A Hyderabad lawyer stepped away from his corporate life and became a stay-at-home dad, discovering a fulfilling role he hadn't anticipated. Nishant Chaturvedi, a former corporate leader with over a decade of experience, now spends his days with his six-year-old son Shiven, discussing daily meals and managing household routines.
The Big Decision
Nishant and his wife Vibhuti both come from small-town backgrounds—Nishant from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and Vibhuti from Ambala in Haryana. They met during their early years as lawyers in Delhi, sharing a cab ride that eventually led to a shared life. Their professional journeys took them to Hyderabad, where they built their careers and welcomed their son in 2019. For years, both balanced professional and personal lives.
Nishant's corporate journey was exemplary, working with global pharmaceutical companies including Novartis and Sandoz. However, in 2024, a global restructuring left him and his team redundant. For Vibhuti, the news was a shock, but she knew the event wouldn't define her husband. What neither realized was that a completely new phase was about to begin.
A New Phase
Around the same time, Vibhuti stepped into a new role requiring intense hours and focus, including weekends. Without a formal decision, Nishant began taking more responsibilities at home. While he was an involved father even when working, from early 2025, he became more actively involved, executing morning school routines, afternoon homework, and evening activities.
“The biggest surprise was not the volume of work, it was the nature of it,” he admitted to a media house. “You’re constantly switching roles—teacher, planner, caregiver, and none of it follows a fixed timeline.”
Life at Home
Nishant hasn't completely logged off work, but today his calendar is built around consulting calls and mentoring sessions fitted around his son's timetable. For some time, he missed corporate validation—the titles, deadlines, and roles. “I realised that just because a title is missing doesn’t mean your capability disappears,” he said. “What matters is whether you’re still showing up, still growing, still contributing, just in a different way.”
Only after stepping into the role himself did he realise how difficult it is to manage a household while maintaining a professional life. “The effort that goes into running a home is constant,” he shared. “It doesn’t pause, it doesn’t get measured, and most of the time, it doesn’t even get acknowledged.”
But Vibhuti acknowledges and is thankful for what Nishant does. He levies no sense of sacrifice or burden, just helps where he can. They hold the fort together. While he plans the days, she ensures participation by packing tiffins, helping with school work, and more. For them, it isn't about stepping into or outside roles; it's about what their life and child need right now.
“There are phases,” Vibhuti said. “Sometimes one person leans into work more, sometimes the other. What matters is that the system holds.”
“Parenting is not something you divide, it’s something you share. And the more we start seeing it that way, the stronger our homes, and our children, will be,” reflected Nishant.
While the world is yet to get accustomed to such roles, giving glances and remarks, what matters is what suits your family.
