About Me — Tanmaya
A bit about myself and my journey on Medium
I was thinking a lot about how do I write my introduction in a paragraph or a blog. So I decided to break down some of my interesting personality traits or skills as subsections to describe myself. If you find any similarities between us, feel free to reach out to me as we might become friends.
Designer at Heart
I am a Service designer by profession and I love this field as it has taught me some of the greatest life lessons. My problem-solving skills and design thinking approach have helped me navigate crucial challenges of life and have enabled me to become a risk-taker. You can read my design blogs here.
Self-taught Artist
I get my creativity from my grandmother and my mother who gave me the right resources to hone my creative spark. I learned many arts and crafts during my summer vacations in school days. Since my parents were working, managing my free time during my vacation used to be a task for my mother. She made sure that I was kept busy and happy so that I didn’t complain or create any trouble for her during those long weeks of vacation. After our end-semester exams, she would take me out to a store that sold DIY arts & crafts kits. She would buy me a variety of supplies that will teach me new skills and keep me occupied for 4–6 hours a day. I learned many skills such as Warli painting, Madhubani painting, Oil painting, Watercolor painting, Acrylic painting, and Emboss painting. I also learned some embroidery like long stitch & cross stitch. She also got many books from the library and made sure I read all of them. This developed my creativity and I decided to pursue a career in the field of design.
Experimental Cook
I am a foodie and I have inherited my cooking skills from my mom and my grandmother. I am fortunate to have a mother with amazing cooking skills. Being the elder daughter of working parents, I got a chance to explore the kitchen all by myself at a very young age and I remember the first dish I made was when I was in 4th grade. One evening my cousin brother visited our house after his college and he was supposed to babysit us till our parents returned from the office. It was late evening and we all were a bit hungry. I suggested to him that I will make something to eat, but he was scared to eat food made by an eight-year-old. I anyways went to the kitchen and made masala khakhra (Khakhra is a dried chapati — kind of like a big 7" diameter round nacho) and he was immensely surprised to see the dish when I served him a delicious-looking plate garnished with chopped cilantro. He praised my finely chopped onion & tomatoes and the perfect combination of spices which made the khakhra tasty and filling. I started observing my mother working in the kitchen and I picked up recipes by observing, smelling, and tasting them. My mother never taught me any particular dish or never gave me any formal lessons in cooking. All I did was I accompanied her in the kitchen as a side helper.
Over time, as I traveled and ate at restaurants, I started decoding recipes and experimenting with those at home. I have gained expertise in cooking Maharashtrian dishes, North Indian dishes — Punjabi recipes, South Indian food, Indo-Chinese food, Thai curries, Korean dish — dolsot bibimbap, Italian food — pasta in red sauce, white sauce, pink sauce, pesto sauce. I tried Naanza an Indo-Italian pizza in one of the restaurants in Delhi and I have inherited that dish since then. It’s a lighter and better version of Pizza.
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The reason I say I am an experimental cook is that, since I am a vegetarian person, certain recipes need to be modified and I substitute the ingredients with equivalent veg ingredients. Another reason is that ingredients in certain recipes like Korean, Italian or Chinese are not available easily and I source a substitute ingredient from Indian spices and it turns out to taste almost the same. I like to experiment and I’m proud to say that my experiment has always turned out to be a tasty dish. I make fusion dishes by giving an Indian twist to the original dish.
Travel Enthusiast
My parents taught me to travel. I have been traveling since I was 1 year old so you can imagine how fun, energetic and crazy my parents might be to travel with a 1-year-old baby. When there was no internet, no mobile phones, or technology to guide travelers, my parents were brave enough to go to different states and cities around India to explore the history, culture, and architecture of the place.
I like to explore the place to understand it’s history, architecture, and culture of the place. I love to meet local people, interact with them, and get to know more about their lifestyle and culture. I enjoy eating local food as long as it is vegetarian and I like to capture these moments in photographs. I believe in budget traveling and also enjoy spending on luxury resorts if they are designed by one of my favorite architects. I have traveled to 7 countries across 3 continents so far. I have studied, lived, and worked in 3 countries which have shaped my perspectives and outlook toward life. I value diversity and inclusivity in the real sense.
The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experiences — Mark Paterson
I like to capture my travel experiences in photographs and blogs. So stay tuned for some of the travel blogs coming soon.
Sustainability Warrior
My friends and family call me a sustainability warrior. I am the person in the group who will carry a bag to collect garbage when we are on trips. I will not let anyone keep the tap running while brushing their teeth. I ensure that we segregate and recycle the garbage at home. I carry fabric bags and reusable bags when I go shopping. I reuse plastic takeout boxes or plastic bags so that I don’t buy more plastic bags. I follow a minimalist lifestyle when it comes to shopping for clothes. I will not buy 5 jackets of different colors or 5 different pairs of shoes just because they need to match my outfit. I have a maximum of 2 purses and only a pair of shoes for every season at any given time. I make sure I use them to their full life before buying a new one. I try my best to use eco-friendly cutlery and packaging. I follow reduce-reuse-recycle very seriously. You can read one of my sustainability blogs here.
Resourceful Help
My colleagues say that I am a resourceful person. Whether it is in our formal office environment or as a friend, I am a very resourceful person. I attribute this quality to my personality of being inquisitive and curious. Wherever I go, whoever I meet, I talk, enquire and gather information. I can help you with any of your problems and if I can’t personally solve your problems, I can point you to the right person or the right resource. An acquaintance asked me for help to sell off the furniture in Toronto as they were moving out of the country, one family friend reached out to me asking for a home remedy/herbal medicine cure for a certain illness, another friend reached out to me asking for some help regarding laptop issues, one of my friends reached out to me regarding the visa application process. I am mentoring aspiring designers to navigate their careers in the field of design. I like to help as much as I can because I know someone helped me when I needed help and I’m just paying it forward. Feel free to reach out to me on the ADP list if you need any guidance in the field of design.
Copyright © 2022, Tanmaya Rao. All rights are reserved.
I like to remind myself that life is a journey and continuous learning is a way of improving yourself. I keep upskilling myself by reading books and learning new art every month. I am from India and have studied and lived in the UK and am currently based out of Canada. I have traveled across Europe and South East Asia. All these years of traveling and living in different parts of the world have given me a lot of insights and exposure to different cultures.
I have started writing on Medium as a way of expressing my life journey and sharing my views, opinions, and experiences on various topics such as Design, Sustainability, Travel, Life in Canada, Immigration, and more. Follow me for more such interesting stories.
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.
