The story of Parinaama is deeply personal to me. I was raised in a family where social justice was more than just a concept, it was a way of life. My father, Dr. Attili Krishna Rao, was a Telugu playwright who wrote numerous plays on systemic oppression and social justice for over three decades. I grew up watching him direct and advocate for social consciousness among the people, through street theatre. That’s the world I was shaped by. When I entered the development sector, the gap between my privilege and the reality around me became impossible to ignore. After 15 years of work in several national and international organisations, I began building Parinaama in 2012. It wasn’t just a professional decision. It was a decision about purpose. This work is bigger than my journey. It requires people who share the same conviction that where you are born should not determine how far you go. Everything we do is in service of that belief.