Letter No 114 - Are emotions mechanical?
Dear friend, We live in the age of A.I. First human beings learned to exploit the labour of other humans and get them to work for a pay or in return for protection or some kind of barter. The...
Letter No 113 - Unleash your wanderlust
Dear friend, When I was 20 and I was in my second year of engineering college, my father made me a proposition. He said - "take 1 month off from college and travel around India. Indian Railways...
Letter No 112 - Action in inaction
Dear friend, Do you feel the tension between doing and non-doing? Do you sometimes feel that you have been torn into two different parts. One part of you want to get things done, complete tasks,...
Letter No 111 - What's your trigger?
Dear friend, Sometimes my mood or my mental state suddenly changes. And I'm speaking about a bad kind of a change. For instance, just yesterday I was feeling relaxed and 'flow-y' all morning. And...
Letter No 110 -
Dear friend, All of us crave freedom. Freedom is an idea that has inspired revolutions, revolts and wars. Freedom from foreign rule. Freedom of speech. Freedom of thought. Freedom to be the way we...
Letter No 109 - The purpose of life
Dear friend, Life is chaotic. There is so much happening all the time. Health, career, relationships, friendships, socialising, learning, keeping up with shows that the world is watching, life is...
Letter No 108 - Multiskilling or moonlighting?
Dear friend, I hope this letter finds you in a playful mood :-) If not, then I hope this letter gets you a feeling bit playful. But even more importantly, since you have begun reading, I am...
Letter No 107 - Gritty or not, just chill
Dear friend, Today I writing to you something that I wrote almost 6 years ago as a script for a TEDx talk. Actually I'm doing my 2nd ever TEDx talk on Saturday. I'm excited. As I was preparing for...
Letter No 106 - Stop wanting a better tomorrow
Dear friend, Every night do you go to sleep hoping for a better tomorrow? Every birthday do you wish for a better year ahead? Do you pray for better times ahead? Do you? I do. But I want to stop....
Letter No. 10
Dear friend, There is a place near Pune where a waterfall flows up! I'm serious. My friends Amit, Shivraj and I were just 24 and we were driving towards Bhimashankar for a chilled out weekend at...
Letter No 103
Dear. , In the whirlwind of today's ever-changing world, we find ourselves grappling with a fundamental question that resonates deeply with leaders, educators, and parents alike: What do our young...
Letter No 102 - The act of balancing.
Dear friend, Have you been told 'live a balanced life'? Work life balance. Food balance. Relationship balance. Balance of expenses and income. Balance of creative and routine. Emotional balance....
Letter No 101
Dear _______ , I believe everyone is an entrepreneur within. I'm always struck by the thought that each one of us carries within us the entrepreneurial potential , regardless of our job titles or...
Letter No 99 - Watch what you consume!
Dear Friend, Every morning I make dabba for my kids and tea for my wife Aarti. She is a pilates instructor and has clients coming in by 7am. I am the tea maker. Have you seen what happens when you...
Letter No 98 - Stop punishing yourself
Dear {{ subscriber.first_name | strip | default: "friend" }}, Forgive yourself. You have done some crazy stuff in your life. You have hurt the ones you love the most. You have been small-minded...
Letter No 97 - The power of feedback
Dear Friend, I need to be loved. I need to be needed. I like receiving appreciation. But I like growth and development even more than that. Life is growth. And growth is fun. And fun is goodđ I...
Letter No 96 - Tension, tension, tension
Dear friend, Do you know what the meaning of the word tension is? We use the word often, but there is immense beauty and clarity in its meaning. Tension is the presence of two opposing forces in...
Letter No 95 - Should grown-ups play?
Dear Friend, My friend arrived 15 minutes late, and I had been waiting for him. This has happened a few times before. Although he is generally punctual, there are occasions when he becomes more...
Letter No 94 - I found my power
Dear friend I get hurt easily. I cry easily. I am sensitive to what people around me are thinking and feeling. Surprised? I am soft and carefree. I rarely fight back or retort when insulted - I...
Letter No 93 - The antidote to vulnerability
You will be shocked when you find out what the true meaning of being vulnerable is. Do you want to know? Here is the Oxford dictionary definition: /ËvĘlnÉrÉbl/ vulnerable (to somebody/something)...
Letter No 92 - What's MY thing?
Dear Sometimes there's such a thing as - too much of a good thing. Too much sugar in your tea. Someone being too helpful. Everything being too neat and in their place (haha - ok maybe for some...
Letter No 91 - Hungry kya?
Dear friend The hungry are the new privileged. The American psychologist and author Madeline Levy, writes in her book âThe Price of Privilegeâ that âkids who have everything easily available can...
Letter No 90 - Are you interested in too many things?
Dear {friends} Do you put the horse before the cart, or the cart before the horse? When I was a young boy, my mother used to scold me saying that I'm putting too much energy into things that are...
Letter No 89 - Picture a future where...
Dear friend, When I finished my 12th board exams, I was excited and charged up to go to college! I wanted to learn how to make machines! I wanted to invent something new! I wanted to meet...
