Sometimes motherhood begins with the life you imagined. Sometimes it asks you to find your way through a life you did not see coming.

In the first episode of Women Actually, Pooja Khanna joins The Motherlords to speak about Norah’s birth diagnosis, the feelings that followed, and the slow journey of getting to know her daughter beyond a diagnosis.

Pooja shares the things that are not always easy to say out loud. The fear. The questions. The difficult medical conversations. The way other people respond to difference. And the small moments that can quietly change how a parent sees their child, themselves and the life they are living.

They also talk about Down syndrome awareness, inclusion at school, explaining Down syndrome to Norah, and the unexpected ways Norah has helped Pooja grow too.

Women Actually is a series about real women, the choices they make, the moments that change them, and the everyday ways they keep going through it all.

What if confidence in kids has less to do with being fearless, and more to do with being completely okay with getting it wrong?

We’re joined by Neville Bharucha, he teaches creative writing, speech and drama and improv by day and is also an actor and founder of Sandbox. You may also have spotted him as DJ Adam in Netflix's The Ba*ds of Bollywood, which he is quietly praying his students haven't watched.

Neville has a refreshingly sensible take on parenting: kids need more opportunities to fail, think for themselves, be silly, get bored and figure things out without an adult hovering over them. Things that feel unheard of these days!

We talk about why improv teaches children to handle failure, what yes, and’ actually means in real life, what confidence actually looks like in a child (it isn't the loudest one in the room), why ‘because I said so’ may actually be a useful parenting tool, and plenty more.

Find Neville on Instagram @neville19. His website is not functional and he would like you to know that.

Neville is funny, opinionated and absolutely uninterested in pretending there is a perfect way to parent which made this a very Motherlords conversation.

The Motherlords is an Indian parenting podcast by Alisha, Heena and Riya. Three Mumbai mums, real expert guests, and the conversations nobody has out loud.

Follow us on Instagram: @the_motherlords

Hit follow so you never miss an episode!

CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Neville Bharucha
03:25 The pressure parents put on kids
04:37 Why improv actually matters
06:05 Creative writing & thought clarity
08:17 Why kids need to be okay with failure
10:34 What confidence really looks like
12:12 Learning to be comfortable with discomfort
16:12 The kids, the holiday & the F-bomb 😂
18:07 Because I said so
20:05 When your child hides behind your leg
23:21 Kids aren't shy, they're overwhelmed
26:06 Letting kids order their own food
28:55 Learning to be okay with looking silly
29:20 Why we need to put ourselves out there

Every parent has looked at their child at some point and wondered...

"Are they just being five?" Or is there something else going on?

In this episode in our series on Therapy with Merzia, we're joined by occupational therapist Bindi Vora alongside Merzia Maskati from SDLC to unpack one of the most misunderstood areas of child development, occupational therapy.

Turns out, OT isn't just about handwriting or helping children who've already received a diagnosis. It's about the everyday things we often take for granted, like getting dressed, sitting through circle time, joining a game, learning to ride a bike, packing a school bag, or just feeling comfortable in your own body.

We talk about why some kids find these things harder than others, what sensory integration actually means (without the jargon), and why therapy often looks suspiciously like play!

We also get into picky eating, classroom accommodations, sports, confidence, emotional meltdowns, and why 'they'll grow out of it' isn't always the most helpful answer.

As always, this isn't about labelling children, but figuring out how to understand them better.

In this episode:

• What occupational therapy actually is (and isn't)• Why you don't need a diagnosis before asking for help• How challenges can show up at home, school and on the playground• Hyperactivity, attention and sensory processing• Why some children struggle with sports, handwriting or everyday routines• What OT sessions really look like• Sensory activities you can try at home• Picky eating, textures and when it's more than a passing phase• Why early support matters

About our guests

Bindi Vora is a paediatric occupational therapist with over a decade of experience helping children build the sensory, motor and functional skills that make everyday life a little easier.

