Em Ahlawat
Bio
Words are not my strength, I am working on finding them. Emotions are what define me, I soak the high & lows. Being human is a blessing and I am happy to be always a work-in-progress.
Stories (2/0)
My superpowers
The Ashrama system in the ancient Hindu text describes the sequential four periods of human life. In the four ashramas of Brahmacharya (student), Grihastha (provider/householder), Vanaprastha (forest dweller), and Sannyasa (renunciate), emphasis is on the goal and development of oneself at each stage. As I look back, the first two stages of my life developed organically, from being educated in classrooms around the world, to building a successful career in a brand new country, and to my proudest accomplishment of becoming a mother of two. Not to say all this came easy, my life has not been free of struggles, to say the least, but has been fulfilling. Recently, as I have been reflecting on “what my third act should be”, I asked my 21-year-old son on life's purpose being he is a student of philosophy, and he thought-provokingly posed a question right back at me, “What does it mean to you to have lived a good life, Ma? And it can't just be family.” The irony of it is that family has been a priority for me all these years and it is also a time when I am separating from my husband of 30 yrs. But this young adult made me realize that a well-lived life for me is the one I had been leading, with my feministic instincts, showing up unapologetically courageous and empathetic to every scene of life, and not afraid to venture into the unknown.
By Em Ahlawat2 years ago in Humans
Carrying a woman's voice
Hi, I am Em, Em Ahlawat. Em is a pen name I have chosen for myself. Now you may think how authentic my voice would be under the shadow of a nom de plume, but you have to agree, there is a mystery behind a name such as Em, isn't there? Besides I am not totally changing my identity, on the contrary reclaiming it. My family name is Ahlawat, which I had given up after marriage but I am ready to reintroduce to the world. Why do women even change their last names, why did I? But I digress, that’s a topic for another post. I am British by birth and of Indian heritage. America is home now. I had the opportunity to attend schools many different parts of the world but spent my young adult life in India. I have stayed away from my parents since I was 10 years old, all in the pursuit of a good education, “to not be lost and be someone”, as my mother would say. So I grew up independent in my thoughts and a tad bit feminist in my bones. I grew up feeling that the weight of being a woman either gives you a voice or takes it away from you. I was unreservedly vocal then or maybe was forced to be. A young woman growing up in India under the prying and not always kind eyes of the men around me, I had to put the armor on and look them straight in the eye and speak my truth. I believe there was a mischievous side to my voice as well - unafraid, playful, and content. I did like this side of my voice.
By Em Ahlawat3 years ago in Journal
