Transforming Lives Through Service
New Book Highlights Nalini Nanjundayya's Journey Empowering Women Through Compassionate Service
Key Points
The initial encounter between the author Shanthi and Nalini at Prasanthi Nilayam anchors the book's narrative and signals the start of a transformative journey.
Nalini faced the emotional and practical burden of supporting herself and her three young children after her husband’s sudden death, prompting her to rebuild her life in India.
Her work extended beyond livelihoods to rebuilding confidence and self-worth in women through vocational training, counseling and personal mentorship.
Shanthi’s comment, “I was amazed by the quiet grace of one person... the extraordinary difference she could make in the lives of many others,” frames Nalini’s broader impact.
A new book released in May 2026 tells the story of Nalini Nanjundayya, a woman who turned personal tragedy into a decades-long mission to help vulnerable women in India. *Sai, Seva, Significance: A Journey to Purpose through Service*, written by Shanthi and published by Verses Kindler Publication, chronicles how the sudden death of Nalini's husband left her alone with three young children — and how she rebuilt her life by rebuilding others' iosconews.com.
The book draws on the spiritual philosophy of "Seva" — a Sanskrit term meaning selfless service — as taught by Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Through vocational training, counseling, and personal mentorship, Nalini's work helped over 120 women escape destitution within just four years of launching a formal state-home partnership reformer.com.
Grief Becomes the Starting Point for Change
Nalini and her family were living abroad — in the Middle East and later Zambia — when her husband died suddenly. Left with three young children, she returned to India and joined the Rotary Club of Bangalore in 1991 as one of its youngest members thewesterlysun.com. That step marked the beginning of a formal commitment to community service.
By 2000, she co-founded the LSN Memorial Trust, initially called the 4S Foundation, in Bangalore. Her daughter Niska co-founded the organization with her, carrying the mission into a second generation. Nalini also became the first woman president of the Rotarians Wine Fellowship of India and served on the Rotary Club of Bangalore's board for over six years local3news.com.
120 Women Trained, Employed, and Given Dignity
In 2004, Nalini partnered with Karnataka's then-Minister for Woman and Child Welfare to work inside the State Home of Karnataka. The program focused on women who were abandoned, exploited, or institutionalized. Between 2004 and 2008, the Trust helped 120 women gain skills and steady employment manchesterjournal.com.
The training was not one-size-fits-all. The program offered five tracks: Montessori teacher training, home management, beautician skills, healthcare support, and industrial garment work. Nalini said the goal was clear — "counseling these women to help them out of the trauma... so they could get employed and live with dignity." Each track was matched to a woman's strengths and circumstances reformer.com.
Faith and Service Working Side by Side
The book's author, Shanthi, first met Nalini at Prasanthi Nilayam, the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba. That meeting anchors the entire narrative. Sai Baba's teaching — "Love All, Serve All" — runs through the story as the spiritual engine behind Nalini's work iosconews.com.
Shanthi writes: "I was amazed by the quiet grace of one person... the extraordinary difference she could make in the lives of many others." The book argues that spirituality and practical empowerment are not opposites. They are tools that work together to drive lasting social change thewesterlysun.com.
A Legacy Reaching 5,000 Families and Beyond
The LSN Trust's reach expanded far beyond its founding mission. During the COVID-19 pandemic, from 2020 to 2022, the Trust provided food, sanitizers, and masks to over 5,000 families. It also refurbished a "Happy School" in Akki Thimannahalli to improve education for local children local3news.com.
One beneficiary, Lalitha, an orphan raised in state homes, put it plainly: "Life really began for me when Ms. Nalini Nanjundayya arrived... life has come a long way since that sad orphan girl." The book frames stories like Lalitha's as proof that one person's empathy, guided by faith, can ripple outward to change many lives manchesterjournal.com.
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