My father and my mother have been my rock through everything.

I have been a strong advocate of mental health awareness for over a decade now and this issue forms the core of my being. But at the same time, whenever I feel my mental health is affected too much, I take time to myself. That balance is important for me. In all honesty, I want to be remember as a good human being who made the world a better place more than being known as a “successful” person.

I always make sure that I speak about it no matter how much hurting it might be. My expression is my way of healing. I let myself go through the experience of breakdown in totality. I cry, I break down, I hit rock bottom and then I emerge back. I feel resisting a breakdown will only keep piling up my emotions which is never healthy.

I immerse myself into the dark and pass through the entire passage and reach back to light. My father and my mother have been my rock through everything. I have been a strong advocate of mental health awareness for over a decade now and this issue forms the core of my being. May be that is why being empathetic, being sensitive about minority rights such as that of women, LGBTQIA+ etc. come as an extension to the consciousness of building a sympathetic world for everyone’s well-being.
What dreams keep me motivated? I aspire to take the company to the next level. I want to be that person who does things differently, in her very own style and ends up bringing constructive changes in the media industry.

And I think we are already on the right track. To the outside world, it might seem all rosy but in reality, I work hard every single day. Right now, I have prioritized my career by choice. I do wish to make my mark, consciously and ethically. But at the same time, whenever I feel my mental health is affected too much, I take time to myself. That balance is important for me. In all honesty, I want to be remembered as a good human being who made the world a better place more than being known as a “successful” person. That’s the imprint I want to leave in people’s hearts and on this earth. I hope I become a change-maker. And in every step of this walk of life, I shall wear the armour of experience and humility, and remind myself-“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

This story is about a doctor who braved a 360 degree turn.

People today know me as the President of AM Television Pvt Ltd, an entrepreneur, a producer, a director, a businesswomen. But I did not plan on joining the media house here. It just happened.

I walk through this life of mine as Akshata. When I walk into my office, I am the President of our company, a boss lady and a career woman. But I try to remain myself at any given point of time, on any given day. I make sure that Akshata-my personhood, remains in me no matter what role I play at whatever time of the day.

Hi everyone. This is Akshata Narain. I do not believe in ‘once upon a time’ kind of beginning to a story. A person’s life story is more complex than that. Anyone can start their story from any point in life and still make sense. This story is about a doctor who braved a 360 degree turn to be in a totally different industry- the media industry. That doctor is me. And no, it did not come easy. Writing this piece has put me in a reflective mode, almost nostalgic of the journey I have been through. Ever since I can remember, I always wanted to be a journalist. But life had other plans and I went on to pursue my medical degree. But whatever knowledge I gathered; I make sure to put them to use even today.

For instance, my people skills come from the soft skills I learned during my professional training. People today know me as the President of AM Television Pvt Ltd, an entrepreneur, a producer, a director, a businesswoman. But I did not plan on joining the media house here. It just happened as destiny struck a beautiful serendipity. It so happened that I was in Assam after my internship, to prepare for my Masters and since I was at home, I came to see a shoot at Prag Tower and took part in it. That shoot really changed my life. Joining AM Television Pvt. Ltd (the mother company of Prag News, Rengoni TV, NE NEWS, UPSTREAM among others) was neither a single day’s decision nor was it
a sudden move.

The shoot went on for twenty days and I decided to stay back for post-production because I enjoyed it thoroughly. That’s when something in me shifted. I felt I was born for this. I realized that this was my true calling. I spent about three months in the office figuring it out what I liked, also learning how this industry works. It was only then that I finally made the call to join this field

Losing my grandmother was a huge turning point for me.

She was my rock and having lost her was really devastating. I got into depression. Even through I have been associated with this industry since my very childhood and lived among people from this industry my entire life, I was atill treated as an outsider when I decided to join it professionally. My next hurdle was my age and gender. That was a huge hurdle to overcome.

Today I can happily say that I am living my dream, the dream that I always had. That is how my journey here begun but it did not come without hurdles. My biggest hurdle when I joined was that I did not have experience and formal training in this field.

Even though I have been associated with this industry since my very childhood and lived among people from this industry my entire life, I was still treated as an outsider when I decided to join it professionally. My next hurdle was my age and gender. That was a huge hurdle to overcome. I felt that there was constant contestation to make myself heard or be taken seriously because I am a woman and a young woman at that. But I think I have been fortunate that I have met some really nice people who I could breakthrough. I am very fortunate that way but yeah, these initial hurdles were there and some of them still are. I feel a lot of times I am not given enough gravitas because of my age and gender. I should be. But now, I make sure I am.

My family does not believe in discrimination of any sorts and that gives me immense courage to dream and fully express my potential. There are instances in people’s lives that change them forever. Personally speaking, losing my
grandmother was a huge turning point for me. She was my rock and having lost her was really devastating. I got into depression. But now that I retrospect that time, I think having dealt with
depression first-hand, I believe I have become a stronger, mindful being. I realized that one comes into this world alone and departs alone. That was a major lesson learned. I now find the strength in me to fight my own battles.

Of course, there are days when I have major breakdowns and anxiety attacks. But I deal with it. I live through it and I am very, very proud of that. Every day that I hit rock bottom mentally, I have somehow managed to come out of it on my own. I am blessed to always have had the support of my friends and family who help me deal with situations when I cannot deal them on my own. I have always been vocal about whatever I go through and I make sure that I share my feelings with somebody I trust, be it a friend or a family member.