Hey, 

About Me

In progress. On purpose.

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If I had to describe myself in one sentence, it would be this : I am someone who builds things — stories, systems, brands, products and meaning — even when they’re not perfect.

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I grew up in Chandigarh — a city of clean lines, open skies, and quiet lakes. Some of my earliest memories are of boating on Sukhna Lake, watching the water move without urgency. I didn’t know it then, but that rhythm — intentional, unhurried — would shape the way I live and create.

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Years later, life took me across cities and continents. Travel became not just movement, but perspective. I learned that the world is vast, layered, beautifully complex — and that every place leaves something behind in you. Across pages, plates, and places, I began collecting more than memories. I began collecting insights.

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That spirit eventually became Books • Bites • Backpacks — a space where I document the intersections of travel, reading, culture, and reflection. Not as a checklist of destinations, but as a study of what experiences teach us — about the world and about ourselves.

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Professionally, I chose structure before spontaneity.

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I built a career in product management — working in a variety of companies - from early stage startups to more established teams. With that I have gained a lot of experience across products, people and processes. I have learned to think in systems and how to build with intention. 

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But somewhere in 2020, during a season when the world slowed down, I picked up a pen.

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What began as a simple attempt to stay engaged turned into something deeply personal. Line art — slow, repetitive, imperfect — became my quiet rebellion against perfection. Zentangles, continuous lines, shapes that didn’t need to be symmetrical to be meaningful. I realized creativity didn’t have to be grand to be transformative. It just had to be honest.

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That was the beginning of The Not So Perfect Art.

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Over time, the two worlds — structure and spontaneity — stopped competing. They started collaborating. 

• The strategist in me builds brands thoughtfully. 

• The artist in me keeps them human. 

• The traveler in me keeps them curious. 

• The storyteller in me keeps them grounded.

The Not So Perfect Odyssey is an extension of that integration.

It’s where I write about books that shape perspective, places that reshape identity, and ideas that deserve to be unpacked slowly. It’s where I document the journey — not the polished highlight reel, but the evolving process.

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Because I don’t believe in perfect timelines. I believe in intentional ones.

I believe that:

• You can build systems and still be soft.

• You can love data and still trust intuition.

• You can plan deeply and still wander.

• You can be ambitious without being loud.

Most of all, I believe that the not-so-perfect path is often the most honest one.

If you’re here, maybe you’re building something too. A business. A creative practice. A life abroad. A new version of yourself.

This space is for that in-between.

Welcome to my odyssey — imperfect, evolving, and very much in progress.

— Neha