Do we appreciate people when they are alive? Or do we see their greatness only when they are no more? My favourite Uncle passes away a few months ago. This is my gratitude towards him. Pranam. My earliest memory was when I was really young. A well dressed gentleman would come to drop/pick up his … Continue reading My favourite Uncle

All of us have been asked, at some point in time, this simple question; "Other than your parents, whom do you admire the most?". The question may be simple but it begs a thoughtful answer. Other than the name, the answer has to be well reasoned as well: Describe the personWhy do you admire him/her?What … Continue reading The Rock

It was definitely not a one night stand. Neither was it a life long affair. What do you call something in between? Yes, it was love, blowing hot and cold. It all started when I was young, year 1973. Too young you would think. We stopped at a mid way town on a long road … Continue reading A Love Affair – blowing hot and cold

A couple of years ago, we were planning a vacation to Munnar, known as the tea country of the south. Dotted with rolling tea gardens and surrounded by majestic forests, Munnar has a calming influence on all visitors. Suddenly, an idea struck. Why not visit the place where I spent close to six years of … Continue reading Is it worth going back?

These are unprecedented times. Many of us have not seen a war, let alone a pandemic. The closest equivalent would have been perhaps 9/11 or the global financial crisis of 2007/8. But these events were of short duration, with a long tail of course. We probably had a sense, within a few months, that the … Continue reading Strategies to Cope

Somewhere in the month of October 2019, a number of similar sounding messages started pinging on my social media from close friends. "I am taking VRS" "I am selling my Company and settling down" "I am moving from a full time to a part time job" "I want to retire" This set me thinking on … Continue reading Retire in Peace or in Pieces

Backstory Knowing a language is all about the ability to read, write and speak. Without this full spectrum of capabilities it is impossible to appreciate any language. For example, Tamil is my mother tongue, but I can hardly read or write. This, I believe, robs me of the ability to understand the rich history and … Continue reading My love for books

It has now been three weeks since the Janta Curfew, in India. We have been under lock down for the entire time in our apartment, fairly unprecedented. There are strong indications that we will remain in this state of hibernation for the next three weeks as well. Here is a reflection on what has been … Continue reading Lockdown, home truths and a few predictions

The experience was a bit crazy. What would you say when you meet someone after 30 years? Apart from the fact that I have not met many of them in the years in between and my failing memory,  is it possible to go back and find common threads? Life and its context has changed much … Continue reading What do you say when you meet after 30 years?