Pankhuri Awasthy Opens Up About Balancing Motherhood and Work: ‘Leaving My Babies Was Heart-Wrenching’
Pankhuri Awasthy Rode, a Lucknow native, has been navigating the joys and challenges of motherhood after welcoming twins, a boy and a girl, into her life in July this year. While relishing her role as a hands-on mother, the actress recently made her return to work with a new commercial project. She shared her feelings about this transition, emphasizing her commitment to taking on manageable projects while cherishing her precious time with her newborns.
In a recent interview, Pankhuri explained her initial work plans, stating, “I am just taking small projects for now. I am starting out with ads and little home shoots.” She further elaborated on her recent experience, saying, “This was the first time that I stepped out after becoming a mother, for proper shooting for an ad that spanned over three to four days at different locations in Mumbai only. I am not taking up shows right now, although two of them were offered to me, as that was something that I thought I couldn’t manage. I don’t want to be away from my kids for very long as of now. Maybe, I will resume shooting properly, especially for smaller formats, once my kids are three months old.”
Expressing the emotional challenge of leaving her twins behind for work, Pankhuri candidly shared, “It is not easy at all. I am so new to being a mom. It cannot be a good feeling, and I was feeling so guilty in leaving them at home. Even when I am at home, and they are sleeping in another room, I miss them and want to wake them up and be with them. It is like they overwhelm you, but at the same time, you do not want to stay away from them too.”
She continued, “Having said that, it is also about regaining my own identity as suddenly I had transformed into a new person who is a mother. For 32 years, I have known myself, and this person has different passions and interests, and once you deliver babies, for a short while, things do change. Even though the kids are your world, you wonder what happened to that old person – the Pankhuri I used to know.”
Pankhuri also touched upon her postpartum experience, sharing insights into her initial struggles and the support she received from her husband, Gautam Rode. She mentioned her journey of weight loss after pregnancy and her approach to feeding her twins, emphasizing her desire for their well-being.
Balancing motherhood and career is undoubtedly a significant challenge for Pankhuri Awasthy, but her candid reflections highlight the deep emotional connection she shares with her children and her determination to nurture her identity as a new mother while exploring her professional endeavors.