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A Hyderabad lawyer stepped away from his corporate life and became a stay-at-home dad . What he didn't realise was how fulfilling the role would be. Nishant Chaturvedi , a former corporate leader with over a decade of experience now spends his days with his six-year-old son Shiven, discussing what meals of the day look like.

The big decision
Nishant and his wife Vibhuti both came from small-town lives. He is from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and she is from Ambala in Haryana. During their early years as lawyers in Delhi, they met each other and shared a cab ride which eventually led to them sharing a life together.

Their professional journeys took them to Hyderabad where they built their careers and welcomed their son in 2019. For years, both of them balanced their professional and personal lives.

Nishant's corporate journey was an exemplary one. He had worked with global pharmaceutical companies including Novartis and Sandoz. However, in 2024, a global restructuring left him and his team redundant. For Vibhuti, the news came as a shock, but she knew that the event wouldn't define her husband.

However, what neither of them realised was that a completely new phase was set to begin. Around the same time, Vibhuti stepped into a new role, one requiring intense hours and focus and also weekends. Without formally making a decision, Nishant began taking more responsibilities at home. While he was an involved father even when he was 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
He has not completely logged off work, but today, his calendar is built around consulting calls and mentoring sessions built around his son's timetable. For some time, the corporate validation felt missing, the titles, the deadlines, the 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.”

Moreover, it was only until he stepped into the role himself that he realised how difficult it is to take care of a household while still having 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 what Nishant does, Vibhuti acknowledges and is thankful for. He levies no sense of sacrifice or burden, just helps out where he can. They hold the fort down together. While he plans the days, she ensures participation by packing the tiffins, helping with school work and more.

For them, it isn't about stepping into or outside some roles, it is 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.