Letter No 88 - Donât forget the bad times
Dear friend I feel that human emotional states are like a submarine. Sometimes they are up near the surface, soaking in the light and breathing in fresh air and surfing with the waves. And...
Letter No 87 - Convert burden into light
Dear friend, Do you know what is the heaviest weight to carry? No itâs not the pain of losing someone close. Ultimately thatâs not in our hands. No itâs not the guilt of having disappointed or...
Letter No 86 - Don't make the tunnel your home
Dear,There is light at the end of the tunnel.But the tunnel itself is dark, dingy, and scary. And the fact is that we have to go through the entire tunnel until we get to the light. Sounds funny,...
Letter No 85 - How to hug a porcupine
Dear friends Have you ever seen a porcupine? Let me show you. Porcupines have soft hair on their back and tail and it is mixed with sharp needles. These needles are a defensives mechanism. They...
Letter No 84 - What will keep me sane...?
Dear friends Today I want to ask you to think about some questions that have been on my mind for the last few years. They got triggered once again in my consciousness yesterday as I met some...
Letter No 83 - What do you value the most?
Dear friends, What do you value the most? Have you ever thought about it? Why do values matter? Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a poor farmer named Hari. He lived with his...
Letter No 82 - 'mentee-ing' & is India the future?
Dear What is a mentor? A mentor is a person who provides guidance, advice, and support to another person, typically someone who is less experienced. A mentor can be a teacher, coach, advisor, or...
Letter No 81 - I understand, but I don't agree.
I had just completed a meeting with the entire management team of a fast growing organisation. The CEO had asked me to come on board as an adviser. I usually take up only one of two such...
Letter No 80 - Carefree and bindaas
Do you ever feel that you wish you could be carefree and 'bindaas'. Just walk up to anyone and make friends. To be able to break into a dance or song even if you are out of tune. To be able to...
Letter No 79 - Full sleeves or folded?
Style me rehne ka, but not in just one style... All of us have such different styles. I like my sleeves folded it makes me feel that Iâm getting into action, I started wearing skinny jeans 7 years...
Letter No 78 - What the....perfect?
In ancient Greece, there lived a sculptor named Pygmalion. He was a master of his craft and was known for creating the most lifelike and beautiful sculptures in all the land. Despite his success,...
Letter No 77 - Make some moves
After a long stretch of sitting in one place, glaring at the screen, working on a task that has practically glued you in one place; when you finally slide off your chair and move around, your body...
Letter N0 76 - Ghost multitasking
We live in a world today where ghosting has moved from actual ghosts to people ghosting each other. Today I want to introduce you to ghosting not a person but a devil that resides in all our...
Letter No 75 - Worth the wait?
All good things take time. 'Sabar ka fal Meetha Hota hai'. Itâll be worth the wait. Weâve all heard this from our parents, grandparents and friends. Itâs a beautiful thing when someone shows...
Letter No 74 - Something somewhere
If I have the desire to make Enterprise the pioneer in developing an entrepreneurial mindset in the youth of India - I know we will do it. If I have the faith in our team that we can be the...
Letter No 73 - So, whatâs next?
I remember that growing up new year resolutions were a big thing for us. Everyone would think of new year as an opportunity to do things differently giving one more chance to our-self. Sometimes...
Letter No 72 - Bro-zone your to-do lists
Dear , Christmas is around the corner. Do you remember what were we told to do growing up during this season? You were asked to make a list of what you want and put it in a stocking. Depending on...
Letter No 71 - Feeling the flow of where you are going
Three weeks to go before the year ends. Iâm not the one who believes in or ever sets new yearâs goals. But this time something is building up inside me. It feels like something is emerging that I...
Letter No 70 - Stop finding yourself, start creating yourself
We are so intrigued by the idea of going to the Himalayas, going on a long road trip, in a forest, no network, no connectivity, no people no disturbance - to find ourself. To be by ourself, to...
Letter No 69 - What do you want?
What you donât want is equally important as what you want. I remember on a road trip with our family, the kids were in my car and we took a food stop to fill ourselves up before we went further...
Letter No 68 - The meaning of âambitiousâ
Dear friend, Do you consider yourself as an ambitious person? Hmmm, I sense some hesitation. Ambitious doesnât mean just about money. It could be about art, or music, or social impact, or healingâŚ...
Letter No 67 - Conquering fear with light
Dear friend, Happy Diwali! The fundamental laws of physics tell us that light is energy. It can exist either in the form of a particle or a wave. Without going into the subtleties of quantum...
Letter No 66 - letâs do something together
Dear friend, Over the last few months, I have spent a lot of money on Amazon - almost a 30 to 40 thousand, buying all sorts of electronics and mechanical tools. Here are some things Iâve bought:a...
Letter No 65 - Life isâŚ
Dear friend, Keeping this one short as Iâm on a 3 day âstreet food explorationâ with my father. I have a few thoughts Iâd like to share with you. 1 - Life is short. Make sure you spend some...
