Atalanta Diaries Breakthrough Women in Conversation with Enma Popli

Ep 21: Jaya Padmanabhan, Software Engineer Turned Journalist, Juggled, Parenting and Writing


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Jaya is a veteran journalist, essayist, and fiction writer. 

An undergrad in Psychology and a software engineer Jaya made a foray in the world of writing much later, yet in her twenty years in the journalism field as an editor, columnist and reporter she has received 30 awards, most notably from the San Francisco Press Club and Writers Digest.  Jaya has also garnered 8 fiction awards including the Lorian Hemingway Award for short fiction. 

Her columns and articles can be found in India Currents, PBS Next Avenue, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Standard, Forbes, The Bold Italic, and Elemental. 

Jaya is the author of "Transactions of Belonging," a collection of short stories published in 2014.

Jaya serves as editor emeritus, contributing writer and board member of India Currents and She is a contributing editor at Ethnic Media Services, working with journalists on critical issues that affect communities of color. 


Key themes emerging out of our conversation:


  • Give and take of marriage
    • Self awareness as a woman of colour
      • I was my own naysayer, what gave me the right to pivot
        • Setbacks are teaching experiences and learning experiences
          • Barriers in journalism that complicate the journey of writing 
            • Sometimes it's necessary to shock yourself, to think in a different way about the same ideas
              • Writing is not necessarily about the act of writing. It's the act of thinking and the act of philosophy
                • Caregiving, not easy for the caregiver or the person being cared for

                • Connect with Enma Popli on Linkedin: 

                  >> https://www.linkedin.com/in/enmapopli/


                  Visit Enma Popli’s website
                  >> http://www.enmapopli.com/

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                  Atalanta Diaries Breakthrough Women in Conversation with Enma PopliBy Enma Popli