Stories of Impact: Miheeka Daggubati on Why Mudita Tribe Exists, and What Healing Should Actually Look Like

56 million people in India live with depression, and 38 million with anxiety, with onset for some as early as age 10 to 12. For Miheeka Daggubati, founder of Mudita Tribe Foundation, those figures were not abstract. Her encounters with individuals battling mental health struggles and the silent weight of stress and isolation she witnessed became a call she could not ignore. Mudita Tribe was born not as another NGO, but as what she calls a resolute safety boat for people fighting what often feels like a battle in a tempestuous sea.

The pandemic sharpened the case for it. With no distraction left from people's inner worlds, loneliness, anxiety, and burnout surfaced everywhere, often for the first time, in people who had no language or space to process what they were feeling. Daggubati realised that before solutions, people needed somewhere to be honest. That insight shaped everything that followed: a roster of mental health professionals, paired with breathwork, art, and community gatherings, designed to meet people wherever they were in their journey.

As our series Stories of Impact continues to celebrate inspiring journeys, this month we spotlight Miheeka's story and speak with her about Mudita Tribe's origin, where it goes from here, and what healing should actually look like.

Robb Report India (RR): What was the moment that made you realise India needed a space like Mudita Tribe?

Miheeka Daggubati (MD): It was during the pandemic that I realised that while Covid affected all of us in different ways, it also quietly exposed something much deeper. It showed us how we were struggling emotionally. There was suddenly no escape or distraction from our inner worlds. So many of us were left sitting with emotions we had never really had the time, or perhaps even the tools, to process. Loneliness crept in, as did anxiety, and the realisation of burnout and depression. Conversations around mental health became more frequent, but were still limited to intimate rooms, since many people still did not know where to seek support or simply be heard. The pandemic did not create a mental health crisis, it simply made visible what had always been there. There were moments in my own life, too, that helped me understand the value of simply being heard. I realised that before people look for solutions, they often just need somewhere they can be honest. That became the foundation of Mudita Tribe.

RR: How does Mudita Tribe try to be a safety net in practical terms?

MD: I do not think there is a single path to supporting someone's mental wellbeing, which is why we have always tried to take a holistic approach. For some people, reaching out begins quietly through a piece of content they come across online. For others, it is through attending a community gathering or workshop. And for many, it is about knowing there is a trusted mental health professional they can turn to when they are ready. We have built a roster of qualified mental health professionals, alongside self-help tools such as breathwork, yoga, movement, guided meditation, music, and art. These are not alternatives to professional care, they are complementary practices. We also see advocacy as part of our work, through initiatives like Mindful Evenings with Mudita in Delhi, alongside Renuka Chowdhury. At the same time, we are developing programmes for rural communities, with the aim of making mental health resources more accessible in places where they are often limited.

RR: What do you think is still missing from India's conversation on youth mental health?

MD: We have never been more connected digitally, yet many of us have never felt more disconnected from one another. Young people today are growing up in a world that is moving faster than ever before, exposed to social media at an age when they are still discovering who they are. I do not think the answer is to take technology away. It is to help young people build a strong sense of self away from their screens as well, through creativity, sport, time in nature, meaningful friendships, and open conversations at home. Just as importantly, we need to teach emotional literacy. We teach children mathematics, science, and language, but we rarely teach them how to recognise what they are feeling, how to cope with disappointment, or how to ask for help without shame. Those are life skills too.

RR: Do you see a connection between your design work and your mental health work, or are they separate?

MD: I have honestly always seen them as one. Whether I am designing a home, curating an exhibition through Art Connect, or building a community through Mudita Tribe, I am ultimately trying to create experiences that make people feel something. The medium changes, but the intention remains the same. The spaces we inhabit shape the way we think, feel, and connect with one another. I do not see separate ventures. I see different expressions of the same philosophy, one rooted in creating experiences that are thoughtful, intentional, and deeply human.

RR: What would meaningful, long-term impact look like for Mudita Tribe five years from now?

MD: I would love to see emotional wellbeing become a more natural part of our everyday conversations, where asking for help feels as normal as going to the doctor when you are physically unwell. I hope Mudita Tribe has a truly national presence by then, reaching people through communities, partnerships, and programmes that make these conversations more accessible. Beyond that, there is a bigger dream we are working towards: a physical home for Mudita Tribe, a place that reflects everything we believe in. I do not imagine it as a clinic. I imagine it as a place of belonging, where different approaches to wellbeing exist alongside one another, and where every person is given the freedom to discover what healing, growth, and balance look like for them.