[Music]
landing in a southern town life turned
upside down then turned around sounds
like a country song doesn’t it it was
1988 I was 12 years old and I landed in
the deep south Augusta Georgia before I
guessed I lived in California Korea in
India and I was like what is this Indian
kid doing in Martinez Georgia as we
landed Christmas Eve my mother had a
life-threatening stroke her chance of
survival
2% family from all around the world
banded together at our house in Augusta
Georgia I cried and cried and cried and
realized it was the only man crying in
the room is crying only for females and
later on in life it occurred to me that
crying in times of sadness those
strengths after 51 nights and the
intensive care unit a miracle
my mother survived she went through a
year of not being able to walk not being
able to talk but her first words were to
her recovery was physically slow but she
was so mentally and emotionally strong
and as a teenage boy I tried to be by
she would had a bring it on attitude
with her physical therapists her
recreational therapists occupational
therapists he said I want to walk 50
steps I want to walk 50 miles and a very
very early age I realized women are
strong during my high school years I
didn’t have my mom taking care of me I
was taking care of her so I learned to
be independent learning the difference
between laundry detergent dishwasher
detergent cleaning toilets making my own
school lunches imagine what I had for
lunch and even buying feminine products
at the grocery store very uncommon for a
teenager in the deep south
these are traditional women’s duties
there’s some tough days during those
high school years but the Sun did shine
and you know who brought that sunshine
my sister that wand of sunshine cheats
15 months elder to me and 2 inches
taller so literally I’ve always looked
up to her she gave me the confidence to
venture out of my comfort zone and we
became the first Indian brother and
sister team to play high school varsity
basketball in the state of Georgia thank
you
a DP her name means first mother a
protective goddess who helps you
overcome obstacles at a time when I
needed her the most
she called me down emotionally and
mentally when I was suffering as we were
missing our mother in our daily life as
the sunshine it also sets there were
some dark days depression said it I quit
the basketball team I started hanging
out with some shady folks in the
it was a difficult time and I was a
difficult child and I was ready to end
it all but I realized you know what I
think I get one phone call I called my
high school psychology teacher mrs.
Annette bridges and she talked me off
that ledge
she resuscitated me she was an angel
like so many of the strong amazing women
in my life upon graduation I followed my
sister to the University of Georgia
where I excelled in the college juggling
team at the cost of failing calculus
so I transferred to Oglethorpe
University in Atlanta Georgia I excelled
academically I passed calculus and I
took the interesting classes that my
sister saw me to go outside of my
comfort zone and adventure into the
great ideas of modern math and I took a
feminist theater class it was great I
was the only guy in class upon
graduation you know you would think a
college Indian graduate should go to law
school should go to med school go get
his MBA but no my mother and I father
said take an adventure to India so I
traveled to India it was 20 years old I
felt like a tourist in my own country
but as my shoes traveled to over 45
cities over a hundred and eighty days
meeting hundreds of family members and
friends a backpack of the same clothes
getting almost baptized in the Ganga
river I felt at home I even celebrated
my 21st birthday and I was able to meet
the awesome powerful strong women of my
life in India I did some dishes I did
some laundry
I held newborns they need and then
laughed at me they said those are
women’s duties I said that’s how I was
my mom and dad encouraged me to visit
the temples in India now Hinduism is a
polytheistic religion with many gods and
goddesses so I found it ironic several
times in India I found men treating
women as subservient but as I went from
Temple to Temple they were worshipping
deities like Parvathi the goddess of
devotion
Lakshmi the goddess of wealth then I
realize again women are strong and
worshiped so I came back to Augusta
Georgia and I married a beautiful Indian
woman
Rena cocoapod the hawk war I married way
she went to Georgia Tech so her model
life is life as a process mine is life
as a sales call but there’s a process to
that sale you have to persuade your kids
your parents your clients and your wife
so I joined the financial rat race for
10 years I worked for some of the
globe’s largest banks and I decided to
leave banking for the world of
entrepreneurship a big risk for an
Indian leaving a stable career for The
Ventures of entrepreneurship on the
salary of popcorn and peanuts while my
wife brought home the bread the bacon
the butter and the broccoli very unusual
in our culture for woman to be the
breadwinner I started that company the
company failed and I came and bounced
back to my most successful career today
which was an executive director of a
nonprofit mentoring youth around the
world businesses around the world and
entrepreneurs around the world it’s good
to listen to your wife life is a process
stay strong be strong and you can bounce
back renico her name means mother nature
she is the nucleus of our family an
amazing woman
a daughter love who gets along with her
father-in-law
so I elected them to be co-ceos of our
family and I’m just the intern
and of course my mom is chairwoman of
the board now the story that’s not told
is how women have made men who they are
that story seems to be lost but today I
have mentioned all the wonderful women
that have made me who I am and they are
superheroes they rise hurt they succeed
first they fly first and they love first
and this is something I learned from my
who’s also raised by a pack of wonderful
and strong women so men reconnect and
connect with the women in your life call
your mom women be patient with us and
guys go take that feminist theater class namaste
landing in a southern town life turned
