Love, Indus was born of personal discovery and rediscovery fueled by the richness, nostalgia, energy and intimacy of my two homes - India and all that its mountains and valleys have to offer, and the mad cultural mélange that is New York.
From the memories of the past, to the unexpectedness of the future.
I vividly remember my 8th birthday and how I celebrated as I always had - digging into phirni, served in an earthen pot, and laced with the delicate gold of saffron.
This was in my Kashmiri neighbor's house in Calcutta (now Kolkata) where I was born to parents from states at other ends of the country (Punjab and Rajasthan). I recall the occasion now as it was a precursor of my kaleidoscopic journey across the subcontinent.
From the innocence of childhood in chaotic Kolkata, I moved on to an introverted adolescence in Delhi.
The blazing hot summers were spent with grandparents (and twenty-one first cousins!) amongst Rajasthan's evocative landscapes.
My first job in personal care, beauty and wellness, took me to mercurial Mumbai, but had me visiting far-flung southern towns and villages, where I discovered new beauty routines and wellness regimens.
The next chapter of my life took me to New York, a city just as captivating and vibrant as any place I had ever experienced.
At every cross-street, I discovered a new direction. With every bridge I crossed, I built new connections. And in every gallery, I reflected on my personal canvas.
After a Masters' degree from NYU, I spent over a decade working with large American and European personal-care, consumer and wellness companies on strategy and product innovation - advising them on new ways to create and grow. If there's one thing I learned from my experience as a global strategy consultant, it's that breakthroughs come from re-imagining possibilities.
At about the same time, I saw some of the basic customs and ingredients I had grown up with (coconut oil, turmeric etc.) make their way into the fabric of everyday food and wellness in the US and other Western markets. However, I also knew that these early, tentative crossovers barely scraped the surface of the well-guarded riches and rituals the varied regions of the Indian sub-continent had to offer.
I knew then, that I had to find a way to take these incredible subcontinental ingredients & customs that I was intimately familiar with, leverage my background in innovation, and apply the best technology New York has to offer - to create potent potions.