If you’ve ever crossed paths with my mum, you’ve likely been handed a Werther’s Original pulled straight from her pocket.
Friends and strangers alike—at the local park, Trader Joe’s, airport gates, neighborhood cafes, or wherever her day takes her—are offered one of her golden candies. She leaves a little trail of sweetness wherever she goes.
At 88, she still drives herself to Rotary meetings, Business and Professional Women conferences, Chamber events, and community boards. She loves connecting people, encouraging them, and taking an interest in what gives them energy and purpose.
Growing up, her gentle directive to me was always, “Go for great.” To her, greatness was never about status or recognition. It meant giving yourself fully to what mattered to you.
And she lived that way herself.
Growing up in India at a time when girls were not always encouraged to play sports, pursue careers, or follow their ambitions, Mum was fortunate to have a mother who encouraged her to find her own path. She played sports with the boys, became a table tennis champion, loved tennis and marbles, and still happily admits that she sometimes skipped class to play.
That same independence carried into her education and career. She went on to become a pioneering woman in Chartered Accountancy and on the management track at Lever Brothers in India. After moving to Berkeley in the 1960s, she started her own business, bringing Indian textiles, jewelry, and handicrafts to the Bay Area.
A 1973 newspaper article about her captured something she has believed throughout her life: “If one foreigner could start a successful business, anyone can.”
Mum knew how much it mattered to have someone believe in you—her own mother had given her that gift. She, in turn, spent her life giving it to others. Not telling people what their path should be, but encouraging them to trust what was already within them.
Two of her favorite sayings have always been, “Destiny decides” and “Everything flows in.”
I grew up hearing them as simple Mum-isms. Only later did I realize they were mantras—reminders to do your part fully while flowing with life’s natural rhythm.
That same spirit shaped her vision for My Own Mantra (MOM): a place that recognizes and encourages what comes from within.
My Own Mantra is a place that connects people through the stories behind the work.
We will feature artists, makers, local businesses, nonprofits, volunteers, and others whose passion or purpose draws us in. Some will sell their work directly through MOM. Others may simply be people or places we encounter and feel moved to write about.
We want to know the person behind the work and what guides them.
And we will ask one simple question:
What is your own mantra?
Over time, we hope to collect some of those mantras and carry them a little farther-perhaps on a T-shirt, mug, or other simple object-with a portion of proceeds supporting nonprofits and causes featured through MOM.
At its heart, My Own Mantra is about connection: one person, one story, one idea passed to another.
A golden candy pulled from a pocket may seem like a small thing.
Maybe that is exactly the point.
A little sweetness. A little encouragement. A little wisdom passed from one person to another.
And then we carry it forward.
Welcome to My Own Mantra. What’s your mantra?
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