Why you should turn your husband into a runner

Why you should turn your husband into a runner

January 20, 20182 mins

Doing repetitive monotonous things are meant for machines, robots or ‘servants’ (if you are part of the Indian middle class). I find some of these activities highly therapeutic and enjoyable. Allow me…

Every new beginning starts with a grand farewell

Every new beginning starts with a grand farewell

January 11, 20181 mins

I’ve been around the block, as they say. Across continents and geographies. Jan 5, 2018 was my last day at Yatra. And my team gave me the grandest possible farewell I could ever imagine. Scratch that…

What Kubera can teach us about the miser philanthropist

What Kubera can teach us about the miser philanthropist

December 26, 20173 mins

Another Mahabharata story excavated from the tendrils of my Amar Chitra Katha memories. Specifically, from the period after the Pandavas had decimated 99% of the Kauravas clan. The Pandava kingdom was…

Resetting habit defaults

Resetting habit defaults

December 08, 20172 mins

We know adding good habits is hard. Stopping bad habits is harder.. though Sam Thomas Davies will have you believe it’s not impossible. Exercise every day? Good. Smoking? Bad. Eat vegetables? Good…

The Yin and Yank Race

The Yin and Yank Race

November 26, 20178 mins

The great runner philosopher George Sheehan talks about a certain staleness that can afflict the seasoned runner. In my 9 years of running, I’m relieved to admit that I’ve been spared. From peaks of…

Anatomy of a pilgrimage (Sringeri edition)

Anatomy of a pilgrimage (Sringeri edition)

July 02, 20177 mins

[Editor’s Note: My mother is a late adopter of the Internet. In the pre-Internet era, she used to write the loveliest of letters to her children. The letters stopped after I returned to India. In the…

A vegetarian cracks an egg

A vegetarian cracks an egg

April 28, 20173 mins

I was raised a vegetarian. Avoiding meat was the most natural thing for as long as I can remember in my childhood. During our teen years, eggs made a brief entrance into our lives. In the form of…

The Salmon Experiments

The Salmon Experiments

March 26, 20171 mins

Among marine life, salmon probably lead the most interesting lives. Born in freshwater rivers, they migrate to the ocean where they live most of their adult lives and, when it’s time to spawn, they…

Swami Vivekananda on India’s Caste Problem

Swami Vivekananda on India’s Caste Problem

March 26, 20174 mins

[Editor’s Note: I don’t recall from which of his books I found this extract. It’s been sitting in my Drafts folder for 4.5 years and is eminently worth a read.] A man from the highest caste and a man…

The Real Indistructibles

The Real Indistructibles

March 26, 20171 mins

Editor’s Note: There were middle class values in the 60’s/70’s/80’s and there are middle class values now. Big big difference. The old adage used to be “if it’s not broken, why fix it”. And if…