Before my first training in 2009, I had no awareness of Nonviolent Communication. I registered for it because the announcement said something about communication and healing. And because I was an Editor and News Reader (communication), as well as a clinical hypnotherapist (healing), I was curious. Just that. Curious.

As Day 1 of the training progressed, I sat gobsmacked, utterly mesmerized by what i was learning. Hearing about needs for the first time, it seemed to me to be the missing piece of the jigsaw of life that brought understanding and meaning to many of my relationships and behaviour.

I was hooked. And, in due course, became a certified trainer. In the interim, the NVC community in the subcontinent grew. What helped me stay in touch with NVC was the weekly practice group in Delhi that we established after our first training and continue to facilitate, fifteen years down the line. We went online in Covid and restarted the in-person group too...so we have two practice groups running. The online group has participants from across India and sometimes abroad too, from Australia to The Netherlands.

The spread of NVC in the subcontinent is my mission. My vision is to help remove divisiveness in society and bring dignity to all beings. I offer public training programmes, and help organise large Conventions and International Intensive Trainings. My work through the Nonviolent Communication Trust, a not-for-profit that some of us established is also focused on supporting the emergence of certified trainers in the subcontinent.

i use NVC extensively in my clinical work (even with clients under hypnosis!). NVC mediation, conflict resolution, transforming core-beliefs, working on fears, anger, depression and guilt, embracing grief, are a few examples. Education is another key area of engagement in NVC. I am convinced that for social change to be effective and lasting, children need to be encouraged to speak this "Language of Life" early on in schools and at home.