Freezing Thoughts

I once stood beneath an apple tree where Isaac Newton had watched a fruit fall, and gravity became a force that shaped the world. I've been in the classroom in Princeton where Albert Einstein once taught, feeling the chalkboard where the universe was explained in equations. I've sat in the room where Thomas Edison's patents were written, been to the lab from where Alexander Graham Bell made the first ever telephone call, and walked the paths around the CERN particle accelerator in Geneva where Stephen Hawking has traversed. I was even present when Elon Musk unveiled his human spaceflight plans at a conference in Adelaide.  As I look back on these moments and experiences, I am struck less by the physical spaces themselves and more by the meaning of having been there.  Through work, travel and a fair measure of good fortune, I have found myself moving between countries, institutions, labs, conferences and conversations that I could scarcely have imagined at the start of my ca...

It was a long day of meetings and discussions at the conference. I returned to my AirBnb, hung my coat in a hanger, sat and bent down to undo my shoes. A searing pain shot through from my lower back through every inch of my whole back. So intense that my scream of pain got stuck somewhere mid-throat, I choked and my vision blacked out for a second.  For the past month and a half, I've been traveling around multiple cities for work meetings. Not more than a couple of days in a same bed, working out of cafes, airports and trains, walking a lot with a heavy backpack, and sitting long hours on the most un-ergonomic chairs or seats.  Like many entrepreneurs, I've convinced myself that discomfort is merely the price of progress. After all, businesses do not grow by themselves! A packed schedule after an overnight journey, stretching from breakfast meetings through day-long discussions into late-night emails ? Bring it on, it’s just part of the job!  But unfortunately, the body ...

In today’s world, travel is heavily romanticized. Social media feeds are filled with stunning landscapes, exotic destinations and thrilling adventures, painting a picture of a traveler's life as one of constant wonder. As someone who gets asked, “Where are you?” more than, “How are you?” on phone calls, I can attest that the reality is more nuanced. While my journeys do take me to amazing places and occasions, whether witnessing the Northern Lights in the Arctic, watching a cricket match in Dubai, or exploring stunning landscapes of Canada or Australia, these experiences are mostly intertwined with work. It requires a lot of planning to weave my personal interests around work obligations, making every trip a major balancing act. It’s never about ticking off destinations or checking items off a bucket list for me. More often, my trips are driven by necessity; they are always accompanied by sudden meetings across time zones, conference schedules, and long unplanned stays for forging ...

When the English cricket team embraced Bazball under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, it closely resembled what often happens when a struggling company brings in a new leader to shake things up. A classic example is Apple in the late 1990s. When Steve Jobs returned, Apple was fearful, slow and close to irrelevance. Jobs simplified everything, removed hesitation and encouraged boldness. The early iMacs were colorful, unconventional, and energizing. Importantly, that phase wasn’t about perfection, it was about restoring belief. Bazball did the same for England; after years of tentative, joyless cricket, Stokes and McCullum told players to stop worrying about consequences and simply play. Confidence returned, players expressed themselves and results followed quickly. Like Apple’s revival, the initial success was real and deserved.  However, many turnarounds fail when the corrective idea becomes absolute truth, rather than a temporary remedy. This happened at Uber after its explosive e...

There comes a point, often after years of striving, when the summit you’ve chased finally lies beneath your feet, instead of elation, you feel a strange stillness. The corner office, the passport filled with stamps, latest gadgets, the many comforts of life you now take for granted that once seemed a distant dream, they’re all here. Tangible and earned. Yet somewhere in the quiet between the achievements, a question begins to stir, ' Was this what I was really seeking ?'  For years, the world’s symbols of success guided your direction. The long hours, the missed moments of life, nothing more than fleeting conversations with near and dear, and the many sacrifices of yourself and those close to you, they were all part of the price agreed upon silently and implicitly. You told yourself that meaning would arrive at the destination, that peace would wait patiently at the end of accomplishment. Now that you’ve arrived, you find that the peace demands something deeper, an honest intro...

Some experiences in life feel like stepping into a lavish feast, a spread so abundant that picking a single favourite dish seems unfair. Every flavour has its own charm: the fiery heat, the quiet comfort, the unexpected surprise, and the familiar favourite. You leave the table not because you want to, but because you can’t possibly take in more, even though every part of you wishes you could. That’s what this England vs India Test series felt like. It had all the flavours you could ask for in cricket. There was the spice of confrontations that sparked fire, the warmth of mutual respect even in the fiercest battles, the sweetness of young talent blossoming, the layered richness of experience from veterans, and the bitterness of defeat after a phase when an impossible win seemed within reach. It wasn’t a contest you could sum up in a single moment. It was a full course, each session of play offering a new taste, and together they made a feast that reminded us why Test cricket is still th...

