Andheri Baaton Main
rushikeshgk2 Andheri east is the underbelly of the corporate world. Its lanes and nooks smell of enterprise. It is within these industrial estates and the galas lie small ambitious, gutsy businesses…
wake up
Time to wake up From this slumber And face the harsh Realities of life Face problems beyond The spreadsheets and slide decks Over the figures and charts Away from recommendations…
sore throats and silence
Talk a lot and then your throat starts to hurt. It’s a sign that you have been silent for too long. Silence is golden, but too much of it can…
Metro to Work
Until Monday I had never taken the metro to go to work. It was always for non official commutes. But when I was required to be at the infamous Saki…
A day without music
A day without music is terrible. But what happens when you go on for days without listening to music. I know it seems improbable but I didn’t realise that I…
Time
They said to me Laziness is your enemy Get rid of it Don’t throw a fit Don’t stay in bed Wake up and get ahead Those who hit snooze Always…
Ocean Currents at the Railway Station
Rushikesh Kulkarni The heart is a good indicator of your mind. Is that why they call some matters, the matters of your heart? Mostly they are related to how one feels about…
A Ramadan Special
Food unites us all. Which is why breaking bread together has been a long tradition symbolising bonhomie and respect. But today food can also polarise and divide. Dietary preferences can…
Powering Will
There are a few brands that I like. I am not a big fan of branded stuff. But there are a few standardised SST brands (Sasta – Sundar – Tikau)…
Sepia
Sepia hued streets remind me of the late nights that I spent wandering around the city which used to be my only home. When there was no end of the…
No time no time
Bangalore in bloom is a wonderful sight. But it also makes me nostalgic of the times that they have been. Spring for a Bombay person is an alien concept but…
In Flow
Seeking motivation and inspiration is futile. What one must pursue is the state of flow. When you are so immersed in your task that you forget to eat, sleep and…
Mysteries of Hotel Rooms
Ultimately a hotel room is not a home. It’s a temporary arrangement, a modern avatar for the age old inn, a place to keep your bags and rest, until it…
Abracadabra
The wonder of magic tricks is a beautiful thing. Until the secret is revealed. Life is like that. All but a sleight of hand. That one clever hack. That one…
Sakkath Namma Bengaluru
When the news of a loud explosion at Rameshwaram Cafe broke, all of us assumed that it must have been a cylinder blast. But as the story progressed and new…
On a funny note
There’s a genre in comedy called cynical comedy. I didn’t know that. But then I watched the special by Ricky Gervais on Netflix. Then I realised that being angry with…
Connundrum
Life is a connundrum. That’s all life is. An endless maze of choices and conflicts and the ensuing confusion, and the occasional contenment. Life also goes on. It doesn’t stop.…
Night Time
There is a beautiful star in the sky which is not a star. Stars blink, this one doesn’t. It is a planet. It is Jupiter. The skymap app is such…
Monk Mode Wanted
At the end of a long day, there is very little to say and talk about. Often times one is so overwhelmed with the passings of the day that one…
21 Days of Writing Continuously
It takes 21 days to build a habit. I am not sure how scientific this claim is. But I can tell you that doing something continuously every day is difficult.…
Essentiallity of Travel
Midair is a strange place. Ever since I wrote the first post, my opportunities of flying have increased. Flying in and out of the city is a good feeling. The…
Escaping to Uttan
One evening in November I decided to take the train to Bhayander to visit Uttan. It had been on my list for a long time and I had found some…
Flying with the Moon
Mid air seems to be the only time where there is no escaping my thoughts. These are the moments when I miss the internet the most. From being an information…
It takes a village
It takes a village, they say. Lucky are those for whom the village is ready to band together for individual success. Often, a village is just a handful of people.…
In Vain Pursuit of the Ideal State
Writing is an ideal state activity or so I used to think. You need silence, a good medium and of course, uninterrupted mindshare to focus and craft your thoughts as…
Leaving work at dusk
It is magical To walk out When the sun is about to set The golden light On faces of tired souls A glimmer of hope for their fate It is…
Midair Musings Again
The mid-air time has returned once again. The last time I did this, it was a fortnight ago. The tray table has been upgraded on these seats and it feels…
Much ado about work
Work is essential. Rest is only meaningful if there is work. Only rest makes your muscles go weak. But overworking can lead to burnout. And burnout is real. I once…
Sundays in National Park
There are very few cities which are blessed with such a dense forest within its geographical boundaries. Mumbai is one such blessed city. Thankfully I grew up not far from…
So much to do
There is so much to do. There is so little time. There is a wealth of information to be gained. There are many courses to be done. There is a…
Iterative Living
If you are into version control then you know the number of drafts it takes before you achieve the V27_final_final.doc version of your document. The beauty of constantly iterating is…
Turning to Sant Kabir
