The Anger Behind the Silence: Sulochana’s KAHAANI
(by Team SAMAKSH)
This post is part of our weekly series — “What’s Your KAHAANI?” — where we explore the transformational journeys of people reclaiming their inner power.
“Are you in the habit of keeping your feelings to yourself?”
For decades, Sulochana’s answer had been silence. Until her silence screamed back.
A Childhood of Storms and Stillness
Sulochana grew up in a home ruled by thunder. Her father—an angry, autocratic man—was a self-proclaimed disciplinarian. A small mistake was enough to spark a loud, demeaning outburst. Her mother, quiet and compliant, endured most of it with pursed lips and wet eyes.
As a child, Sulochana learned two things early:
- Emotions are unsafe.
- Silence keeps peace.
She excelled at school, kept to herself, and rarely cried. Her escape route was academic brilliance. She earned a seat at a top Pune college, did her MBA, and quickly rose through the HR ranks, eventually becoming the CHRO of a national media company.
People around her described her as “graceful under pressure.” But grace, as it turns out, sometimes hides an unspoken war.
A Familiar Pattern in Her Marriage
Sulochana married Keshav, a charismatic man who, on the surface, was everything she wasn’t—expressive, spontaneous, and confident. But behind closed doors, he was a mirror image of her father.
He controlled conversations with his volume, dismissed her views with sarcasm, and made her second-guess her emotional reality. He never lifted a finger at her, but his words sliced her down all the same.
“You don’t plan anything well! You can’t even figure out school drop-offs. And you’re a CHRO? Hopeless case.”
He had yelled this just that morning, slamming the front door on his way out. All because she’d asked him to drop their daughter at school—on his way to work.
Sulochana, swallowing her tears like usual, dropped her daughter herself and made it to the office just in time.
What lay ahead was a big moment for her: a demo of the newly implemented HRIS system her team had worked on for over 6 months. It was a pivotal moment, involving a major investment and considerable visibility. She had rehearsed every line of her presentation the night before.
The demo went brilliantly. The tech and HR teams received a round of applause. Sulochana exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. She’d done it.
The Banter That Became a Bomb
As the meeting was winding down, the CFO—known for his sarcastic humor—chuckled and said: “Sulochana, what if this HRIS turns out to be a hopeless case too? What’s your Plan B?”
The room laughed. It was meant to be light-hearted.
But Sulochana snapped.
Her face flushed red, her voice cracked slightly, and her comeback was sharp, scathing, and disproportionate to the comment.
The room fell silent.
The meeting was adjourned.
People were stunned. The CHRO had just lost her cool—over a joke.
But only she knew that the joke had hit the rawest nerve in her body.
When Anger is the Echo of Pain
That evening, the Chairman of the company, Mr. Akhil Natarajan, knocked on her cabin door.
A seasoned leader with a mentor’s heart, he sat across her quietly and said,
“This isn’t about the HRIS, is it?”
She broke down. Twenty years of pent-up silence flowed out. He listened—no judgment, no fixing.
“Sulochana,” he said gently, “you’re not broken. You’re buried. Let’s start digging you out.”
He offered her four closed-door sessions—just her and him. No titles, no hierarchies.
Session One: The Real Diagnosis
Akhil laid it all bare for her:
He explained how Emotional Blocks were manifesting:
- Underutilized Potential – She had brilliance, but rarely claimed it aloud.
- Low Self-Awareness – She navigated politics, but not her own patterns.
- Low Self-Regulation – Decades of bottling emotions had made her volatile.
- Lack of Purpose or Vision – Her job was a ladder. She’d forgotten the summit.
- Fear of Failure & Overthinking – She replayed every interaction in her mind.
- Misalignment – Values, goals, and behaviors were not truly in sync.
- Outer World Dictating Inner World – One sharp word from home could hijack her day.
Her physical symptoms—migraines, stomach cramps, throat pain, shoulder stiffness—were the body’s language for, “I am not okay.”
“You have unspoken grief,” Akhil said. “But you also have untapped grit. Let’s find both.”
Her Inner Work: A Realignment Blueprint
Together, they designed a 4-week journey around the acronym N.E.W.S.—a new direction for her inner compass:
N – Navigate Your Narrative
Rewrite the inner stories you live by. From “I must stay silent” to “My voice deserves space.”
E – Embody Your Energy
Watch how stress tightens your jaw or speeds your breath. Respond, don’t react.
W – Witness Your Whispers
What do your instincts say? Have you stopped listening?
S – Stand in Your Strength
Reclaim your anchor—your values, your truths, your voice.
The Lioness Finally Roars
Weeks later, during another loud morning at home, Keshav began yelling about a misplaced electricity bill.
Sulochana stood up—not with rage, but with resolve. “Either manage your anger—or find a new home. I won’t live with a loudspeaker anymore.”
He froze. The woman he thought would stay silent forever had roared.
It wasn’t drama. It wasn’t revenge. It was reclamation.
“Your silence was loyalty to pain,” Akhil had once told her, “but your voice is loyalty to purpose.”
She chose purpose.
Your Turn: What’s Your KAHAANI?
Are you bottling emotions, hoping they’ll disappear?
Are you letting old narratives dictate your new opportunities?
What would change if you let your voice lead you, not your fears?
It’s not just about career growth. It’s about emotional freedom.
It’s not just about leading others. It’s about leading yourself first.
What’s Your KAHAANI?
Tell it. Reclaim it.
Live it — your way.
If this story resonates with you —
???? DM “Lead from Heart & Purpose” to book your Free Discovery Call.
It’s time to move from suppression to expression, from silence to strength.
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