences began at AIIMS, India, and continued in Boston.
California — Beginning Again
I crossed continents, built a new life, and learned to call another place home.
2017 — Finding My Voice
A life-changing accident slowed me down and led me toward writing.
2023 — Becoming an Author
One poem became a book, and writing became a way of making sense of life.
2025 — Words Recognized
Named Rotary International's Poet of the Year and nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
2025 — Ayurveda — Seeing the Whole Person
My curiosity about healing grew beyond medicine into mindfulness and Ayurveda.
2026 — Ārogini — Purpose in Action
I founded Ārogini to bring vision care, holistic wellness, and empowerment to children and women in rural India.
