Hi, I’m Omika!
And I’m glad you’re here.
This is where I unpack lessons from living a life full of pivots and purpose.
After spending many years on social media with short-form content, I’ve realized how much more joy & fulfillment I find in writing long-form pieces.
I’ve always been on a quest to ask big, bold questions, challenge the status quo, and make sense of life. I enjoy communing with people who similarly have a insatiable curiosity about the world — we don’t do surface level here, we go deep.
My sister once said she thinks I’m like an iceberg and the world only sees the above-water version of me but it would benefit from alllllllll the underwater stuff too. I trust her with my life, so I’m taking her advice.
Quick tidbits about me:
Currently located in: Austin, TX
Daily non-negotiable: My meditation practice
Proudly: a New York City native (born & raised in Brooklyn)
Surprising fact: I learned how to speak Russian before I learned English
I’ve lived / worked / studied in: 8 cities
Genres of music I’m currently listening to: Jungle house for energy, zouk and azonto for vibes, Latin for passion, show tunes for drama, and kirtan for peace
The longer story:
I grew up in a predominantly working-class, immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY (shout-out to Gravesend). When I was 4 months old and my parents had to go back to work, they found me a Russian-speaking babysitter (there were no Indians around us).
So I learned to speak Russian before I learned English, and I translated between Gujarati & Russian so that my parents and babysitter could communicate. I also studied classical Russian ballet from age 3, until I went to college.
In high school, the New York Times made a video documentary where they called me the “Type A Teenager” as a part of their One in 8 Million New Yorkers series. That was cool, but that was also when my high-functioning anxiety took root.
I went to Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service for undergrad where I studied International Relations & Russian. I had every intention of becoming a diplomat or politician but alas, life decided to go differently.
I started my corporate career at Facebook as a business analyst, before I left my cushy tech job to move to Asia (Cambodia & India) for 3 years (see, the international part still happened). There, I scaled a growth-stage social venture across eight cities in Africa and Asia and managed relationships for a multi-million dollar microfinance investment portfolio.
In 2019, I moved back to the US to get my MBA at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, after which I worked as an innovation & growth strategy consultant for Fortune 100 companies. I am now working on a new startup through Purpose Built Venture studio.
In 2020, while I was in business school, my sisters and I became social media creators who amassed over 700k followers across social media platforms and worked on 5-figure creator deals with brands such as Nike, Toyota, and Kate Spade. In 2022, we were named API Trailblazers by TikTok.
My life has been a tapestry of unique, seemingly unrelated experiences.
Through it all, I have struggled with high-functioning anxiety my whole life, and have been on a quest to return to my wholeness.
Drawn to holistic well-being during a tumultuous time in my young adult life, I have trained in various healing modalities across the US and Asia over the past decade.
Though I believe no training or certification is a replacement for lived wisdom, I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to delve deep into my ancestral teachings:
Meditation teacher training with The Shala in Brooklyn, NY
200-hour yoga teacher training with Nadi Yogi in Austin, TX
Reiki level 2 certification with Aryan Yoga & Reiki Center in Goa, India
Jay Shetty certified life coach
Sat multiple Vipassana meditation courses in the US and Asia
Have attended Guru Shishya teachings by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche in India
Thanks for being a part of my world — I’m excited to grow, learn, and evolve together!
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