Letter No 64 - Burnout
You feel stuck. You are drowning. And you can't move or swim or even crawl. It's paralysis. You've stopped enjoying what you used to love doing. You feel drained with your work or studies to the...
Letter No 63 - On days that suck..
..the energy out of you. It happens. And often enough, to the best of us. Somedays just feel like they shouldn't exist. ------ Sometimes there is something that happened that triggered out. When a...
Letter No 62 - Stressed? Losing your cool? The ultimate solution.
This week has been stressful. We have a big event coming up on Sunday. For the first time we are doing an event at an expensive hotel in Pune. Plus, we have taken on the challenge of asking people...
Letter No 61 - Is hard work really needed?
Obviously, it is. But, is it? I feel there is no such thing as hard work. There are only FIVE different states that we can be in - work, struggle, leisure, rest and confusion. ----- REST is the...
Letter No 60 -Today, I failed.
Today, I failed. The thing that hurts about failing is not the thought that âI failedâ. What actually hurts is the feeling that I let down some people who were counting on me. I disappointed some...
Letter No 59 - Will this be useful?
Dear friend, I love sketching. In 6th grade, when we got bored in class, I would be drawing cartoons in my notebooks. Yes, I was a backbencher. One the perks of a backbencher is that the teacher...
Letter No 58 - Small wins
I'm sure you have heard about the 'imposter syndrome'. There is a lot of talk and posts about it on social media. Imposter syndrome is loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a...
Letter No 57 - When life throws dirt at you
This one is picked up from a whatsapp forward I received a few years ago. I loved it then and it popped up in my Evernote notebook today once again - just when I needed to read it. That happens....
Letter no 56 - Good judgement
How do you decide when the boiling potato is cooked? The peel slides off easily. You poke it with a fork and see how easily the fork slides in. There is some technique and some judgement involved...
Letter no 55 - Good judgement
How do you decide when the boiling potato is cooked? The peel slides off easily. You poke it with a fork and see how easily the fork slides in. There is some technique and some judgement involved...
Letter No 54 - If today were my last day...
"Live as though today were your last today". We have all heard this being said at sometime or the other. Itâs a motivational speakerâs ultimate weapon - a kind of a âbrahma-astraâ. I've been...
Letter No 53 - Comparing yourself - and a recipe for soup!
"You are so slow. Look at your elder brother, he picks up so quickly. So are a slow coach." "Your sister is so responsible. Why canât you learn something from her?" "You should see the way she...
Letter No 52 - People don't belong to anyone
"Papaaaa! He took my balloon away" cried my daughter Meisha. Our children play together a lot. My sisterâs kids are the same age as our two. The foursome of them are constantly running up and down...
Letter No 51 - Do you know your blind spots?
Which is faster, hot or cold? Answer: Hot, you can easily catch cold. Everyone loves riddles. Especially kids. My kids thoroughly enjoy asking me and my wife riddles. But more than that, they...
Letter No 50 - Yeh dil maangta more!
When I was not even a teenager, my dad set up his first factory in a place call Chakan, near Pune. Today Chakan is a throbbing industrial hub. Volkswagen, Mercedes, Bajaj and other majors brands...
Letter No 49 - Cut the crap
I want to share a game that you must try. The game is very simple. But it can change something about how you and I live our life. It goes like this⌠-------- STEP 1 Think of all the things that...
Letter No 48
Dear friend Today my letter is different. I want to share a game that you must try. The game is very simple. But it can change something about how you and I live our life. It goes like this⌠STEP...
Letter No 47 - where should you work
Dear friend, In todayâs letter, Iâm going to invite you to be an apprentice. Whether your are 18 or 80, in any aspect of your life where you wish to learn at rocket speed, become an apprenticeâŚ...
Letter No 46 - The irritant is in me
There are some days where every little thing, every little action irritate us. Going for a jog early morning and a heap of garbage lying around the area. You are bang in the middle of a busy day...
Letter No 45 - 3 secrets about YOUR parents
I am blessed to have amazing parents. Me and my sister have enjoyed a childhood filled with long drives, discussions about all kinds of topics, visits to book stores, camping and picnics,...
Letter No 44 - How to talk to people
I met a young friend yesterday after almost five years. The last time I met her, she had been in the the 12th grade. Now she has completed her graduation. She told me about the business she had...
Letter No 43 - Go ahead and put all your eggs in one basket
Yesterday I spoke to a 20 year old girl who said she had taken a gap year to study for the NEET exam. She went all out with preparing for this exam. She kept no backup plan. Her friends kept...
Letter 42 - Be a leader and stay in tune with your emotion
If youâre building something - a family, a career, a blog, an organisation of your own or contributing to the growth of an organisation - there are going to be times when you feel "what the hell...
Letter No 41 - Feeling overwhelmed
Dear friend, I call this letter 'Eat. Play. Love' and I've hardly shared any recipes with you. This letter changes that! But first... Sometimes life is overwhelming. Too much to do. Too much...