Merzia Maskati is a Speech-Language Pathologist, neurodiversity counsellor and founder of SDLC, where a multidisciplinary team supports children and families through speech therapy, occupational therapy, feeding therapy and early intervention.

Learn more at their website https://sdlc.co.in and follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thesdlc/

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Therapy with Merzia
01:18 What is Occupational Therapy?
04:00 Do children need a diagnosis before OT?
06:05 Hyperactivity, focus & classroom accommodations
10:12 Gross motor vs fine motor skills
15:30 Why everyday routines feel difficult
19:20 Confidence, behaviour & emotional frustration
23:15 Common misconceptions about OT
28:40 Sports, low muscle tone & coordination
33:45 What Occupational Therapy sessions look like
39:05 Sensory integration explained
44:10 Older children, organisation & attention
47:20 Sensory activities parents can do at home
50:40 Picky eating & sensory sensitivities
58:15 Food therapy & texture challenges
01:03:00 How long does OT take?
01:06:10 Parent guilt, early intervention & final advice

Remember when becoming a mum came with a surprising number of disclaimers nobody mentioned?

How you may never sneeze the same way again or running for the loo becomes an extreme sport.

This week, we’re joined by exercise physiologist and founder of The Fit Moms Project, Raina Gagrat, to talk about the body part most of us only learn about after having children: the pelvic floor.

We get into:

•⁠ ⁠Why leaking when you laugh, sneeze or run isn’t something you have to “just live with”

•⁠ ⁠The connection between pelvic floor health and painful periods

•⁠ ⁠Pregnancy, postpartum recovery and body alignment

•⁠ ⁠Why Kegels aren’t the whole story

•⁠ ⁠The surprising link between your pelvis, hormones, digestion and stress

•⁠ ⁠Why by bouncing back is overrated but feeling good in your body isn’t

•⁠ ⁠How movement can help you reconnect with a body that feels unfamiliar after motherhood

Chapters:

00:00 What nobody told us about the pelvic floor

00:40 Welcome back to The Motherlords

01:00 What is an exercise physiologist?

02:00 How Raina reads a body before she designs a workout

04:00 Why most workouts start at level 5 (and postpartum needs level 0)

06:10 What body alignment actually means

07:26 The nervous system trick that makes low-impact hit harder

11:00 The many disconnects motherhood hands you

12:20 The pelvic floor 101 nobody taught us

13:36 Pelvic floor is not just a women's thing

14:04 The link nobody talks about: pelvic floor and period cramps

15:46 Prenatal body changes and why you tilt without realising

17:04 Bladder damage, leakage, and why it happens

18:16 Why Kegels are only half the job

19:09 The John Mayer concert bladder emergency

20:32 Is it too late? (Grandmums fixing it decades later)

22:47 The emotional muscle you didn't know you had: the psoas

24:47 The vagus nerve, the gut, and Kundalini

28:44 How misalignment shows up as pain everywhere

30:27 There is no bouncing back. There's a new body.

32:12 Why trendy HIIT can hurt if your pelvis isn't ready

34:14 What every pregnant woman should be doing

36:37 Why this should be taught in schools

40:11 The three signs your body is asking for help

41:39 Please stop duck-walking in your ninth month

43:52 How to actually make time as a new mum

45:00 When to start after birth

46:59 Raina's one piece of advice to every woman

48:53 The Fit Moms Project

Raina’s approach isn’t about shrinking your body, punishing it, or fitting back into your pre-pregnancy jeans.

It’s about understanding how your body works, moving without fear, and discovering that some of the things you’ve accepted as normal… maybe aren’t.

Also, Heena confesses to wearing a panty liner on the treadmill, Alisha discovers her pelvic floor is apparently concert-ready, and all three of us leave wondering why nobody teaches this stuff in school.

If you’ve ever crossed your legs before a sneeze, this episode is for you.

