Vidhya & Parani, "O Dharmaputri!: Indian Heart, Yogic Wings" (Garuda Prakashan, 2025)

In this heartfelt episode of New Books in Indian Religions, co-authors Vidhya and Parani share the deeply personal journey behind their new book, 'O Dharmaputri!: Indian Heart, Yogic Wings,' a loving letter to their daughter Uma as she prepares to leave home for university. Drawing from their 23-year marriage, parenting experiences, and decades of engagement with Indian philosophy, they reflect on how yoga evolved from a physical practice into a transformative path of self-realization and equanimity. The book, structured around the principles of dharma and yoga, blends stories from family life, philosophical insights from the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, and Tamil classics like Tirukural, and practical wisdom for modern life. They emphasize the importance of storytelling as a vehicle for wisdom transmission, especially for diasporic Indian youth navigating identity, information overload, and the tension between spiritual growth and worldly responsibility. The conversation also explores the book’s relevance in today’s world—where digital saturation makes embodied wisdom more crucial than ever—and its role as a bridge between generations and cultures. The hosts and guests highlight the book’s unique position as both a personal memoir and a universal guide, advocating for deeper family conversations, conscious living, and the integration of spiritual and material life. They stress that true transformation comes not from consuming information, but from digesting wisdom through lived experience and narrative. The episode closes with a powerful affirmation of storytelling’s enduring power, echoing the book’s own mission: to help readers find balance, purpose, and inner strength in a complex world.