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, for weak joints, for eyesight, and maybe even for baldness! You name it, and we have a laddoo for it.

For the last one year, I’ve been dreaming about creating a coffee table book about laddoos. The idea is to capture the wisdom embedded in the laddoo’s of India. I’ve been nurturing this idea like a proud father, who's child hasn’t even started walking yet. I talk about it with almost everyone I meet. I always speak about it with confidence that I will definitely do it. Every time I speak about it, the image inside my own head crystallises just a little more. But, no action had happened.

And then, last week it all changed. I met my young and enterprising 22 year old cousin Yash, in Goa. He runs a school kitchen. I mentioned ‘The Laddu Project’ to him, and he loved it. He volunteered to be a part of it. Then, I happened to speak about it to Shivaranjini who is a young design graduate from NID doing an internship with my mom. She loved it too, and offered to handle the visual layouts. Two days later, Aarti and I were in Mumbai, meeting some old friends. and once again I blurted out my crazy intentions. And my friend Shivani, who has been a professional writer, jumped onto the bandwagon. The same thing happened with Latika, who overheard me speaking about this project with someone else.

Lo and behold! We suddenly have a team in place. Now it looks like we are ready to move into execution mode. It has taken one year of nurturing the dream to reach this ’starting point'.

In this entire process, I have learn’t the importance of nurturing ‘longings’. Having a longing makes my joy last longer. Ideas must pass through the stage of ‘longing’. There are no action plans and deadlines in the longing stage. I am just painting a picture in my head. I am actively sharing the 'picture inside my head' with others. I keep refining the picture. I am investing my emotional energy into that picture. Desperation makes me feel insecure and impatient, but longing makes me feel calm and happy. Longing makes the journey special. Having a longing energises me.

And then suddenly, one day the phase of longing transforms into the phase of execution. It is only then, that goals and deadlines become meaningful. Until then, if applied prematurely, goals and deadlines spell the death of a great idea.

Now, we want to meet some Ajji’s and Amma’s and Naani’s and Daadi’s who have some special Laddoo gyaan to share with us! If you have someone in mind, please reach out to us. We long for it!