Letter No 40 - The wheel of emotions
Dear friend, I asked my friend 'How are you feeling?' 'I am not feeling anything' came the answer. Did you ever feel that way? Haha, what a conundrum - did you ever feel that you are not feeling...
Letter 39 - Stop being camera shy
Dear friend, All my life I was camera shy. I always felt that I photographed really badly. I used to curse my fate. Why does God have to be so unfair. I had friends and cousins who always looked...
Letter No 38 - 4 types of people to relate with
Dear friend, I have so many beautiful people in my life. I am deeply grateful for each one of them. But, when it comes to how much time and energy I can give, it is impossible for me to distribute...
Letter No 37 - 5 ways to connect with successful people
Dear friend, Earlier this week, one of the student 'partner's at Enterprise India Fellowship asked me this question - 'How can I build a rapport with successful people?' For the sake of this...
Letter 36 - How to find mentors
Dear Friend, Yesterday I conducted a workshop called 'TRANSFORM' with a group of college students and entrepreneurship enthusiasts. I asked them to fill in the blank in this statement - "I would...
Letter No 35 - Pleasure is the antidote
Dear friend, I have a problem of overeating. Food gives me pleasure. Often, my stomach is full, but I still want to receive more pleasure, and so I keep eating. Have you ever experienced something...
Letter No 34 - The most important skill for 2022
Dear friend, The new year has already begun. There are many video's and email floating around why we should make resolutions and even more about why we SHOULD NOT make resolutions. Whatever be...
Letter No 33 - The real source of confidence
Hi! I speak to so many young college students and also young entrepreneurs every week. It's a beautiful opportunity for me to also reflect on my own life and my own youth. I learn a lot about...
Letter No.32 - People change
I love flowers. I love looking at them, smelling them, clicking photos of them, and I love painting them. My grandmother used to pick flowers that had fallen on the ground in the early morning and...
Letter No.31 - To plan or to be sponty?
Hi! I used to take time on Sunday evening to plan out the rest of my week. I've lost that practise over the years. Recently I met a friend who is just starting out his career and he was showing me...
Letter No.30 - When you are down and out...
Hi there! I've been thinking lately about this idea called 'transformation'. We all know about how the caterpillar transforms and becomes a butterfly. There is simply no resemblance between a...
Letter No.29 - This Diwali, experiment!
When we were kids, we used to remove all the gunpowder from the Diwali crackers. Once there was a nice little pile of the silvery stuff, we would do all kinds of experiments with it. Light it with...
Letter No 28 - Friends at work
"Don't tell me what to do. I'll figure it out myself" I said to my father. I was attempting to learn a thing or two about business accounts and he was attempting to teach me a thing or two . Both...
Letter No 27 - Flush away the crappy feelings
Shit stinks. Vomit is disgusting. Looking at mucus makes you vomit. Everything that goes out of our body, makes us gross out. So much so, that we just donât want to look at it. ------- Dear...
Letter no 26 - Forget discipline
Dear friend, I missed last week's letter. I missed writing to you and hearing back from you. But, I'm not beating myself over it. I'm not allowing my self-talk to be like 'you are such a loser...
Letter No 25 - The Golden sound of silence
Hi friend, I have always been a hyperactive person. Itâs tough for me to sit still. I need to read, do, watch, think, learn, draw, run, listen, cook, or⌠eat! When I got to know my wife better...
Letter No 24 - When bitter is better
Hey there... This letter is called 'Eat. Play. Love'. We've done a lot of love and play. Let's do some eat this time. I want to share a recipe for you to try. Being mesmerised by the sight of...
Grooming the next-gen & fear of Mediocrity
Trying to always be extraordinary is tiring. Everywhere we look on social media, we are flooded with messages inspiring us to be extraordinary, to break comfort zones, to push beyond our limits,...
Letter No 23 - 3 types of thinking
Hi friend, Making goals is great. Yet, something about goals is fishy. I don't know about you but enough of the goals I have set in my life have not exactly worked out. Not that I don't believe in...
Letter No 22 - What if you hurt me...
Hi friend, "I need affection from you. Can you just put your hands on my head and give me your touch." There. I had said it. It took all my courage to say these two sentences. But I did. Instantly...
Letter No 21 - 'I'm bored'
Hi friend, Today, it is the ultimate insult - 'boooorrrrrinng!' Boredom is a killer. And being boring is the worst social status one can have. I sometimes feel bogged down by routine - doing the...
Letter No 20 - Don't ask why.
Want to improve self-awareness? Don't ask why, ask what. Research by Tasha Eurich reveals that introspection is not that easy. We do it wrong. People who introspect a lot, often end up being less...
Letter No 19
Hi friends, I was running 21 kilometres for the first-ever. There were thousands' participating in the Pune half marathon. An old historical bridge at the centre of the city was the starting...
Letter No 18 - Worth the wait
I was supposed to reach for lunch. I had called half an hour ago and said that it would take me 30 to 40 minutes. Road sense is not one of my biggest strengths, I have to admit. I took a wrong...