Impatience is nothing to be proud of. But it is a weakness that I have come to openly acknowledge. Being patient is a virtue they say. You must wait. Good…
A Blank Page
I am not sure why but the white sheet in front of me seemed more welcoming to me today. It didn’t seem threatening or frightening. In fact it seemed more…
The Amazing Autowallahs of Bandra East
The rickshaw wallahs of Bandra East are an industrious lot, especially the ones who run between Bandra east and BKC. They may seem undisciplined and ruthless. But they are just…
Looking for Nayakan
Over a few train rides to work and back, I managed to finish watching Nayakan. The biopic is based on the life of Varadarajan Mudaliar or Vardha bhai as he…
Bandra West Tales
It is hard to fault Bandra West. Each time I visit this part of the city, I wonder why I feel intrigued by it a little bit more. Even though…
Morning Morning
The inevitable has happened. I missed my daily deadline. I knew that starting this challenge would have some challenges. It’s just that I didn’t anticipate to fail so fast. But…
Figuring it out on a walk
There is an excllent path between VT and Hornimam Circle. That path begins at Puncham Puri Wala and cuts through Bora Bazaar and finally opens up at the RBI museum.…
Midair Musings
By the time this gets published, I would have landed at my destination. Typing on the flight is a strange experience. It makes me feel like Nassim Nicholas Taleb who…
In Search of Silent Solitude
Speech is silver, silence is golden they say. In other words, they mean keep your trap shut. It’s such a condescending way of saying something polite, like please maintain silence.…
An Ode to Orion
Many years ago a bunch of us would accompany a group of astronomy enthusiasts as they made their way to an open field in Vangani, about an hour and half…
Barbershop Tales on Excellence
Until I moved out to pursue my masters, I would get my hair cut at the same saloon. That was the case until 2016. I graduated in 2018, and my…
Social Control on the AC Local
A few days ago I discovered that if I timed my departure just right, I could catch the AC local to work. Now to say “catch” is of course, incorrect…
A Post Everyday – Day 1
A post everyday. It seems obsessive. But I think this is a good way to build discipline. Otherwise I will put off writing until I strike inspiration. Which is what…
Escape Stories – Varanasi
This December, work beckoned me to Varanasi and I decided to stay back for a few days more. This city has always been intriguing to me, and more so since…
My Adventures With Learning – As An Adult
Adult learning is a tricky business. Since my my civil services preparation days I have been trying to figure out the best ways of learning for myself. Back then I…
Escape Stories – Ludhiana
Punjab has always been fascinating to me. My father had told me stories of his time travelling through Rural Punjab in the 80s and his accounts of that period were…
An Extraordinary Slice of History
There are spaces in the city which lead a quiet existence. There is no pomp or show. These spaces derive their strength from the purpose for which they exist. One…
The Need for Green Spaces
No Magic Trick This A few days ago the Sea Link disappeared. It was gone with a dozen other buildings on the skyline. It was like P.C Sorcar and David…
Daily Commute & its Impact on Productivity
Hustle Everyday, Everyday Hustle Your commute to the office has an impact on your productivity at work. This seemingly obvious factor has often been overlooked. Most productivity literature including the…
In Search of Kadak Chai
When I was preparing for the UPSC exam, I would spend a considerable amount of time at the David Sassoon Library at Kala Ghoda. At about 4 PM, a couple…
The Magic of Collective Effervescence
Power of Belonging A few weeks ago, I was waiting for my evening train at the station. Everyone around me was hooked onto their mobile screens. Nothing unusual, except that…
Sunny Days – My Time at Samsung (SRI-B)
It was a chilly morning on the 3rd Sunday of November 2017 in Mumbai. About twenty of us were huddled up in our classroom at TISS for a Pre-Placement Talk…
Becoming A Better Listener – Lessons from Coaching
I have always considered myself to be good at making conversations. Knowing something about many things has been an added advantage. But this was not sufficient at the workplace. Workplace…
What Mumbai Really Needs
2023 is an important year for the city of Mumbai. The elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation – the prime local governing body are slated to be held this year.…
Coffee – The Everyday Elixir
A cup of Coffee can be many things other than being just a cup of coffee. The sociologist Anthony Giddens in his classic textbook on Sociology, introduces us to the…
Cleaning up Toxic Workplaces
Screen capture is a potent tool. Last week, a screengrab recording of an MS teams call went viral. A senior leader of a bank was seen berating his team for…
Celebrating Diversity Everyday
There is one Marathi song which has become a rage across the internet. Sung by Shreya Ghoshal and composed by the geniuses – Ajay and Atul, Baharla Ha Madhumas has…
Mental Health is Key
Mental health is underrated. You don’t realise its importance until it deteriorates. Mental wellbeing, like overall health, is not just the absence of illness. It is how well you handle…
5 Years of Being in HR
It is a cold rainy evening in Bangalore as I sit down to write this. It has been five years since I moved to this beautiful city. The move came…