Shweta Bachchan Nanda

“There's so much written about my family, some true, mostly not true, and I felt that it's not something I want to add to.”

“I am as it is a very shy person, so for me to be able to have something bright and intelligent to say every time a microphone is thrust in front of me, it's very intimidating.”

“I was a stay-at-home mom, with an important job to raise the kids. I filled it into the occupation slot on innumerable immigration cards, looking at the officer with defiant pride. What was I then, now that actively raising my children was no longer my vocation?”

“Some people are comfortable in their skin. They walk in and own the room, make friends and conversation easily, everyone loves them, they are the life of everything they ever deign to be a part of, and that's great.”

“I like getting under the skin of the protagonists of every book I read, it makes the whole story so much more personal.”

“Parents of adolescents often complain that they cancel all plans to spend time with their kids, who end up giving them a few distracted minutes before they rush off to meet their friends. My advice to you? Don't cancel your plans. Your time should be respected as well as theirs.”

“I really love fashion, I always have.”

“During my years in school, I did try to audition for and partake in school plays. Reason being I was not very inclined towards more physically challenging activities like sports.”

“Another advantage millennials have over us Gen-Xers are the dads. They're engaged, involved and not afraid to strap on a Baby Bjorn.”

“I'm your regular Gen-Xer - married at 22, had my first child at 23 and my second at 26.”

“I know you think we are close because you follow me on Instagram and are privy to some of my life experiences. I may even have liked a picture or two of yours. Does that mean I want to be added to your group chat and get updates of you on holiday in Bora Bora in the middle of my night? No!”

“We are appropriating cultures, lifestyles, and language irresponsibly and passing it off as authentic; that's what troubles me the most.”

“The modern brain is clogged with information, a huge percentage of which is non-essential to effective daily functioning.”

“There is something about hitting 40, the half- way mark that is heady and liberating, it runs away with you and you reach your 50s out of breath and wondering, 'Where was I going with that?'”

“I once met a person three nights in a row and she told me the same story three times over. Unless you're discovering a new continent, there is no way you have anything new to tell people you bump into serially.”

“Millennials may not put emphasis on traditional landmarks in child rearing but strive to bring up their kids to be well-adjusted, empathetic citizens of the world.”

“Airports! The neon floodlit, recycled air filled, melodramatic hell of them. The purposeful mass migration of anxiety-ridden humans as they frantically navigate through beeping buggies and mechanised walkways to make it to their gate in time is the stuff of dystopian nightmares.”

“Distilled down, it is pretty simple, the only way to overcome shyness is to allow yourself to be vulnerable and nothing made me as vulnerable as unconditional love.”

“Not just for tissue-holding folks, the empty nest syndrome is so pervasive, it can take over the most headstrong of parents.”

“So how did I find my voice? Motherhood. There is nothing like having your child dealt an injustice, no matter how small, that gives you all the courage in the world to stand up and put your foot down.”