Letter No 17 - Reverse engineer your career
Dear friend, Are you aware of the concept of reverse engineering? The idea is simple, to begin with the end - to take an existing part or design, and then work backwards to figure out how it...
Letter No 16 - To expect or not to expect?
Dear friend, In seventh grade, I made friends with a 'new boy' who had joined our school just that year. His family was half Indian and half German. At that time, this was quite rare and I would...
Letter No 15: What do you want?
Hey there, Good to see you back, and if this is the first of my letters you are reading, good to have you here. As a coach I often get asked questions like these: Should I do an MBA? What career...
Letter No 14 - The never ending party
The first and only time I got stung by a jellyfish was at Pondicherry beach. I must have been 10 or 11 and our parents had taken us for a holiday. Those days our family was in startup phase. My...
Letter No 13 - How to be beautiful
"How does Hen determine which is most beautiful cock?" wondered Darwin as early as in his thirties. How do females of different animal species attract and select which male to mate with? This is a...
Letter No 12 - High-trust relationships
Hi there, I met my wife Aarti at a discotheque. I was 23 and she was 19. The entire evening I stole glances at her dancing on the floor. Urged my a very good friend who knows me well, I finally...
Letter no 11 - 6 ways to overcome fear
Dear Friend, I hope you are doing well. I hope you have some reasons to smile. I hope you have some opportunities to look forward to. And even if you feel you don't, it's okay. Step out into the...
Letter no 10 - Click on frustration
Our mode of transport to go to school and back was rickshaw. It seemed that there would be almost a hundred of us kids stuffed into one tiny rickshaw. Our rickshaw driver 'uncle' was an...
Letter no 9 - Before your heart breaks
Dear friend, Thanks for subscribing to this letter. It means a lot to me. This one is a little long. Read it peacefully. But I believe this is one of my best so far, and it has the power to heal...
Letter no 8 - Finding Friendship.
Hi friend, In school, I had all types of friends. I was a likeable kind of guy and I was one of those chameleon like people who could morph their personality based on who they are with. So, with...
Letter no 7 - 7 strategies for uncertain times
Hi! We are experiencing a long period of exaggerated uncertainty. When will work / college go back to normal? When can I go out and once again meet my friends and family? When will I be able to...
Letter no 6 - Pumped, or dumped?
Sometimes one just wants to run away. It's all so overwhelming. Responsibilities, duties, goals, relationships, earning money, staying happy, keeping others happy - nothing makes sense anymore. I...
Letter No 5 - Mental strength
Life throws challenges at us every single day. Mental strength is simply my ability to respond to those challenges in a positive and graceful manner. The highest level of mental strength is my...
Letter no 4 - Stay lit. You are powerful.
I was in my third year of engineering college. The university had recently launched the 'sandwich' program. No, it wasn't about the design of structurally sound sandwiches! What it meant was that...
Your prayers are needed.
Prayers are needed. Prayers that soften the hardness and harshness that I've allowed myself to learn from the ways of the world. Tears are needed. Tears that wash away the dirt of insensitivity...
Letter No 3 - Conversational Intelligence
Hi there? How are you? We ask this question several times every day. The answer is usually one of these - 'All good!', 'I'm fine, how are you?', 'I'm ok, what about you?'. It's a standard...
Finding strength in one's own nature.
'You should fight back. Don't take any bullshit.' I've often been told this in my early school years. The world of kids can be ruthless. Kids gang up, kids speak their mind, kids make fun, and...
Letter no 2 - To relax. The most important life skill.
Hi, These are difficult times. Itâs been a year since COVID19 hit us. Some people suggested at that time that this situation may last up to 1 - 2 years. It seemed crazy then. This is a major...
On anger
I banged the books down on the table. I was frustrated. I have spent so much time and effort explaining, teaching, and handholding him. And this is the result of all that? I can't tolerate...
Letter No.1 - Eat. Play. Love
A part of me is nervous and part of me is feeling loved. I feel loved that you chose to click on that link and put in your email. The love part always wins, and that's what gives me the courage...
My weekly letter - Eat. Play. Love.
In a world where there is already enough information bombarding us from every direction, I have wondered whether I should be adding more to the gazillion sources of distraction we already have....
Memory is the culprit
We are down with COVID 19, Aarti and I. The kids are ok. In fact they are having the time of their lives. It's only Day 6 of symptoms and we are really fortunate to have them really mild. A little...
Danger is so attractive
I like playing with fire. My 7 year old nephew said to me some 500 times - "Aditya mamu, let's do some really dangerous experiment!" And the truth is, I love doing stuff like that too. As a 14...
I am a platform
When I think of the word âplatformâ, the image of a railway station comes to my mind. As a child I remember going to pick up incoming relatives from the Pune station. You had to buy Re.1 platform...
It only takes a moment.
I bought new clothes after a year. After many many years I had gone shopping with my mother! We picked this is beautiful orange linen shirt - my favourite colour and my favourite material. It was...
