the happyness conversations™
Hosted by the Odyssey Bookstore, this is a live, reflective, non-commercial Conversation Series anchored by both Vaani and AVIS. the happynesswalas™ explore the lived experiences of guests who have faced Life's upheavals stoically. Sharing from their own journey and those of their guests, Vaani and AVIS showcase learnings on the value of choosing Happiness in any situation or context, despite the circumstances. Audiences take away inspirations and reflections on living fully with what is!
Please scroll down to see pictures and videos from editions in 2019.
Note: Before January 2019, this Series ran under a different title - "Heart of Matter - Happiness Conversations" and was hosted by the InKo Centre.
Please scroll down to see pictures and videos from editions in 2019.
Note: Before January 2019, this Series ran under a different title - "Heart of Matter - Happiness Conversations" and was hosted by the InKo Centre.
the happyness conversations™ on Saturday, November 30, 2019
Featuring Ranjani Ramakrishnan!
Ranjani is a young model who is exploring a career in art and design. She was barely 11 when she was diagnosed with vitiligo – a Life-long condition where the skin loses color in blotches. She grappled with shame, the “why me” question and a lot of insecurity for several years. Then, when in college, she “made peace with her imperfections” and modelled for a Visual Communications assignment! That decision changed her Life! Today she “embraces Life’s adventures fearlessly”, even as she champions “acceptance” and “living fully with what is”! When struck with a Life-long health condition, how do you cope with fear, worry and insecurity? How do you overcome denial and drop the “why me” question to accept your new normal? Is it possible to be happy despite your circumstances? Listen in as we discuss these questions in this powerful Conversation…
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the happyness conversations™ on Saturday, September 28, 2019
Featuring K.S.Narendran and R.V.Rajan!
Naren is a management consultant and author. Rajan is a veteran adman, a rural marketing Guru and an author. Naren’s wife of 25 years, Chandrika, was on Malaysia Airlines’ MH 370 that went missing on March 8th, 2014. Over the last 5+ years, Naren has had to come to terms with his own loss while helping his daughter Meghna cope, accept and move on. He recounts his experiences poignantly, candidly, in his book 'Life After MH 370: Journeying Through A Void.'
Rajan lost his wife Prabha to cancer in January 2013. While learning to live without his partner of 40 years, Rajan decided to celebrate Prabha’s Life and memory. He set up the Prabha Rajan Talent Foundation (PRTF) that promotes creative writing among women (Prabha was an accomplished Tamizh writer) and supports the education of underprivileged children. Naren is still baffled by the inscrutability of it all, but he says the “cloud of sorrow and despair has become less intense”. Rajan says he still deals with “daily phases of emptiness” but finds solace in his own writing endeavors and in leading activities for PRTF.
When coping with a loved one’s loss, is time the only healer? How important is finding closure? Does celebrating someone’s Life and memory help? Come, join us…as we explore these important questions.
Rajan lost his wife Prabha to cancer in January 2013. While learning to live without his partner of 40 years, Rajan decided to celebrate Prabha’s Life and memory. He set up the Prabha Rajan Talent Foundation (PRTF) that promotes creative writing among women (Prabha was an accomplished Tamizh writer) and supports the education of underprivileged children. Naren is still baffled by the inscrutability of it all, but he says the “cloud of sorrow and despair has become less intense”. Rajan says he still deals with “daily phases of emptiness” but finds solace in his own writing endeavors and in leading activities for PRTF.
When coping with a loved one’s loss, is time the only healer? How important is finding closure? Does celebrating someone’s Life and memory help? Come, join us…as we explore these important questions.
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the happyness conversations™ on Saturday, July 13, 2019
Featuring Sundari Sivasubbu!
Sundari was born with Cerebral Palsy*. But she has never let her physically debilitating condition define her or limit her. Instead she is happy, free-spirited and strong-willed. She leads a busy Life – as a member of her family, as a champion of the causes she supports and as a working professional.
With a Master’s degree in Communication, and a decade’s experience in banking and media behind her, Sundari currently is a Communication Specialist in the CSR division of HCL Foundation. In January 2019, she launched her book, 'A Bumblebee's Balcony - Celebrating Life with Cerebral Palsy'! Sundari truly lives Life fully – soaked in gratitude for what she has, without grieving over what she doesn’t have! Her amazing journey reminds us that no matter what happens, Life has to be accepted – and celebrated – for what it is.
*Cerebral Palsy is a neuro-skeletal and muscular condition that limits most physical activities and poses severe challenges in day-to-day living, causing problems with vision, hearing, balancing, coordination, muscle power and motor skills.
This Editon of 'the happyness conversations' was sponsored by Odyssey and hosted by/at the iconic, 207-year-old Madras Literary Society
With a Master’s degree in Communication, and a decade’s experience in banking and media behind her, Sundari currently is a Communication Specialist in the CSR division of HCL Foundation. In January 2019, she launched her book, 'A Bumblebee's Balcony - Celebrating Life with Cerebral Palsy'! Sundari truly lives Life fully – soaked in gratitude for what she has, without grieving over what she doesn’t have! Her amazing journey reminds us that no matter what happens, Life has to be accepted – and celebrated – for what it is.
*Cerebral Palsy is a neuro-skeletal and muscular condition that limits most physical activities and poses severe challenges in day-to-day living, causing problems with vision, hearing, balancing, coordination, muscle power and motor skills.