Follow Raina and The Fit Moms Project:

Website: www.rainagagrat.com

Instagram: @thefitmomsproject

The Motherlords is real Indian mum talk with real experts. No preaching. No perfect-mum content. Just three Mumbai mums (Heena, Riya, and Alisha) figuring it out with you.

Follow us:

Instagram: @the_motherlords

YouTube: https://youtu.be/PGCWKY5hX7I

#pelvicfloor #postpartumrecovery #themotherlords #thefitmomsproject #indianmums #mumbaimums #diastasisrecti #womenshealth

Good news from the dentist for once: you don't have to ban sugar.

Dr Harsh Vyas is back to make your life easier, not harder. He explains why one ice cream beats a lollipop every time, why three gulab jamuns in one sitting are better than three spread across the day, the innocent biscuit in the snack box that's quietly the problem, what your child's night-time teeth grinding is actually telling you, and when braces should really start.

Plus the two things parents panic about that are completely fine: a late first tooth, and gaps in the baby teeth.

Part 2 of two. The one that lets you breathe.

Dr Harsh Vyas practises at The Pediatric Dentists, Nana Chowk and Bandra, Mumbai. Instagram: @the.pediatric.dentists

On YouTube: @TheMotherlords_TML
Instagram: @the_motherlords
Drop into our group chat: [email protected]

Chapters (Part 2):
00:00 Back in the chair with Dr Harsh Vyas
00:50 How food actually affects your kid's teeth
01:50 The golden rule: sticky sugar is the worst sugar
03:00 The innocent biscuit in the snack box
04:05 Why frequency matters more than amount
04:40 Give the sugar all in one go (yes, really)
07:20 Jaggery, dates and figs are still sugar
08:40 Timing treats around meals, and the cheese trick
12:05 Why kids grind their teeth
14:06 When grinding is linked to snoring
15:00 Night guards: how they actually work
18:43 Why some kids need braces
19:36 Early treatment at ages 8 to 10
21:53 Old-school braces vs invisible aligners
25:44 What parents panic about that's totally fine
26:08 A late first tooth is no cause for worry
27:39 Why gaps in baby teeth are a good thing
28:39 Do teething gels like Zytee work?

If you've ever wondered whether the pacifier is ruining their teeth, whether thumb sucking is worse, or how they got a cavity when you brush every night, this episode is for you.

Dr Harsh Vyas (MDS, FIAPD), one of Mumbai's leading paediatric and preventive dentists, has spent over thirty years looking inside small, uncooperative mouths, and wrote an international bestseller on it. He talks us through why milk teeth matter even though they fall out, whether the thumb or the pacifier is the bigger habit to break, why cavities still happen when you brush every single night, and why fluoride toothpaste is safe to swallow when everyone told you it wasn't.

Part 1 of our two-part conversation on your child's teeth.

Dr Harsh Vyas practises at The Pediatric Dentists, Nana Chowk and Bandra, Mumbai. Instagram: @the.pediatric.dentists

On YouTube: @TheMotherlords_TMLInstagram: @the_motherlordsDrop into our group chat: [email protected]

It's June and we're reading our New Year goals. Yes. We know.

One of us actually wrote hers down. The list includes inspiring (read: achievable) stuff like ‘watch more TV’ and ‘learn how to make a picante’. The other two have been making lunches and shouting at people since January. So. 

We also try to reflect on what kind of mum each of us actually is. One claims balance, and she’s got receipts for it! One announces on camera that she is an emotional swinger. One looks in the mirror and has trouble seeing flaws. Well, mostly! 

And then there’s the earthquake story. The husband who ran from an earthquake only to return for his phone. While his newlywed wife crawled behind him with a dislocated knee. We’ve heard this story a hundred times and it still gets us every, single time!

Plus what marriage after kids actually looks like, (lots of) disappointing date nights, the invisible mental load, a fun Vanity Fair style ‘How Well Do You Really Know Me’ round, and the campaigns we are running for each other this year.

No judgement, no preaching, no perfection!