Success can be a dangerous thing
No one tells us about the how difficult it is to handle the highs. Lows we have heard about, and even experienced. But I believe that the highs are as dangerous, or maybe even more so than the...
How to buy trust?
"I want you to trust me." I've said this to my friends, parents, wife, and even to my students. I haven't yet subjected my kids to this one yet! I've literally attempted buying their trust with my...
How to accept reality.
Without acceptance there is no peace. Without peace inside there is no clarity. Without clarity no real solutions are possible. Without real solutions there are only patch-ups. I am only taking...
Debates donât solve, love does.
I insisted I was right. My 6 year daughter was sure I was wrong. Her school book was lost and she was very upset. I was sure I had packed it into her bag the previous night and she was sure that i...
For the mother in each of us
I was just walking down the road that runs along the river below the space where I work from. I needed to extract myself from the thick soup of energy that seemed to have flooded that place....
Standing on the shoulders of giants
We made the campaign a success! Everyone was clapping and cheering. People were asking for selfies with us and wanted our phone numbers to stay in touch. I felt like someone who had just posted a...
'Multi-action' - how to juggle multiple interests and priorities
10 kilos. 5 meters. 92 years. 1.3 billion. A number is used to measure one factor, and one factor only. However, there is a type of number that measures more than one thing â the humble...
Can thinking properly prevent violence?
Is war ever necessary? I believe, yes. When you want to eat my candy, and I want to eat my own candy, and I have only one candy, there is no option but war. I other words, when our intentions are...
Just start. And then, restart.
Even the greatest artist in the world begins her masterpiece with one single stroke. A pencil line strewn across the canvas that often looks like a childâs scribble. Even God, or the creator, or...
My idea of a good life
As a child itâs so exciting when your cousins from out of town come visiting. I remember eagerly waiting for my cousins to come. But it also creates some anxiety. There is always that one cousin...
Donât go somewhere else
Iâm guilty. Iâm guilty of letting my thoughts be somewhere other than where I am. Of allowing myself to drown in an ocean of social media alerts. Iâm guilty of being too tired to play. My children...
For students who dream of business
It was 1998. I had recently graduated with an engineering degree. Most of my classmates had joined a software company or moved abroad for masters. Neither of these ideas made me want to sing and...
How young are you?
That girlâs betrayal had really hurt me. For some time I had been the one who made her laugh. It was me for whom she waited. All that changed overnight. Or at least at seemed to me that way....
Relationship issues? Watch that tone!
I am sensitive to tone. When my partnerâs tone of voice becomes a little sharp, even in the silence I feel the tone deeply. She is usually very loving and caring, but sometimes her tone can be a...
A new way to look at social media
Before WhatsApp, there was email. Before email there was fax. Before fax there was telegraph. Before telegraph there was air-mail. Before air-mail there was sea-mail. We have come from sea-mail to...
Screw the guilt. Just #reSTART!
A few weeks ago, we sent out a WhatsApp message to about 1000 people. We asked them to share with us one habit that they had at some point, then gave up on, and would want to restart. We received...
On the verge of depression.
When your mind gets chopped into a million pieces by the bleeps and tweeps of messenger and social apps. When you canât sit still for more than a few minutes without reaching for the fridge, the...
What is peace?
To âjuxtaposeâ is to place two very dissimilar things together. A swimming pool in the middle of the desert. A slum surrounded by ultra-luxury apartments. Laurel and Hardy walking together. A...
Boundaries
But Papa I want you to stay with me. Papa I want you to play with me. I want you to sleep next to me. You come to drop me. As parents of two little kids we hear this all the time. They want to be...
Letâs meet soon!
We are at a big family re-union and meeting up with cousins and uncles and auntyâs from all around the world. Some of them are close to me and some who Iâve never even met. I miss people. I miss...
Learning to love myself
This one is written by a 21 year old friend of mine. We met 2 years ago in a workshop for youth that I was running. Since then we meet at least once in three months and I look forward to her warm,...
Finding a friend
In school I had all types of friends. I was a likeable kind of guy and I was one of those chameleon like people who could morph their own personality based on who they are with. So, with the...
From mind to matter
Everything that is ever created by a human being is created at least twice. Before anything takes physical form, it must be first created inside the mind of its creator. It must have been seen and...
May you have LITE!
In thermodynamics we learn about a concept called entropy. Very simply, entropy is a measure of the level of disorder at the molecular level of a system. The second law of thermodynamics tells us...
What occupies your mind-space?
When we bought our house, it was empty. My running joke was that all I need to survive is a refrigerator, a âlazy-boy' sofa and an internet connection! For a few months, it was really zen-like....
Relationship milestones
We were on a long drive. She had compiled a playlist of my favourite songs from years gone by. We were in great spirits. We have gone through so many ups and downs. We love being with each other....
I will be my own 'eyes of belief'
She looked into my eyes and saw many things. There were dreams of wondrous journeys we would have together. There was the excitement that comes when you don't know what surprises might lay around...
