English is not Kavitha’s first language. It’s Telugu, with roots in ancient Dravidian, spoken in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and by 80 million people worldwide.

Kavitha is a life-long lover of books. In eighth grade, she read Gone with the Wind over a weekend to avoid helping her parents pack and unpack boxes during a move.

Her favorite rom-com is from an era before the term was coined: Merchant and Ivory’s “A Room with a View,” based on the novel by E. M. Forster, is a feast for the eyes and the soul.

A family vacation in Ireland thirty years on revived touching memories of the welcoming place her family first immigrated.

Her fight songs: “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or “Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains, depending on the vibe.

Kavitha has practiced yoga for over twenty years and is half-way to a yoga teacher certification but still can’t do a adho mukha svanasana properly. There’s meaning in that too.

A pipe dream is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. She needs to find time to train, in between injuries (sigh). The closest she’s gotten is a view of the magnificent snowy peak through the clouds on a flight from Arusha to Nairobi.