There’s a moment in the Mahabharata, after the trumpets of victory fall silent, when Arjuna turns to Krishna, his charioteer, and asks him to step down from the chariot first, as a mark of respect to the warrior. It was Arjuna’s moment of accomplishment and vanity, for he had carried the weight of the war on his shoulders, believing his strength had seen it through.  But Krishna refuses. He instructs Arjuna to descend first. Only after Arjuna obeys does Krishna step down himself, and along with him Hanuman, who was gracing the flag of the chariot, also leaves. The next instant, the grand chariot erupts into flames and crumbles to ashes. It had been damaged, struck, pierced, and cursed during the war. What had kept it from collapsing throughout the battle wasn’t Arjuna’s ability to intercept everything, but it was the presence of Krishna and Hanuman. As long as divinity remained within, the destruction had held its breath. Once this realization hits him, Arjuna instantly regrets his...

 "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...

Entrepreneurship took a full hold of me this year; from a solo-operator with limited offerings, we have now grown in size (12 people), expanded our services (3 distinct verticals) and set-up entities in multiple geographies (3 countries). While the journey and experiences are rewarding and immensely gratifying, the flip-side of keeping-up with this growth is the limited time I get to focus on my hobbies. Especially blogging, for it needs proper time and space to articulate properly, and they are two commodities very scarce in my life right now! Dare I promise myself to spend more time blogging next year at least ? One thing I do not mind (in fact, enjoy a lot) is the constant travel. Though I did reach a point of saturation and got fed-up living out of suitcase during one very long stint in September, mostly it was great to go around, meet varied people and see the world recover from the pandemic. It was good to have multiple destinations and multiple interrelated purposes, and a chanc...

சிறுவயதில் உறங்குவதற்கு முன் சிறிது நேரம் பாட்டியுடன் ஏதாவது கதை பேசிவிட்டு (அல்லது கேட்டுவிட்டு) உறங்குவது வழக்கம். சில விஷயங்களை தாய் தந்தையுடன் பகிர்ந்து கொள்வதை விட பாட்டியுடன் பகிர்வதில் ஒருவித மகிழ்ச்சி. பள்ளியில் மறுநாள் ஏதாவது போட்டி அல்லது பரீட்சை என்றால் அடிவயிற்றில் பட்டாம்பூச்சி பறப்பது இயல்பு தானே. அப்படிப்பட்ட தருணங்களில் "பாட்டி, நாளைக்கு ஸ்கூல்ல டெஸ்ட் இருக்கு. பயம்மா இருக்கு." என்று கூறினால் தவறாமல் வரும் பதில், "எதுக்கு பயப்படணும் ? நீ ஏமாத்தல, பொய் சொல்லல, திருடல. இது எதுவும் பண்ணாதவன் எதுக்கும் பயப்பட வேண்டாம்." எவ்வளவு பெரிய விஷயத்தை எவ்வளவு அனாயாசமாக சொல்லிவிட்டாள்! வாழ்க்கையில் சில மலைக்க வைக்கும் தருணங்களிலும், பெரிய நெருக்கடி தரும் தொல்லைகள் வந்த போதிலும், பயம் என்ற ஒன்று சற்று எட்டி பார்க்கும் நேரத்தில் எல்லாம், ஒரு மந்திரம் போல தைரியம் கொடுத்த வார்த்தைகள் அவை.  சிறுவயது முதல் பல கஷ்ட நஷ்டங்களை அனுபவித்து இருந்தாலும், அவைகளைத்தாண்டி எப்பொழுதும் தனக்கும் தன்னை சுற்றி இருப்பவர்களுக்கும் ஒரு  ஆக்கபூர்வமான சூழ்நிலையை உருவாக்கிக்  கொள்வதில் கெட்...

Side-hustle has become a term that's becoming too prevalent in conversations these days. Quite a lot is being written and talked about it, right from " proven side-hustlers " sharing their tips (for a fee, of course!) to groups/clubs, where aspiring hustlers could share tales and grow from their experiences. Since things tend to proliferate too easily these days, often diminishing the value and quality of the very thing, here is an attempt to take a quick look at the phenomenon and maybe help the reader set realistic goals. Why do you want to do it? Maybe it is a long-lost hobby of yours or just a means to make some additional money, it is always good to have a clear understanding about the reason that's driving you into it. " Everyone seems to be doing it. " or " Someone told me to do it. " are not acceptable ones! The reason should be internal, something that makes you seek neither validation nor approval from parties who are not related to it.  ...

