“My Writing Helped Me In My Parenting Journey”: Antara Pandit, Author Of The Month, November 2018

Antara Pandit feels that her parenting values as well as my writing is driven by the changes that can be made from the time children are young, and can be raised with the much needed value of respect of girls.  

The Women’s Web team every month identifies three contributors whose work has really resonated with readers, who have brought something new and impactful to our community. This November 2018, Antara Pandit is one of our featured Authors of the Month.

Antara found that her parenting articles not only helped her in her journey, but were also making a difference to the lives of other mothers who engaged with her writing. You can read Antara Pandit’s articles here at Women’s Web. 

Authors are often asked this question, but everyone has their own reasons, very personal to them. So, why do you write?

Writing for me has always been about self-expression and self-reflection. I started writing on Parenting because it helped me in my own parenting journey. Along the way, I realised that my writing on this was making a difference to the lives of other mothers everywhere because they were learning from my real-life experiences which my writing stems from.

What do you enjoy reading? Does any of it help your writing?

I have always been a fan of Fiction ever since I was in school. I also binge read humorous parenting books which are more stories rather than self-help. My favorite book till date is Shunali Kullar Shroff’s ‘Battle Hymn of a Bewildered Mother’. These stories shed tremendous light on the ups and downs of motherhood and at the same time show the wit and humour that we see in everyday life with our kids. These books are a constant reminder to always strike a balance between the joys and challenges of parenting and narrate instances from both aspects when writing. For me personally, my thoughts reflect in my writing, and vice versa.

When it comes to writing on/for/about women, what questions and issues drive you the most?

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I have always been an advocate towards men and women being treated the same. I have written multiple articles about raising my 2 boys the same way I would have raised girls. In a country with a rising crime rate of violence against girls/women, my parenting values as well as my writing is driven by the changes we can make from the time our children are young and can be raised with the much needed value of respect of girls.

Could you narrate an issue or incident in your life which you think was gender related, and you handled it in a way that has made you proud?

While working at an old job, my boss who was also the CEO of the company had asked me to finish a task within a specified timeline of half hour. This task required me to work with another Senior Manager within the company. The Manager, although married, was known for not being inclusive when it came to women and not the most kind. That day unfortunately I was working from home, so I called him to discuss the task at hand and the urgency of it since it required direct reporting to the CEO.

This did not go down well with him and after hanging up the phone with me, he proceeded to do other work and go for lunch and so on, instead of prioritising the work; with little regard for the important task that had been assigned to us. Knowing his general demeanour and attitude towards women in the workplace, I immediately knew that this would have not happened if I wasn’t a woman; the task would have been completed within 5 minutes if I had been a man. It took having to explain this scenario to the CEO, to get the job done 1 hour later.

The position of women in the workplace in India has evolved a little bit over the years, but it will never fully complete the circle if the perception of women within the eyes of men does not change. Incidents like this have encouraged me to raise my own children with vital values like respect, equality and kindness.

What are the things you would like to write about in the future for Women’s Web?

As Parenting is my focus, I would love to keep writing about the constantly evolving journey of parenthood, integrated with my experiences which will resonate with moms all over and help make a difference to their role as mothers.

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