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By:

Kaustubh Kale

10 September 2024 at 11:37:15 pm

Fast Today, Prosper Tomorrow

AI Generated Image Navratri is a time when devotion, self-control, and celebration come together. For nine days, people across the country observe fasting, prayers, and rituals with discipline and faith. But beyond the spiritual significance, Navratri also carries valuable lessons for our financial lives - especially in how fasting and sacrifice mirror the principles of investing. Fasting as discipline When we fast, we consciously give up indulgence. It is not just about avoiding food; it...

Fast Today, Prosper Tomorrow

AI Generated Image Navratri is a time when devotion, self-control, and celebration come together. For nine days, people across the country observe fasting, prayers, and rituals with discipline and faith. But beyond the spiritual significance, Navratri also carries valuable lessons for our financial lives - especially in how fasting and sacrifice mirror the principles of investing. Fasting as discipline When we fast, we consciously give up indulgence. It is not just about avoiding food; it is also about training the mind and body to resist temptation. The same applies to investing. In a world full of instant gratification, whether it is the latest gadget, a fancy car, an expensive lifestyle or a luxury holiday, real wealth creation requires the discipline to sometimes say, “not now.” Just as fasting strengthens willpower, disciplined investing strengthens our financial health. Sacrifice for a greater good Navratri fasting involves small sacrifices today for spiritual growth tomorrow. In investing too, we often have to sacrifice some short-term pleasures to secure long-term prosperity. Choosing to invest a bonus instead of spending it entirely, or increasing SIPs using a portion of every salary increment instead of allocating the entire increase towards expenses and new liabilities, may feel like a sacrifice initially. But these small decisions, repeated over many years, can accumulate into significant future wealth and financial security. This is the very essence of delayed gratification. Patience and consistency Navratri fasting is not observed for just one day. The discipline continues throughout the nine days. Similarly, investing is not about one lucky trade or one successful investment. Wealth creation requires staying the course month after month and year after year through regular investing, sensible asset allocation and the power of compounding. There will inevitably be periods when markets test our patience. But just as discipline during Navratri is maintained throughout the festival, financial discipline must continue through both good and difficult market conditions. Balance and moderation Fasting during Navratri is not about starving. It is about moderation, restraint and mindful eating. Investing too should not be about extremes, neither reckless risk-taking nor excessive conservatism. A well-planned portfolio spread appropriately across assets such as equity, debt and gold can provide both growth and stability. Just as moderation keeps the body healthy, balance helps keep our finances resilient. The bigger picture Ultimately, Navratri fasting is also about purification of the body, mind and soul. Investing, in its own way, requires purification of financial habits: moving away from impulsive spending, unnecessary liabilities and short-term thinking towards purposeful saving and wealth creation. This Navratri, as you observe your fast with devotion and discipline, also resolve to bring the same qualities into your financial life. After all, both fasting and investing ask us to give up a little today in pursuit of something greater tomorrow. (The author is a Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial Advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605.)

A ‘Special’ Journey of Compassion

Dev Dhurandhar
Sep 30, 2025
2 min read

The nine days of Navratri celebrate goddesses who embody strength in different forms; valour, compassion, creativity, austerity, devotion, justice, protection, forgiveness and wisdom. In our annual Navratri series, we celebrate the lives of nine women who strive to build happy and safe spaces for themselves and those around them.


PART - 10


Name: Sonalee Shyamsunder | Where: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Name: Sonalee Shyamsunder | Where: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Ten-year old Prajyot Bhale from Antop Hill was a multiple disabled child having finger deformity on both his hands and his parents were worried about how he would cope in his life. To his fortune, Prajyot, while studying in a BMC school for special children at Sion, happened to meet members of Urmi Foundation. They took him under their wings and worked tirelessly on improving his developmental and intellectual abilities. Thanks to their efforts, Prajyot – now 22 – has become a skilled artist in making beautiful paper bags and makes his earnings after being employed at a government vocational centre in Tardeo.


“Kids like Prajyot give me immense satisfaction and motivation to work for these special children,” says 41-year-old Sonalee Shyamsunder, a social activist, special educator and the founder of Mumbai-based NGO Urmi Foundation. With this organisation, she has devoted herself to helping children with developmental and intellectual disabilities – especially those from low-income and marginalized communities – gain access to education, therapies as well as dignity and self-respect.


Urmi Foundation primarily works with children who are living with disabilities like cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism and other such conditions. The NGO focuses on grassroots intervention, including therapy, education and pre-vocational training.


For someone who volunteered with renowned social worker Prakash Amte during her childhood, passion for welfare works came naturally to Sonalee. “I always felt it was one field where you can convert your thoughts into action,” she said. After dabbling briefly into journalism, she worked with children living in red light areas of Mumbai through the organization Prerna. However, her decision to work for children with special needs was solidified after witnessing a heart-wrenching incident.


While looking for a maid in a Chembur slum, Sonalee saw a disabled little girl kept confined and tied by rope in a murky home. She found out that her parents, who were daily wage workers, were unable to take care of her. Deeply affected by the girl’s traumatic condition, Sonalee resolved to set up Urmi foundation for kids with special needs in 2012.


“We started working with BMC schools, which is the cheapest and free education system in the city. The Mumbai Corporation is the only civic body in India which runs schools for special children with special educators,” Sonalee said.


Urmi Foundation runs different programs at the community level as well as with the BMC special schools, to uplift the social and educational standards of the special children and youth. For this, it works on multiple levels – therapeutic, academic and capacity-building. The goal is not simply to enrol children, but to help them develop life skills, improve their cognitive, social and motor skills and become as independent as possible. Going ahead, Sonalee wants to create an accessible, friendly and inclusive eco-system, which will bring together the BMC schools, community centres, Anganwadis and hospitals for the upliftment of special children.

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