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Happy & Human
The podcast for over-educated, busy, and ambitious South Asian professionals and entrepreneurs. In each episode, Seema and Dinesh will dive into the philosophies, strategies, and tools that can help you live happier, healthier, productive, and fulfilled lives with more success.
They will be talking about things that help you think, do, and be better in wide-ranging areas around the five pillars of a good life: health, wealth, love, happiness, and impact — to empower you to reach your highest potential without compromising what’s important.
Dr. Seema Desai is a dentist, certified professional coach, and author of the book, “Connected: Discovering Your Inner Guides.” She is also a devoted wife and proud mother to two children, as well as an advocate for creating learning equality in children in underserved countries through her work with Pratham USA.
Dinesh Melwani is a law firm partner, author, speaker, and certified success and results coach. He is an internationally-recognized patent attorney that works with hi-tech clients, ranging from startups to Fortune 100 clients. He also believes deeply in the potential and capability inside of everyone. In addition, he is a loving father and husband.
Join Seema and Dinesh each week as they explore, from the male and female South Asian perspectives, what makes you individually and uniquely happy and human, and what tools and insights allow us to reach that next level and beyond. You will learn how to level up your mindset, develop the needed leadership skills in your career and personal life, and learn how to live up to your potential.
Happy & Human
Ambition without Apology with Rashi Kakkar
Dinesh Melwani and Dr. Seema Desai have the sharp, insightful, and refreshingly real Rashi Kakkar for this week’s conversation that travels across personal ambition, parenthood, identity, and the art of living authentically in a noisy world. Rashi, a former management consultant turned learning and development leader at a top-tier global firm, opens up about what it means to grow, even when life is messy, uncertain, or just plain overwhelming. From her unexpected journey into motherhood to launching her newsletter, Decks and Diapers, Rashi shares how she embraced the “cringe” and found joy in the tension between ambition and presence.
This isn’t just another self-help pep talk. It’s a thoughtful, vulnerable exploration of how to chase growth without losing yourself, how to rewrite your story when old scripts no longer serve you, and why joy isn’t a luxury, it’s your birthright. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to start something new, or whether success and fulfillment can truly coexist, this episode will meet you exactly where you are and challenge you, in the best way, to step into more.
All opinions expressed are Rashi’s personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization that she is associated with.
About Rashi:
Rashi is a global portfolio leader within McKinsey’s Leadership & Development team. Rashi’s passion lies in building institutional capability through a skills-first approach and applying product management principles to creating human-centered - products, experiences, and services!
As a consultant, Rashi has advised Fortune 100 clients on complex strategic, operational, and organizational challenges. She has led digital transformations, enhanced organizational effectiveness, and redesigned operating models. Prior to McKinsey, Rashi worked at a boutique design thinking firm, where she honed her expertise in human-centered design, experience and service design, and product centric thinking.
Outside of work, Rashi enjoys writing, she authors a bi-weekly newsletter and has published 80+ opinion pieces in leading global publications. She is an avid golfer, a former varsity tennis player, and a newly minted pickleball enthusiast. She resides in Toronto and holds an MBA from the University of Toronto.
Connect with Rashi:
Newsletter: https://decksanddiapers.substack.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashikakkar/?originalSubdomain=ca
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/rashikakkar.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@rashi_kakkar8
X: https://twitter.com/rashi_kakkar
Links:
Dinesh Melwani http://www.dineshmelwani.com, IG @dineshmelwani
Seema Desai http://www.drseemadesai.com, IG @dr.seemadesai
