Freezing Thoughts

 "Asgard is not a place. It’s the people." I remember watching Thor: Ragnarok and feeling that line land deep in my bones. Not because it was heroic or dramatic, but because it finally gave a name to something I had lived for years, without ever knowing how to speak it. When you’re constantly on the move, the walls blur. But what never fades are the people who became home, or your Asgard, for a while.  Asgard is a late-night conversation with your cousin in a semi-furnished apartment. It’s the quiet solidarity of a friend helping you lift your life. It’s the look shared across a conference room, where something real passed between two people, who knew they were about to build something that wouldn’t last forever, and chose to build it anyway. An involuntary hug, a gaze held a tad too long, a pat on top of a handshake, glistening eyes, a little nod, unfinished sentences - these are my Asgards.  Brief, luminous, unforgettable. Like constellations across the night sky of mem...

House No. 39.  I haven’t moved into it yet. But I already know I won’t be packing it into boxes. By the time you’ve moved 38 times across 11 cities and 4 countries, you start to measure life differently. Not in square footage or bank statements, but in how long you let your heart stay open before the next inevitable goodbye. People have often asked me: Why so many moves? Was it work? Was it choice? Was it restlessness? Sometimes I moved because I had to. Other times, because I knew something inside me had already left, even if my body hadn’t caught up yet. This post is not about the cities, or the airports, or even the houses. It’s about the pattern I only recently recognized, one where I build something beautiful; a business, a friendship, a future, and then quietly, and respectfully walk away. And now, as I stand before House No. 39, metaphorically or literally, I wonder: What happens if I don’t walk away this time? What happens if I stay? Not just physically. Emotionally. Spirit...

Adulthood isn’t just about responsibilities, it’s about the ability to make decisions with clarity, using reason and experience (sometimes your gut!) as guides. The real challenge is not in knowing what’s right, but in acting without being paralyzed by self-doubt or the pursuit of perfection. Overthinking can be a silent roadblock. The endless cycle of weighing every possibility, fearing missteps, and chasing a flawless outcome often leads to hesitation. But in reality, no decision is ever perfect, only well-informed. Maturity lies in understanding that action, tempered with wisdom, is far more valuable than inaction driven by uncertainty. True confidence comes from trusting oneself to navigate choices with the best available information, accepting that learning comes from doing, not just deliberating. The ability to decide and move forward, without being trapped by the fear of imperfection, is what defines true adulthood.

Everybody wants to be The Batman! Not because they want to don a cape and fight crime, but because he embodies traits that are universally aspirational; stuff like perseverance, justice, morality, intellect, and resilience. His journey resonates with people across cultures because it reflects fundamental human struggles and ambitions in climbing up Maslow’s hierarchy.  Bruce Wayne’s journey reminds us that the path to self-realization is laden with challenges, it’s a reflection of the human spirit’s capacity for growth and transcendence. And who better than Christopher Nolan to provide a layered exploration of the Dark Knight’s human condition, transformation, and the pursuit of purpose!  Viewed through the lens of philosophy, Bruce’s evolution from a vengeful young man to a selfless protector can be interpreted as a journey towards self-realization. The trilogy maps this spiritual path through the principles of Dharma, Karma, and Moksha .  Batman Begins: The Pursuit of D...

Why does it feel like a personal achievement that the Indian cricket team won the T20 World Cup yesterday? And why did it feel like a day of national mourning on November 20th, 2023, after India lost the ODI World Cup finals? Why is cricket in India more than just a professional sport, and instead a deeply personal experience for fans? In the final quarter of the 20th century, Indian society was on the cusp of growth, burdened by the scars of colonialism. But in 1983, through a simple game of bat and ball—one of the remnants of colonial rule—inequalities were momentarily erased. Kapil Dev, a small-town hero, led a team of underdogs to victory in the biggest arena of the cricketing world, providing new hope to a nation thirsty for inspiration. India literally ' beat them in their own game '! Through the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, a generation of Indian kids (and young adults) grew up watching an unbelievable talisman named Sachin Tendulkar bring immense joy through his...

The last few months took me to various parts of the world, and gave me a chance to interact with a lot of cab and rickshaw drivers. From a homegrown collective of auto-rickshaws in Coimbatore to G7 Taxi in Paris, through the spectrum of Ola-Uber-FastTrack-RedTaxi-Careem, and the individual operators, my conversations yielded a lot of learning. They can be broadly classified into 3 categories: a) Driving solely on one/more ride hailing apps b) Do not drive for any ride hailing apps and only take offline bookings c) Drive for one/more ride hailing apps, and take offline bookings as well Category (a) turned out to be predominantly those who took up the profession after they saw that cab drivers made good money with zero business development efforts. They also turn out to be the ones who told me stories of unpaid EMI payments and abandoning cars in highways, as the dwindling payouts and changing rules for incentives on the ride hailing apps meant a very unsteady and diminished income. Ther...