Of late, words like ‘great’, 'awesome' and 'epic' seem too commonplace; we use them too graciously to show appreciation for even little things. But the recently concluded Australia vs India Test series was definitely a great exhibition of character and resilience, an awesome endorsement for Test cricket, and an epic victory for India, in the truest possible sense of these adjectives! Not having the services of 6-7 first choice players in a team of 11 players, perennially losing players to injuries during and after every match, having a stand-in captain whose place in the team was questioned, being on the road for more than 5 months with restricted access to amenities and strict quarantine rules, facing arguably the best current Test bowling attack in their home conditions, and losing the first match of the series after getting out to the lowest score ever - any one of these is enough to hamper the preparation and deter the confidence of a team. But this Indian team d...

A 5-year old kid wishes to go out and play. Unable to accompany the kid for half an hour (owing to work stuff or house errands), and in order the stop the kid from bothering them, the parents hand-over a mobile phone and say, " Watch YouTube " or " Play a game ". Later in the day, the kid doesn't eat supper on-time, and the parents spend a lot of time cajoling, negotiating (with sweets as a reward) and finally forcing the kid to eat, an ordeal that lasts almost an hour! Due to the lack of physical exertion, and a long time spent staring at the mobile screen followed by a late dinner, the kid is unable to sleep properly. After tossing and turning for hours, followed by a disturbed sleep, guess how the next morning would be at that household! Imagine if most days of the kid's childhood are spent this way, and upon reaching adolescence they realize how much irreversible physical and mental damage the bad habits have caused? We all wish to do something that'...

Exactly one year ago, I was travelling in California, staying at my cousin's place and doing the usual traveler stuff; attending Halloween parades, road-trip to Vegas and Grand Canyon. Who would have imagined then how much times were set to change in the succeeding 12 months! Many things we assumed as constants in life have changed beyond recognition, while many others we had always assumed as transcending variables are sticking around longer.  It is like a collective " You know nothing, Jon Snow. " phase for the whole world.  While economies will recover, profits/investments can be consolidated and career paths readjusted, the irreversible loss of lives will cast an everlasting shadow. It feels indecent, intrusive and even inhuman to come to terms with a reality where life is lost over a handshake, a hug, or simply physical proximity to a fellow human, more often their own kith and kin.  My stay in San Diego last year coincided with the date of  Día de Muertos ...

கொரோனா  இந்த மூன்றெழுத்துதான் இன்று உலகத்தை ஆட்டிப்படைத்து, மூச்ச்சுத்திணற வைத்துக் கொண்டிருக்கிறது. அமெரிக்கா என்றாலும் அடுத்த தெரு அத்தை வீடாக இருந்தாலும் யாரும் யாரையும் நேரில் சென்று சந்திக்க முடியாத ஒரு வினோத நிலை. எது வேண்டும் என்றாலும் மொபைல் போன் அல்லது லேப்டாப் தான் கதி. இந்த அழகான முப்பரிமாண வாழ்க்கையை இரு பரிமாணத்தில் மட்டும் வாழும் அவலம்.   குழந்தைகளின் பள்ளிக்கூடமும் பெற்றோர்களின் அலுவலகங்களும் அடுத்தடுத்த அறைகளில் ஜம்மென்று நடக்கின்றன. இந்த அளவுக்கு எல்லாமே கணினிமயம் ஆகிவிட்டது ஒரு சாதனைதான் என்றாலும், அதில் சில ஆபத்துகளும் இருக்கத்தான் செய்கின்றன. ஓடி விளையாட முடியாத பாப்பாக்களும் ஓய்ந்தே இருக்கும் பெரியவர்களும் ஒரு ஆரோக்கியமான சமூகத்தின் அங்கமாக இருக்கமுடியாது.   அலுவலகம் என்பது ஒரு தனி இடமாக இருப்பது சில எல்லைகளை வளர்க்க உதவும். 'வீட்டு விஷயங்கள் வீட்டில், அலுவலக வேலைகள் வெளியே' என்ற நிலை, பன்னாட்டு நிறுவனங்கள் நமக்கு ஆசைஆசையாய் லேப்டாப் ஏற்பாடு செய்து குடுக்கும்போதே தேயத் துவங்கின. இப்பொழுது கட்டாய Work from Home (WFH) என்ற நிலையில் எந்த ஒரு வர...