Namastey to Purpose, Finally!
- Mar 6
- 3 min read
By Ms. Ekta Rawat
I have always believed that my purpose in life is to be financially independent.
And it was not something that came to me one fine day. I always remember how my maternal grandfather had told me once: Since you are a woman, it is more important for you to have your own money. I took that sentence seriously, almost literally. I did not realise when and how independence became equal to a job and purpose became equal to employment.
So I did everything by the book. I was always a front-bench and an all A+ student. I kept choosing the safe options, the ‘practical’ decisions and started my big girl job.
Somewhere I thought that if I keep pursuing the ‘right’ path, I will experience fulfillment. It will catch up. It has to, doesn’t it?
But it didn’t.
The more settled I was getting in my job, I felt more misaligned. There was more discomfort. Something did not feel right about not feeling driven towards my work. I am a passionate person, the emotion and fervour drives me. Hence, it didn’t sit right with me to not feel at heart at my work. I realized how little control I had over my own days, how my time, energy, and even values could be negotiated. The idea that I might have to compromise what mattered to me just to fit into a system started bothering me more than uncertainty ever had.
That was when my understanding of purpose began to change.
At 30, when I was poised for a significant career jump, I surprised myself and people around me. I was advised by most people, which also included well meaning friends to not make a big change at this stage. But how could I continue while being at discomfort with myself. Despite warnings, advice, and well-meaning concern, I quit my job. The timing, by conventional standards, made no sense. But internally, it felt necessary.
In this act,I was not rejecting financial independence. I was redefining it for me. I realized that true independence also meant having agency: over my work, my values, and my time. I realised that the security of an ongoing job without a meaning was its own kind of instability
And while there was a lot of push towards conventional markers of success, I chose to return to what had always mattered the most to be: Language and culture. Six months ago, I founded Namastey Hindi, a platform through which I now engage with students from across the world, coaching them not just in the Hindi language but also in Indian culture and context.
Fulfillment today looks very different from what it once did. Earlier, it looked like certainty, approval, and predictability. Now, it looks like alignment. It looks like waking up knowing why I do what I do, even on difficult days. It looks like building something slowly, honestly, and intentionally, without having to fragment myself to fit in.
By teaching Hindi to people all over the world, I’m building bridges of belonging. I am helping partners integrate into Indian families, enabling people to explore their love for Indian culture and more.
My students are not learning Hindi because they need to give an exam. They are learning Hindi to connect with their new family, sometimes with their own roots, sometimes for the sheer love of Indian culture, to engage with the natives, and so much more.
Purpose, for me now, is no longer about proving my independence, it’s about living it.
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