In this column, TBI editorial brings you articles from experts across India, tackling the challenges that matter most. These insightful pieces offer practical solutions and inspire us to take proactive steps in addressing the issues we face in our communities and beyond.

About the author: Stuti Agarwal is a former journalist with over six years of experience in parenting, lifestyle, and travel content. As a mother of two young ones, she brings a grounded and relatable perspective to modern-day parenting in India. Her writing is shaped by personal experience, careful observation, and a deep understanding of the evolving needs of families today.

Through her digital presence at @mombae.blogger, Stuti shares practical tips, everyday stories, and thoughtful reflections aimed at supporting parents in making informed, conscious choices. Her content spans topics like child development, family routines, travel with kids, and the emotional journey of motherhood.

I’ve known Garima for about five years now. What began as casual conversations about motherhood and conscious living soon grew into something much more layered. I watched, almost in awe, as she and her husband, Aditya, transitioned from successful urban professionals to homesteaders in the hills of Uttarakhand—embracing a life most of us only romanticise about but never truly consider living.

Their journey, documented beautifully on their Instagram page Life of Maai, is not a rebellion against modern life but a return. A return to roots, simplicity, and intuition. But what really sets them apart is their approach to parenting and, more specifically, education. Or rather, the complete reimagining of it.

Their 6-year-old son, Vedas, has never been to school. No uniforms, no syllabus, no annual days or report cards. He is what some would call “unschooled ”but labels fall short when describing a life lived with such intention and trust.

From Nike to nature

Aditya’s story reads like a polished success pitch. A medical school dropout who pivoted to fashion management, he worked with brands like Nike across Southeast Asia, living in Singapore with a handsome paycheck and a fast-paced career. Garima, a designer with a keen aesthetic eye, was also thriving professionally.

To the outside world, they had it all—a cosmopolitan lifestyle, international travel, financial security. But beneath that surface, questions were stirring.

“It started small,” Aditya said. “We began wondering—what are we eating? What are we buying? What are we teaching our child just by the way we live?” Singapore, for all its sleek efficiency, began to feel too sanitised. The........

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