About This Episode

In this episode, Harry sits down with a couple whose journey spans continents, careers, and courage: Girija, an architect by training and a chef by passion, and Prashant, an AI product leader, marathon runner, and stage performer at heart. From building a life together in the US to returning to India and redefining success on their own terms, their story is about self-awareness, reinvention, and the quiet strength it takes to choose your own path even when it's uncertain.

This conversation goes deep. We talk about growing up under very different kinds of pressure, the astrologer who told each of them separately that they had no future in education, and the years Girija spent building financial independence from the ground up. But this isn't just a story about two individuals. It's about what it looks like to build a life and a partnership at the same time, through career pivots, a return home, health struggles, and the daily discipline of choosing each other.

What We Cover

• Two very different childhoods — Girija's rebellion against a joint family's expectations, and Prashant's constant moving and love of the stage

• The astrologer who told both of them, separately, that they had no future in education — and how they proved him wrong

• Girija funding her own education through tutoring and loans, and choosing architecture against her parents' wishes

• What first drew them to each other, from Prashant doing dishes at home to Girija refusing to fit any mold

• Moving from Chicago to India for Prashant's MBA at ISB, and later relocating permanently to be closer to family

• Girija's unexpected pivot from a 20-year architecture career into professional cooking, and how it started with learning to cook for herself in graduate school

• The moment Girija was told she was "as qualified as any chef" despite having no formal training

• Prashant hosting a global AI summit while sick, and what marathon running taught him about pushing through

• Girija's health struggles after losing her father and going through early menopause, and the two years it took to get answers

• What each of them leaned on the other for — and why mutual respect matters more than love in a long partnership

• Their advice to young couples: define happiness together, set boundaries with family, and let go of ego

A Moment That Will Stay With You

"I have to get education and get out. There's no way I'm going to be depending on somebody else's income."

"I think if it was anybody else, I don't think our relationship would have survived, or I would have survived this."

"You are stronger than yesterday. You are better than yesterday."

"Often there may be love, there may not be respect. I think more than love, respect is important. Once you let go of the ego, that becomes the barrier for both of you."

Connect with Girija & Prashant: https://www.instagram.com/prashant.ivaturi

https://www.instagram.com/vankayakura_n_tales

This episode is sponsored by Sri Krishna Jewellers ~ with over 50 years of craftsmanship, now serving the Dallas community from Frisco, Texas. Explore their collection at srikrishna.com or call +1 430-231-1111.