On insecurity
Suddenly, my friend has a new friend. For years, I was the one who made her laugh. I was the one she loved to hang out with. But now, there is someone else. They seem to be spending so much time....
3 phases of every relationship
Our relationships go through three distinct phases. You will know exactly which phase you are at once you read this! The first phase is like receiving a new toy, all gift wrapped and shiny. As you...
Dealing with a breakup
Losing a relationship is like losing a limb. It creates physical and emotional pain. Why did it have to happen? What did I do wrong? Why canât I have it back? Why are they behaving like this? I...
5 principles of managing project teams effectively
Did you ever volunteer to organise a birthday party? Or a college fest? Or even a family holiday?Tthen you know how it feels when things get all mashed up in the last moment. The balloon vendor is...
Dream-ality
We used to call it âmental masturbationâ. A few of us friends from MBA days would get together and ideate for hours. Business ideas and plans would be hatched like thousands of turtles trekking...
My true work on this planet
She asked, âAm I any good?â When she looked around she found people doing so much more than her. Contributing. Meeting goals. Making an impact. She felt that she was not doing as much as. But some...
Today I failed
*Today, I failed.* The thing that hurts about failing is not the thought that âI failedâ. What actually hurts is the feeling that I let down some people who were counting on me. I disappointed...
5 reasons why I did not join my father in business
I was 22 when my father asked me if I wanted to join his business. He had an opportunity to expand his operations, and he said he would do so if I was interested to join up. We are a marwari...
Stop spoon feeding! 3 ingredients to inspire deep learning in 6 year olds to 60 year olds
Why do we resist learning? Why do some people learn faster that others? A large part of the answer lies in the learning environment they have access to. Human beings are not wired to learn for the...
I'm not happy
There have been several periods of my life when I felt I was not happy. I sat down and made a list. And then I attempted to run a multi-variate analysis to determine what were the causes of my...
If today were my last day...
âLive as though today were your last today". We have all heard this being said at sometime or the other. Itâs a motivational speakerâs ultimate weapon - a kind of a âbrahma-astraâ. I've been...
Meetup on 14th July '18
Mr Bhanu Srivastava, Partner and CEO, Petrus Pharma Discussions Poetry has the power to help us make 'Cryptic Jumps'Story of Ramana Maharishiâs discipline - I will make the first sentence of the...
People dont belong to me.
"Papaaaa! He took my balloon away" cried my daughter Meisha. Our children play together a lot. My sisterâs kids are the same age as our two. The foursome of them are constantly running up and down...
How comparison messes with your soup.
âYou are so slow. Look at your elder brother, he picks up so quickly. So are a slow coach." âYour sister is so responsible. Why canât you learn something from her?" âYou should see the way she...
A small thing. A big difference.
Whatâs the difference between coffee and black coffee? Whatâs the difference between bread and toast? Whatâs the difference between fresh lime water and fresh lime soda? Whatâs the difference...
A longing for laddoos.
In India, we have a laddoo for everything. There is a laddoo for overweight people, for those who are underweight, for pregnant ladies, growing children, for heat, for cold, for slow metabolism,...
The rainbow that lies beyond right and wrong
âSomewhere beyond right and wrong, there is a garden. I will meet you there." - Jalaluddin Mevlana Rumi Right and wrong are very strange places to be at. From where I stand, everything looks...
You are God.
It was a blessing to sit next to a great soul for almost 45 minutes. He is the kind of person that the world will remember as a saint, one who served and brought peace upon millions of people. Iâm...
Want to get smart? Take breaks. Time your breaks!
You are working on a project. You put in an hour of great work. You decide you have earned a break. So you take a little chill pill. Before you know it, an hour has passed by. Now it is lunch...
No such thing as âgivingâ
She put her head on my shoulders and cried. She was afraid. Petrified of dogs, she had been surprised when one of the dogs at the farm had been let loose. The fear Inside her had been shaken up....
7 lessons about networking I learned from a 15 year reunion at IIM-A
The human brain is a network of neurons. A single neuron by itself can achieve very little. But the moment it connects with some others, something amazing begins to happen. We called it...
Old friends are good for you.
We were in the fourth year of mechanical engineering. A top software company of that time had come to hire graduates. They were giving a talk to the students. My friend Nipun says that I sat...
Fresh Methi Cucumber Salad
Methi is bitter. I never ate fresh Methi leaves ever before. My friend Dhiraj Pipada is pioneering a drive to bring fresh organic fruits and vegetables to the good people of Pune. I was amazed by...
I dont want to share you!
I made a new friend. She was like a breath of fresh air. We were like toast and butter, idli and chutney, sweet and sour. We just âgotâ each other. It was so beautiful. Life was good. I felt...
Eyes that see âage no barâ!
It was summer holidays after 10th. I was 17 and awkward like hell! My body felt like the ugliest thing on this planet. I hated the high pitch sound of my voice. I could never get the wave of my...
Want to get good at something? Do you have 'Sitzfleisch'?
