Late Sri Bhandakar Rao Jaligama & Late Smt. Vijayalakshmi Jaligama

My Parents — The Roots Beneath Every Rise

Amma — My First and Forever Teacher. Before I knew what values were, she was living them. My mother was no ordinary homemaker. She ran the house, raised two sons, managed a small home-based dairy farm, and prepared prasadam at the temple — not for recognition, but to keep the family standing with dignity. Every rupee she earned carried the weight of quiet sacrifice and quiet strength. But what she gave me was far greater than any of that. Every bit of character I carry — the kindness, the respect for elders, the instinct to help those in need, the entire spiritual foundation I stand on — came from her. Not through lessons. Through the way she lived. She never compared me to anyone. She never let me speak of myself in small terms. She never poisoned a single moment with negativity. She simply believed in me, completely and without condition. The most defining thing I ever watched her do was hold her Dharma when life gave her every reason not to. That is not something you teach. That is something you witness — and carry forward for the rest of your life. Amma was my first teacher. She remains my best.

Nanna — The Man Who Never Doubted Me. My father is, at his core, a man who loves. He came from abundance — the eldest son of a prosperous grandfather — and yet he never carried the weight of greed or ambition for wealth. What he carried instead was loyalty to people. To his brothers, his sisters, his family. To me. In my deepest, darkest, toughest moments — the kind that break people — he stood beside me. No judgment. No pressure. Not a single word that made me feel wrong. Just his presence, steady and sure. He never told me what to become. He only ever showed me he was proud of who I already was. And through everything, he held one quiet, unshakeable confidence — that I would be there for him until his last day. That trust is something I don’t take lightly. It is one of the greatest honours of my life.

What They Gave Me Together. Two people, two very different kinds of strength — and together, they gave me something rare. They accepted me exactly as I am. No conditions. No comparisons. No ceiling placed on who I could be. I believe that unconditional acceptance is where self-belief is born. And self-belief, more than talent or timing, is what builds a life. Everything I have built, everything I am still building — it stands on what they gave me.

I love you both. And I will spend this lifetime making sure you know it.