A slice of uLaaRVishy KurugantiSeptember 11, 20204 minsThe blog turned 12 in Feb this year. Originally setup as ulaar.wordpress.com, I migrated to Wordpress-powered self-hosting on Dreamhost in 2010. A few premium Wordpress theme changes kept things…
You can only dilettante thriceVishy KurugantiAugust 16, 20204 minsThis incredible urge to play a musical instrument or sing. Where the heck does it come from? I mean, how does one explain this urge when You are not born into a Bengali family When neither of your…
Eschewing meat- a few short storiesVishy KurugantiAugust 02, 20202 minsUntil the start of the new millennium, my classification of people into “meat eating” vs “non-meat eating” was pretty static. If you were born vegetarian, you remained vegetarian (and vice versa…
MOMO Gormandizers AnonymousVishy KurugantiAugust 02, 20202 mins*Momo: a type of steamed dumpling with some form of filling. Original traditional delicacy from Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Ladakh, Darjeeling, and Northeast – now mainstream Indian fare* I’ve heard some of…
If only giving up desires was this easyVishy KurugantiJuly 31, 20201 minsThe great sage Ramakrishna from a conversation on Aug 24, 1882: “Sometimes I used to assume a rajasic mood in order to practice renunciation. Once I had the desire to put on a gold-embroidered robe…
At the left hand of GodVishy KurugantiJuly 09, 20202 minsBut everyone can make a beginning. Things to do in the morning: 1) First, I remember that I’m going to die. This gives urgency to the way I will live that day. 2) Second, I spend 5 minutes in…
The asthmatic who went up a hill but came down a mountainVishy KurugantiJuly 05, 20204 mins“Hey V, are you carrying your inhaler? R is having an asthma attack further up the trail.” It was day #6 (of our 3-week trek from Uttarkashi to Yamunotri) and my first reminder that I was an asthmatic…
Tiny Habits, as explained by Goscinny & UderzoVishy KurugantiMay 31, 20201 minsIf you’ve not heard about Dr. BJ Fogg or Tiny Habits, let me suggest this 800-word primer on the habit guru’s key principles. If you are struggling with an unambiguous definition of tiny, the masters…
Lockdownland – a documentary by BBC’s David ReidVishy KurugantiMay 24, 20201 minsI first met David Reid (one-man-army BBC documentary maker) in late 2014. A meeting that started off with a cold call to the mGaadi call center with “Hey, you guys seem to be transforming auto…
In defense of idol worshipVishy KurugantiMay 02, 20201 minsA source of controversy and a massive source of division between the major religions that believe in form/idol worship (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) and those for whom it is anathema (Christianity…
