Swarnika Nimje

Between night and day,  the world paused. Winter chills. The first rays of sun. That sacred silence of 5 a.m. streets empty, the world asleep, one single soul running through the quiet. Scary. Yet freeing. No pressure. No one to bother. No eyes watching. No expectations. Just me, only me. That moment, when the air brushed against my face, heart racing, blood surging through every inch of me, reminding me I was alive. Then the music comes on, and I’m gone. Steps syncing to the beats, breath aligning with rhythm. Running. Breathing. Flying. Closer to myself. Farther from everything else. And that, that’s what I miss. The bruises and pains. The mess, the sweat - all of it. The chaos that somehow felt like peace. The stillness in the motion. The freedom in the fatigue. The quiet joy of being just me. 07.10.2025

There was a me I don’t recognise. A name I answered to, a shape I filled, but not a self I ever knew. She moved how she was taught to move— graceful, agreeable, smiling on time. But her eyes… her eyes were always searching. She’s been with me through the in-betweens. She’s steady,  reliable, quiet when it counts. She keeps things smooth, keeps things safe. But safe, I’m learning, is not the same as whole. And then— there’s this other me. A stranger, at first. Unapologetic, barefoot in the middle of the storm. She doesn’t shrink. She doesn’t explain. She just 'is'. I didn’t expect her. Didn’t know I was waiting. But when she spoke, something inside me stood still. She feels unfamiliar— and yet, more 'me' than I’ve ever been. And maybe that’s what becoming is: Not finding someone new, but remembering who I was before the world told me who to be.  01.07.2025

Humans are complicated beings. emotions. misunderstandings. contradictions. We spend our lives proclaiming wisdom— studying the stars, mapping the galaxies, searching the skies for life, while overlooking the ones, who live in harmony with the Earth, who flow with the rivers, breathe the untouched air, inhabit this planet with grace. In our endless chase to know more, to grasp the worlds that may not exist, we construct our own, we invent problems, then drown in them. We build systems— Ecosystems, structures, expectations— That suffocate us. They make us anxious, angry, depressed, sick in mind and body. surrounded, yet solitary. connected to millions, yet lonelier than ever. We've strayed. from our roots. from stillness of the mind, the wisdom of the body, the depth of the soul. We are born of the Earth. and to the Earth, we return. so why do we live so far from it? Why do we drift further away, with each passing generation? Have we forgotte...

I am a daughter of two mothers,   Both shaping me in their own ways,   Both empowering me with their strength and wisdom.   The first is my mother by birth,   The source of my life, my foundation.   She nurtured me with her love and shaped me with her strength.   Drawing from her own life lessons,   She made me tough — tough enough that no one in the world could break me.   She taught me the skills of life so I would never have to depend on anyone.   She instilled in me an attitude  —   To aim high, to work hard, to demand what I deserve, and to never back down.   Her voice echoes in my mind, reminding me that if I set my heart to something,   No stone should remain unturned.   She is the reason I stand strong, Resilient, capable, and determined.   She has shaped my core.   The second is my mother-in-law  A relationship often seen thr...

  Your eyes—  they don’t just look at me,   they see me.     Not in passing, not in pieces,   but wholly, fully, deeply.     I like to see myself through them.   My smile, my thoughts,   my confusions, my stupidities,   my small joys and quiet fears.   The fire in my voice,   the hesitation in my steps.   You catch it all.     You see the child still tucked inside me,   wide-eyed and wondering.   You see the rebel, restless and wild.   You see the woman, learning to stand tall.   You see the past that shaped me,   the present that molds me,   the future I am afraid to claim.     You dream of heights for me, I don't dare name.   You see strength where I see doubt.   You believe in me when I falter.   You hold space for a version of me   I haven’t yet learned to trust.   But I love the m...

On January 16, 2025, the Anant Anadi Vadnagar, an Archaeological Experiential Museum in Vadnagar, Gujarat was inaugurated by the Honourable Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah. A project incredibly close to my heart, as I have been part of it since the beginning. Over the last three years, I’ve witnessed every piece of this vision come together. Countless days and nights went into this project—whether working in the office, on-site, in an airplane, a cab, meeting rooms, or even on the streets of Vadnagar. In the final months of the project execution, I was stationed at site. Being there as the thought turned into a physical reality was a transformative experience. It was a world beyond sketches, screens, and simulated renders. Here, visualizations came alive, materials spoke their language, and the spaces evoked emotions I couldn’t have imagined while seated at my office desk. The on-site challenges were a true test, but they brought a rush of adrenaline—a feeling that words can hardly d...