upside down then turned around sounds
like a country song doesn’t it it was
1988 I was 12 years old and I landed in
the deep south Augusta Georgia before I
guessed I lived in California Korea in
India and I was like what is this Indian
kid doing in Martinez Georgia as we
landed Christmas Eve my mother had a
life-threatening stroke her chance of
survival
2% family from all around the world
banded together at our house in Augusta
Georgia I cried and cried and cried and
realized it was the only man crying in
the room is crying only for females and
later on in life it occurred to me that
crying in times of sadness those
strengths after 51 nights and the
intensive care unit a miracle
my mother survived she went through a
year of not being able to walk not being
able to talk but her first words were to
her recovery was physically slow but she
was so mentally and emotionally strong
and as a teenage boy I tried to be by
she would had a bring it on attitude
with her physical therapists her
recreational therapists occupational
therapists he said I want to walk 50
steps I want to walk 50 miles and a very
very early age I realized women are
strong during my high school years I
didn’t have my mom taking care of me I
was taking care of her so I learned to
be independent learning the difference
between laundry detergent dishwasher
detergent cleaning toilets making my own
school lunches imagine what I had for
lunch and even buying feminine products
at the grocery store very uncommon for a
teenager in the deep south
these are traditional women’s duties
there’s some tough days during those
high school years but the Sun did shine
and you know who brought that sunshine
my sister that wand of sunshine cheats
15 months elder to me and 2 inches
taller so literally I’ve always looked
up to her she gave me the confidence to
venture out of my comfort zone and we
became the first Indian brother and
sister team to play high school varsity
basketball in the state of Georgia thank
you
a DP her name means first mother a
protective goddess who helps you
overcome obstacles at a time when I
needed her the most
she called me down emotionally and
mentally when I was suffering as we were
missing our mother in our daily life as
the sunshine it also sets there were
some dark days depression said it I quit
the basketball team I started hanging
out with some shady folks in the
it was a difficult time and I was a
difficult child and I was ready to end
it all but I realized you know what I
think I get one phone call I called my
high school psychology teacher mrs.
Annette bridges and she talked me off
that ledge
she resuscitated me she was an angel
like so many of the strong amazing women
in my life upon graduation I followed my
sister to the University of Georgia
where I excelled in the college juggling
team at the cost of failing calculus
so I transferred to Oglethorpe
University in Atlanta Georgia I excelled
academically I passed calculus and I
took the interesting classes that my
sister saw me to go outside of my
comfort zone and adventure into the
great ideas of modern math and I took a
feminist theater class it was great I
was the only guy in class upon
graduation you know you would think a
college Indian graduate should go to law
school should go to med school go get
his MBA but no my mother and I father
said take an adventure to India so I
traveled to India it was 20 years old I
felt like a tourist in my own country
but as my shoes traveled to over 45
cities over a hundred and eighty days
meeting hundreds of family members and
friends a backpack of the same clothes
getting almost baptized in the Ganga
river I felt at home I even celebrated
my 21st birthday and I was able to meet
the awesome powerful strong women of my
life in India I did some dishes I did
some laundry
I held newborns they need and then
laughed at me they said those are
women’s duties I said that’s how I was
my mom and dad encouraged me to visit
the temples in India now Hinduism is a
polytheistic religion with many gods and
goddesses so I found it ironic several
times in India I found men treating
women as subservient but as I went from
Temple to Temple they were worshipping
deities like Parvathi the goddess of
devotion
Lakshmi the goddess of wealth then I
realize again women are strong and
worshiped so I came back to Augusta
Georgia and I married a beautiful Indian
woman
Rena cocoapod the hawk war I married way
she went to Georgia Tech so her model
life is life as a process mine is life
as a sales call but there’s a process to
that sale you have to persuade your kids
your parents your clients and your wife
so I joined the financial rat race for
10 years I worked for some of the
globe’s largest banks and I decided to
leave banking for the world of
entrepreneurship a big risk for an
Indian leaving a stable career for The
Ventures of entrepreneurship on the
salary of popcorn and peanuts while my
wife brought home the bread the bacon
the butter and the broccoli very unusual
in our culture for woman to be the
breadwinner I started that company the
company failed and I came and bounced
back to my most successful career today
which was an executive director of a
nonprofit mentoring youth around the
world businesses around the world and
entrepreneurs around the world it’s good
to listen to your wife life is a process
stay strong be strong and you can bounce
back renico her name means mother nature
she is the nucleus of our family an
amazing woman
a daughter love who gets along with her
father-in-law
so I elected them to be co-ceos of our
family and I’m just the intern
and of course my mom is chairwoman of
the board now the story that’s not told
is how women have made men who they are
that story seems to be lost but today I
have mentioned all the wonderful women
that have made me who I am and they are
superheroes they rise hurt they succeed
first they fly first and they love first
and this is something I learned from my
who’s also raised by a pack of wonderful
and strong women so men reconnect and
connect with the women in your life call
your mom women be patient with us and
guys go take that feminist theater class namaste
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