Met Lakshmi Rebecca of “Chai With Lakshmi” fame

Ten months ago, Lakshmi Rebecca emailed me about her online talk show Chai with Lakshmi. I acknowledged her email and gave my standard reply of how this is a personal blog and I don’t do product reviews of any kind. At the same time, I forwarded the website to my wife who started reading the stories and videos and slowly hooked me in as well.

Now, my wife and myself are fans of Lakshmi.

Lakshmi, the person, is inspiring. Her writeup on 5 Things that Shaped my Life is a contrast to her real-life persona. You would have never guessed that this person has been through many difficulties, including divorce, this is the kind of event that I’ve personally seen people become shattered and lose touch with life. But Lakshmi is a fighter and she wants to be very much in touch with life. More about Lakshmi in her latest diary entry When Dreams have no Boundaries.

Lakshmi’s online show is inspiring. Right from a mechanic who is an Indian international cycling racer to the Indian taxi-driver who is a MotoGP racer to the glamorous Indian Golfer Miss Nicollet to Paralympians to Lake Warriors to  5 issues plaguing Indian couples to the quarter-life crisis to home-grown vegetables. These are stories of real people and real advice. Compare this to the mindless TV channels that I have gotten away from.

Lakshmi’s latest campaign called Inclusive India is inspiring. From how a family is contributing back to their native village Mittur in Kolar, Karnataka to how a radiologist is diagnosing thousands of rural patients per month via telemedicine to how two doctors have created 120 playgrounds in government schools for children to play to a man who is out to bridge the digital divide by helping rural weavers create patterns on the computer to a sports-management professional who teaches character building through sports for youngsters in prisons to introducing art to children.  These are the stories that we should be hearing about, stories of hope and a positive difference. These are the people I aspire to be like. My wife and I humbly made a small contribution of Rs. 2500 through their Wishberry crowdfunding campaign. We want to hear more such positive stories.

Thank you Lakshmi. May your tribe increase!