Growing up in the U.S., I'd siloed off my identities. While I was an Indian at home, I was an American at school. I have now embraced both the identities.

Growing up, everyone dreams of certain things, and they map out a direction that their life would take. Working with A. R. Rahman sir is one of my dreams, if not the biggest dream, realised.

Being an Indian in the U.S. and growing up in the suburbs were the two things that really shaped my outlook.

Growing up, any time I would sit down with my grandfather to learn or talk about Carnatic music, he would bring up G. N. Balasubramaniam. Listening to the recordings he would play me, I was dazzled by GNB's voice and how he was able to execute ideas that I could barely wrap my head around.

I love celebrating Mother's Day. Since I was a kid, it was a special day to tell my mother and grandmother how much I love them. Now that I'm a mom, it is a special day to spend with my children.

Now that I have a 16-month-old son, my weekend ritual has changed - but it's better than ever. We get up early and go for a walk on one of the hiking trails near my home in Los Angeles, then meet up with friends at a diner. There's nothing better than sipping coffee, eating scrambled eggs, and taking three hours to do it.

I don't want to make that sound like I'm preaching from a mountain top when I say you have to give your family everything, because I know it's hard for people. I'm lucky to be in a position where you can establish those ground rules and make it that way.

Headwise, I always kind of knew that everyone goes grey in our family very early - and I was like, it works for me. I started growing my beard, and it changes the shape of your skull and your face, and I started seeing my mother's side of the family in myself for the first time.