Episode Number: 260

She Refused to Break: Aarti Narayan on The Lives She Carried | Ep 260 | The Mohua Show

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About This Podcast

This episode of The Mohua Show is a generational punch to the heart.

Author Aarti Narayan, a former MNC executive, tells the story behind her debut novel, The Lives She Carried, inspired by her grandmother, a woman from pre-Independence Kerala who turned pain into power and raised nine children against impossible odds.

A conversation about what women are taught to endure and what they choose to become.

Key Takeaways:

Generations of women trained to tolerate and give away
The male genius vs misogyny paradox of old India
A daughter who ran away to save herself
The real cost of ambition: when moving to Bombay means no way back
Survival after losing everything
Reinventing life with humour, rage and lemon rice
Why every child should inherit books, not trauma
If you’ve ever asked, “How did our mothers survive so much?” this episode has answers.

Episode Timeline

0:00

: Intro — The storyteller’s journey across mediums

2:50

: Intelligent men… and generational narcissism

3:30

: When everything is taken from you

9:50

: If life gives you lemons… you make lemon rice

15:00

: First rejection as a turning point

36:00

: Jane Austen as every woman’s quiet companion

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Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guests are their own. We do not endorse and are not responsible for any views expressed by our guests on our Show and its associated platforms.