On this episode of Chai with Changemakers,Sonia sits across from me — thirty years later — and tells me everything. The love that didn't last. The years she fought silently. The promise she made her son that changed everything. And how she rebuilt herself into the woman running #SheDares, mentoring the next generation of women who dare.

She's a tigress. And I'm so proud, thirty years later, to still call her my friend.

🎙️ Sonia Kulkarni. Some stories deserve to be told slowly.

#ChaiWithChangemaker #SheDares #pinkathon #WomenEmpowerment

Every guest on this show has taught me something about what it means to build a life on your own terms. This guest is no different.

Meet Jaya Mukherjee.

Two cultures. A business she chose to walk away from. A whole new life on the other side of the world. And now, something entirely her own — built one facet at a time.

This isn't a story about hardship. It's a story about a positive attitude, a willingness to keep building, and a life lived fully across cultures.

It's a reminder that change doesn't always come from crisis — sometimes it comes from simply choosing to keep going, one chapter at a time.

New episode out now.

In this episode I sit down with Trupti Sedani Pandhi, founder of Blue Pepper - a woman who turned a passion for Chai, a lifetime of quiet resilience, and a leap of faith into something truly beautiful.

From growing up in Bangalore to building a life and a business from scratch in Canada - her story is one of courage, reinvention, and the kind of strength that doesn't announce itself.

As she says herself - Make it Hot. Serve it Cold. Make it Bold. And that's exactly how she lives.

Every cup of Blue Pepper chai is steeped in memory and meaning. This conversation will stay with you.

Tag someone who needs to hear this.

Full episode in bio!

To me growing up she was always that girl. Beautiful, effortlessly magnetic. But behind that smile was a story I never fully knew.

Punam fought Trigeminal Neuralgia-one of the most painful conditions known to mankind, sometimes called the suicide disease. Post surgery she had to relearn how to walk. She had two young boys and a family depending on her.

And then she came back.

She topped her Masters in Psychology. She worked as a counsellor.She trekked to Everest Base camp -not once but twice. And today she runs a free school for underprivileged children.

This is a conversation about pain, resilience, purpose and the kind of strength that never makes headlines but quietly changes the world.

If you are going through your own impossible chapter right now-this one is for you.

Listen on Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/033C2DhkWXQ43PwGQH5wNO

Follow us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithchangemakers/

If this episode moved you please like,share and subscribe. It means the world to us and helps more people find these stories.

I did my research. Built my practice questions. Pressed record, fully expecting we'd use it just to test the mic.

50 minutes flew by.

By the end, I realized what we had wasn't practice — it was treasure. Just two friends, real conversation, no filter, no jargon. The kind of honesty I knew I'd never be able to recreate, even if we tried.

So I scrapped the plan. This became Episode 1.

Zeenath has walked through breast cancer and come out the other side a changemaker — and she trusted me with her story before I even knew how to make a podcast.

It might not be the most "professional" first episode. But it's real. And that felt like the right way to begin.

Chai with Changemakers 🍵 — Episode 2, with Zeenath, is live now. Link in bio.