CHAPTERS: 0:00 New year, new season, same Motherlords 

1:25 Reading Alisha's 2026 goals (the only one of us who wrote any) 

7:00 Why Heena and Riya don't write goals 

8:30 What kind of mum are we? The full audit. 

18:50 The default parent and the invisible mental load 

24:00 Karan announces he is checking out of parenting days 

25:45 Disappointing date nights (the term we coined) 

27:00 The Bali earthquake date 

30:30 Other disappointing date nights 

33:10 Know-Me round: how well do we actually know each other? 

43:30 Campaigns we are running for each other this year

The Motherlords is hosted by Heena, Riya, and Alisha. Three Mumbai mums in their 40s, figuring it out together.

Follow us on Instagram: @the_motherlords 

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mXMotj41zQ2oEpZpiFOhK?si=d5fe5a71edea482c 

Hit follow so you never miss an episode.

#themotherlordspodcast #motherhoodunfiltered #indianmums #parentingindia #realmum #defaultparent #marriageafterkids

How do you get a kid to love learning about the solar system, dairy farms, and coral reefs without it feeling like a textbook? Turns out, you put it in a story.

Yuti Jhaveri built Zayn and Zoey from her kitchen table (sometimes with a baby in a car seat at meetings). Riya illustrated the books, so this one's personal. We talk nonfiction that doesn't bore kids to death, why unstructured play matters more than we think, the physical books vs screens debate, and Yuti's upcoming money series that we're already excited about.

Get your Zayn & Zoey books here: ⁠https://zaynandzoey.com⁠

On YouTube: @TheMotherlords_TML

Instagram: @the_motherlords

Write to us: [email protected]

00:00 Meet Yuti: from biomedical engineering to children's books03:30 Why the best teachers belong at the foundation level05:45 Starting Zayn and Zoey as a mum of two (baby in car seat at meetings)10:00 What actually makes learning fun for kids14:00 The screen time vs physical books debate18:30 Why unstructured play beats structured activities22:00 The Zayn and Zoey pitch: nonfiction that reads like a story27:00 Most popular books: continents, solar system, dinosaurs29:00 What's next: a money and business series for kids

Is your kid a late talker or is it an actual speech delay? And does speaking three languages at home make it worse?

(Spoiler: nope!)

Speech therapists Devlina and Merzia from SDLC join us to sort the real red flags from the stuff you can stop worrying about. Toddler speech milestones, stammering, screen time, multilingual kids, and why therapists want you to stop quizzing your child on colours. Heena gets personal about her son's speech journey too.

Part of our Therapy Series with SDLC.

CHAPTERS

00:00 What do speech therapists actually do?

03:00 Speech milestones: what to expect and when

06:00 The most common concerns parents bring in

08:30 The multilingual myth: does speaking three languages cause delays?

11:00 Red flags you shouldn't ignore

14:00 Heena's story: when her son developed a stammer

18:00 Kids who talk at home but go quiet outside

22:00 What parents can do at home (and what to stop doing)

26:00 Screen time and speech development

30:00 Speech anxiety in older kids

33:00 How SDLC's team approach works

36:00 How long does speech therapy last?

AI is already in your child’s classroom… but are they actually learning, or just getting better at outsourcing thinking?

In this episode, we sit down with Stephanie Holt, Director of Teaching & Learning and AI lead at DSB International School, to unpack what AI really means for our kids.

From essays written with ChatGPT to kids using AI for emotional support, this conversation goes way beyond the hype.

We talk about:

• How to tell if your child is actually thinking
• The right way kids should be using AI (hint: it’s not banning it)
• Why teaching ethics matters more than ever
• How AI could widen the gap between privileged and underprivileged kids
• Whether teachers can ever be replaced
• How AI is already changing exams, careers, and the future of work
• Practical ways parents can set boundaries without over-controlling

This conversation is a refreshing shift away from extremes, and brings it back to what really matters, raising thoughtful, capable, self-aware kids in a changing world.