I am a restless soul. To put it another way, I am an active person. I need to keep doing something. Hmmm, ok, I admit, I get distracted easily! Itâs genetic, I believe. I remember my mother...
I can't face you!
I walked into the room and she had her head dug inside a pile of pillows. My wife and son were also there. It was a funny scene. I asked my wife what is Meisha doing? It seems she had told a lie,...
Let me make my mistakes!
This was a regular grouse I had with my father. As any father would, he wanted the best for me. Whenever he could see that I am about to make a mistake, he would jump in and want to help me. Young...
Boring!
A few months ago, in a workshop with about 60 dynamic college going youth, we asked them a question - âWhat is the most painful problem youth are facing today?â. Each group of six people had to...
3 steps today, a thousand tomorrow!
For me, all it took was a few weeks of studies before the exams, and results would come. For her it was study round the year. I was doing ten different things at a time. She did one or two. My to...
I like staring at my own creation!
Dhyann is obsessed with Lego. He just completed a set of 2200 pieces gifted to him by my mother. He is just six, but the age recommendation on the box was age 16+. He was nervous. He told me...
5 steps to stop overthinking in relationships
I felt I needed to do something right there and then. I felt choked. The pressure was building up everyday. It was a struggle. I needed to leave. Some things weren't working out with someone who I...
I feel alive!
I am staying at my parents house for a few days. I didn't carry my running shoes with me. When I woke up this morning, my mind had a perfectly valid excuse for no exercise - no shoes! I convinced...
Slay the demon of likes and dislikes!
Slay the demon of likes and dislikes! 2005 Red. Red. Red. 2006 Red. Red. Red. 2007 Red. Red. Red. 2008 Red. Red. Red. 2009 Red. Red. Red. 2010 Red. Red. Red. 2011 Red. Red. Red. 2012 Red. Red....
We don't see eye to eye. Lets make apple pie!
You just donât get it do you? If you donât study hard, you are going to struggle in life. Arenât you interested in your own life? Why do we have to keep nagging you? I am not asking you to stop...
TV is so satisfying!
TV, youtube, satellite, and even Netflix, can be immensely satisfying. I tell myself, "today has a been a long and tiring day, I deserve some TV now!" It is a source of relaxation. Watching TV...
Please listen to my dreams!
One day, a young boy had a dream. He was sailing across the galaxy in a magical ship. It was a large boat with big sails that resembled the wings of an eagle. He sailed past planets of darkness...
Fun now OR more fun tomorrow!
I was chatting with a group of youngsters and telling them about the famous âmarshmallow experimentâ conducted by Walter Mischel in the 1960âs at Stanford University. The children who were willing...
Help me, but help me.
My young friend was in a little bit of trouble. She urgently needed to buy a box of contact lenses. She was running on her last ones. The power of her lenses is quite high. Tomorrow, she would be...
We were friends.
We were friends. We did things together. We said some silly things to each other and then we laughed. We even fought open heartedly. We worked. We created some magic. But now its gone. I am with...
Confidence is a chemical.
Over the last four months I have lost 11kgs, mostly fat stored in my body. I've been exercising regularly, eating right, and limiting the cheat days. I'm suddenly fitting into clothes that I last...
I need to be understood.
I asked my young friend, what do todayâs youth need. After a few blinks, she replied, âI guess we need to be strong. We are too weak. If we take one something, and have a few failures, we just...
Death, my friend.
As she lay there suffering, I looked into her eyes and saw death. She stared at me. She had a faint smile. Her wrinkled face revealed a melange of peace and pain. I ran my fingers through her...
A four letter word called 'Happiness'
I needed an instant dose of happiness. I was feeling heavy. My heart craved for lightness. The brightness of light, and the lightness of feeling bright. I had been looking around me, trying to...
When happiness is gone.
She is gone. My project failed. He didnât even look at me. She doesnât laugh at my jokes anymore. My friend is now more friendly with someone else. She looked at me with that âseeing throughâ...
Not yet!
My four year old daughter and five and a half year old son understand the language of ânot yetâ very well. Their latest love is the cartoon character Pepper Pig. Like many parents, my wife and...
Marks matter - a matter of marks
Exams results are out. Its always a period of heightened emotions, be it celebration, excitement, disappointment and sometimes even shock and grief. We hear the voices of many who ask this...
I did it for me.
I did it for me. The other day I made a lovely little sketch of my daughter. I immediately grabbed my phone and posted it on... hehe... FB and Insta. And then within five minutes I was checking to...
I love you, but don't come close!
From a distance, everything looks beautiful. All the flaws are hidden. I am sitting by the window in my room on the 10th floor. The buildings across the river outside look glorious. They seem...
Im getting rid of my 'Lal Batti'
In school I remember being very fascinated by the âLal battiâ on the hood on my friend's fatherâs car. His dad was a elected representative, who happened to be ânot in power' at that time. Yet,...
"What we are looking for is attitude."
I was surprised to see him using a makeshift spade to make little trenches. He was planting little saplings in the narrow patch of soil. As I got out of my car, with curiosity I asked him which...