Category Archives: MY ADVICE

I learnt karate during my college days—three long, intense years. I trained hard, practicing all my katas under the blazing sun on cement concrete. I hardened my knuckles doing push-ups on it. Every day, I strengthened myself with 100 punches and 50 double punches. I could handle the nunchaku and even do a full split.Continue reading “What My Karate Teacher Taught Me”

If there’s anything I’ve spent more time on than reading spiritual literature, meditating, or practicing astrology, it has to be ornamental fish and photography. My love for ornamental fish goes all the way back to 3rd grade—1982. And photography? That started in 1994, the moment I saw an SLR camera in a friend’s hand. TheseContinue reading “Enjoy the Roller Coaster Ride”

For the last 22 years, I’ve made it a strict personal rule: No malls on weekends. No temples on Tuesdays, Fridays, or festival days. Not because I hate shopping or have a problem with God. I have a problem with Indians in crowds. It’s fascinating—and frustrating—how a country with a population of 1.4 billion still hasn’tContinue reading “Why I Don’t Visit Malls on Weekends or Temples on Auspicious Days”

When humans go up the ladder, there are signs. When humans go down the ladder, there are signs. Never ignore the signs. Success doesn’t arrive unannounced. Nor does downfall. The universe speaks in subtle languages — patterns, behaviors, energy shifts, sudden silences, or unexpected applause. Every rise and every fall is preceded by signs thatContinue reading “Never Ignore the Signs”

“Cleaner’s son clears IIT.” “Sweeper’s daughter cracks NEET.” “Rickshaw puller’s son becomes IAS officer.” Every now and then, headlines like these flash across newspapers and social media, celebrated with awe and pride. They are often seen as proof that meritocracy still lives—that anyone, from anywhere, can rise to the top. But beneath the applause, there’sContinue reading “We All Came From the Same Cave”

Three years ago, I had a severe muscle spasm in my back. A top neurologist at Apollo Hospital suggested I get an MRI scan. My wife, being the research-savvy person she is, immediately looked up the prices online. What she found was baffling: MRI scans were priced very differently at different centres — and ApolloContinue reading “Why I Avoid Adventure Activities in India “

Back in the late 1990s, when I was pursuing my Master’s degree in Coimbatore, the half saree was a familiar sight. It was more than just a garment — it was a symbol. A symbol of tradition, of transition, of identity. Girls would walk into college draped in vibrant pavadai davani (as we called it),Continue reading “The Vanishing Half Saree: A Death in Silence”

In most Indian schools and colleges, annual days, cultural fests, or student felicitations come with a predictable announcement: the “chief guest” will be a politician or a celebrity. More often than not, these individuals are barely educated, sometimes proudly so. And yet, they are brought on stage to motivate students to study well, work hard,Continue reading “The Irony of Inspiration: When Illiterates Motivate India’s Students”

There are many reasons I don’t visit movie theatres anymore. Not that the movies are any better at home, but at least I’m not surrounded by dimwits flashing phone torches into people’s eyes or chronic WhatsApp addicts who can’t hold off messaging their cousins for two goddamn hours. But yesterday was my wife’s birthday. AndContinue reading “Mission: Possible – How I Weaponised My 6-Year-Old Son in the War Against Phone Zombies”

Make sure to teach this to your children before Bollywood idiots and corrupt politicians manipulate history to mislead the next generation with their propaganda. The wars fought among Indian kings throughout history were primarily about power, territorial expansion, and dynastic supremacy, rather than religious or nationalistic motives. Unlike the modern concept of nation-states, pre-colonial India wasContinue reading “What you should teach your children “