This Editon of 'the happyness conversations' was sponsored by Odyssey and hosted by/at the iconic, 207-year-old Madras Literary Society
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the happyness conversations™ on Saturday, April 13, 2019
Featuring Manu* and Karthik*!
Both of them are HIV+. They are in love. And they are happy!
Manu got the Virus from her ex-husband who had concealed that he had full-blown AIDS at the time of their marriage.
Karthik was infected with the Virus through a blood transfusion he received after meeting with an accident.
Numbed by their situation, both were leading listless lives. Manu, who hails from Kashmir, was living in New Delhi; and Karthik used to live in Chennai.
Noted microbiologist Dr.Suniti Solomon, who pioneered HIV research and treatment in India, connected them with each other. And that’s when – and how – they found meaning, love and happiness in Life! Today, eight years after their marriage, they are both great champions of “living Life fully with what is”!
Surely, what happened to them is not their fault; they could well have spent the rest of their lives suffering – feeling angry and bitter, demanding justice and fair-play! Yet, they both accepted the Life given to them and have chosen to live it happily together – with grace, equanimity and dignity.
Manu’s and Karthik’s love for each other, and for this precious gift called Life, inspires us to look beyond imperfections and make each moment count!
*Original names have been withheld upon request
Manu got the Virus from her ex-husband who had concealed that he had full-blown AIDS at the time of their marriage.
Karthik was infected with the Virus through a blood transfusion he received after meeting with an accident.
Numbed by their situation, both were leading listless lives. Manu, who hails from Kashmir, was living in New Delhi; and Karthik used to live in Chennai.
Noted microbiologist Dr.Suniti Solomon, who pioneered HIV research and treatment in India, connected them with each other. And that’s when – and how – they found meaning, love and happiness in Life! Today, eight years after their marriage, they are both great champions of “living Life fully with what is”!
Surely, what happened to them is not their fault; they could well have spent the rest of their lives suffering – feeling angry and bitter, demanding justice and fair-play! Yet, they both accepted the Life given to them and have chosen to live it happily together – with grace, equanimity and dignity.
Manu’s and Karthik’s love for each other, and for this precious gift called Life, inspires us to look beyond imperfections and make each moment count!
*Original names have been withheld upon request
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the happyness conversations™ on Saturday, March 9, 2019
Featuring Uma Sathya Narayanan and Shobha Warrier!
Uma is a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer who performs across the world. Shobha is an acclaimed journalist for over three decades now and has authored seven books. Uma’s husband Sathya died suddenly in a car crash in January 2012. Shobha’s husband Soman was told in August 2013 that he had a stage 4 cancer and had only a few months to live; he passed away in February 2014. Both women have had to deal with the “shock and unfairness” of it all. Yet both of them have faced Life and lived through their lows with amazing resilience. Their art helped them cope and heal. Uma believes that “dance is pure joy”…she just “immersed” herself in dance, her “entire being thrives in it, for it”. And Shobha chose to go live the Life that Soman “always encouraged her to live” – telling stories of remarkable people the way only she can. Her Dreamchasers series is celebrated for her powerful research and writing. Both their journeys showcase that embracing art is a blessing – it helps us find meaning and happiness even when we have to deal with a void that can never be filled!
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the happyness conversations™ on Saturday, February 9, 2019
Featuring Vidya Singh!
Imagine you are a heiress hailing from a royal family. Imagine you have always led a protected Life. And then suddenly, in your late fifties, your husband of 20 years vanishes, leaving you a pauper, saddled with debts worth crores of rupees! What do you do? Where do you begin? How do you pick up the threads of your Life? This is exactly where Vidya Singh, the Princess of the erstwhile royal state of Vijayanagaram, found herself in 2010. Fear, insecurity and depression, naturally, came calling. But Vidya soon realized the futility of trying to run away from her fears. So she turned around and looked her situation squarely in the eye. Magically, she discovered the resilience within her to rebuild her Life. Today, over 8 years on, Vidya Singh is a sought-after wedding planner, an inspiring fitness enthusiast and she lives a full, happy, Life. Important, she is not bitter about what happened to her. Her journey is testimony to an irrefutable truth that there is Life – a lot of Life – after a crisis.
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the happyness conversations™ on Saturday, January 12, 2019
Featuring Pranitha Timothy!
It is 21 years since a brain tumor condition took away 60 percent of the abilities of the upper right part of her body. Two surgeries later, while she survived, she had lost most of her voice. But Pranitha has soldiered on stoically. She’s found love and Purpose in her Life. In 2013, she co-founded the not-for-profit Justice and Hope. From working with special people
and families of prisoners to rescuing victims of trafficking, child abuse and bonded labor, Pranitha’s efforts bring dignity and meaning to many who may have otherwise lost the will to live. Despite her physical limitations, and the challenges of running an NGO, Pranitha believes she’s living a beautiful Life with her precious family and making each day count! Her’s is an inspiring story of acceptance, of faith and of Purpose and Happiness leading you onward…no matter what you are faced with!
and families of prisoners to rescuing victims of trafficking, child abuse and bonded labor, Pranitha’s efforts bring dignity and meaning to many who may have otherwise lost the will to live. Despite her physical limitations, and the challenges of running an NGO, Pranitha believes she’s living a beautiful Life with her precious family and making each day count! Her’s is an inspiring story of acceptance, of faith and of Purpose and Happiness leading you onward…no matter what you are faced with!
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