I have been a big history buff always. Culture, Traditions, norms, and hidden or obvious symbols always mean a lot to me. I am a student, an instant partaker and an avid explorer for various traditions and history. This is central to my identity and has led to my quest not just an embrace for diversity. I have cultural and symbolic norms and practices of my own. One of these norms is that when I meet people in a certain phase of my life or their life for the last time in that phase or role, I...

I have been a big history buff always. Culture, Traditions, norms, and hidden or obvious symbols always mean a lot to me. I am a student, an instant partaker and an avid explorer for various traditions and history. This is central to my identity and has led to my quest not just an embrace for diversity. I have cultural and symbolic norms and practices of my own. One of these norms is that when I meet people in a certain phase of my life or their life for the last time in that phase or role, I...

Today is the day I hit 1k - much sought after but never attempted or achieved.

Today is the day I hit 1k - much sought after but never attempted or achieved.

Not at all sweet 16 years since AK’s unexpected demise. To this day her smiling face is what stands in front of my blurry eyes. My vision has not been great in the past few months, so I can see more clearly when I shut my eyes than when I open them. One of the visions that comes back time and again is Clerk’s Deaf and Dumb school and that Diwali when I fell for her. For such an angel to be taken away from her kids an family so young is cruel but then who are we to hatch any plans.It is decide...

Not at all sweet 16 years since AK’s unexpected demise. To this day her smiling face is what stands in front of my blurry eyes. My vision has not been great in the past few months, so I can see more clearly when I shut my eyes than when I open them. One of the visions that comes back time and again is Clerk’s Deaf and Dumb school and that Diwali when I fell for her. For such an angel to be taken away from her kids an family so young is cruel but then who are we to hatch any plans.It is decide...

Sometimes things just don’t go your way and there’s just nothing you can do about it. Rarely though does a week come by when nearly nothing goes your way. This has been one such week. Health or Wealth, Weather or Another, Work or Life - all downhill and offsetting several months or even years of work in one blip. These are the defining moments and one rises from the hubris they say, now is the time to find some wings amidst the ashes. It could have been a lot worse, and that is something to b...

Sometimes things just don’t go your way and there’s just nothing you can do about it. Rarely though does a week come by when nearly nothing goes your way. This has been one such week. Health or Wealth, Weather or Another, Work or Life - all downhill and offsetting several months or even years of work in one blip. These are the defining moments and one rises from the hubris they say, now is the time to find some wings amidst the ashes. It could have been a lot worse, and that is something to b...

25 years in this country to this day. The day went like any other but personified my existence in this great land.Some winsSome lossesA metaphorical parking ticketAn unexpected windfallA disappointmentHard work that was rewardedA beautiful city scapeA cone of lovely ice creamA long drive in a fully self driving car I boughtLovely dinner with familyWhere else can you get all in one? July 16th, 1999 - a day that will be remembered as a start of an era. An innocent time when there was nothing to...

25 years in this country to this day. The day went like any other but personified my existence in this great land.Some winsSome lossesA metaphorical parking ticketAn unexpected windfallA disappointmentHard work that was rewardedA beautiful city scapeA cone of lovely ice creamA long drive in a fully self driving car I boughtLovely dinner with familyWhere else can you get all in one? July 16th, 1999 - a day that will be remembered as a start of an era. An innocent time when there was nothing to...

Last week was 23 since I began wearing my badge for any company. Feels too long on some days but too short on most. Money, fame, power, accomplishment, experience, innovation, colleague count, friends, and connections have all trended the right direction. Growth has not been linear owing to recessions, politics, personal situations, mental health, immigration, and pursuit of different goals at different times. For instance, after several years of little to no raises, you pursue money. After s...

Last week was 23 since I began wearing my badge for any company. Feels too long on some days but too short on most. Money, fame, power, accomplishment, experience, innovation, colleague count, friends, and connections have all trended the right direction. Growth has not been linear owing to recessions, politics, personal situations, mental health, immigration, and pursuit of different goals at different times. For instance, after several years of little to no raises, you pursue money. After s...

What brings you joy? No amount of material wealth can result in sustained joy. Whether it is a raise you got, an unexpected windfall, a great day in the stock market, or gambling in Vegas. The joy derived from any of these can be very short-lived and often lead to bigger disappointment leading to a negative “joy offset”. Joy is a function of time, as, it is a function of your expectations. Expectations inevitably lead to disappointment either not meeting your bar or your time limit. Or it can...

What brings you joy? No amount of material wealth can result in sustained joy. Whether it is a raise you got, an unexpected windfall, a great day in the stock market, or gambling in Vegas. The joy derived from any of these can be very short-lived and often lead to bigger disappointment leading to a negative “joy offset”. Joy is a function of time, as, it is a function of your expectations. Expectations inevitably lead to disappointment either not meeting your bar or your time limit. Or it can...

How do kids start showing off? Is this something parents inculcate via their implicit or explicit actions? Too much encouragement, pepping up at home? Too spoiled or just raised confident? I do not have enough sampling points to know how these kids progress as get into the real world. As parents of kids facing such bombastic kids, I find it fairly annoying as it impacts kids like mine, who are far more circumspect, negatively. Isn’t this just like passive smoking where the impact of someone s...

How do kids start showing off? Is this something parents inculcate via their implicit or explicit actions? Too much encouragement, pepping up at home? Too spoiled or just raised confident? I do not have enough sampling points to know how these kids progress as get into the real world. As parents of kids facing such bombastic kids, I find it fairly annoying as it impacts kids like mine, who are far more circumspect, negatively. Isn’t this just like passive smoking where the impact of someone s...

Have you ever experienced affection for a total stranger? What causes this affection? Something you can relate to in yourself? Something superficial, good looks or vibes perhaps? Something that brings joy or a tinge of happiness, strokes a fond memory? This is such a magical feeling that makes you happy and somehow through the quantum world in which we are all connected, brings positivity to the person toward whom this affection is directed. Love is one of those feelings that AI, robots, othe...

Have you ever experienced affection for a total stranger? What causes this affection? Something you can relate to in yourself? Something superficial, good looks or vibes perhaps? Something that brings joy or a tinge of happiness, strokes a fond memory? This is such a magical feeling that makes you happy and somehow through the quantum world in which we are all connected, brings positivity to the person toward whom this affection is directed. Love is one of those feelings that AI, robots, othe...

Lose now but win later. Seems like every year we get into this time of the year when the Purdue Boilermakers are ranked atop the table in Mens’ Basketball and then their season comes to a thumping end. Seems to be a trend in most of the sports I follow these days! India in World Cup Cricket or 49ers in NFL. Boilermakers have set the record for most disappointments in the March Madness run ups, even beating the Dallas Cowboys who now know not to root for in the post season. Today, the Boilers ...

Lose now but win later. Seems like every year we get into this time of the year when the Purdue Boilermakers are ranked atop the table in Mens’ Basketball and then their season comes to a thumping end. Seems to be a trend in most of the sports I follow these days! India in World Cup Cricket or 49ers in NFL. Boilermakers have set the record for most disappointments in the March Madness run ups, even beating the Dallas Cowboys who now know not to root for in the post season. Today, the Boilers ...

There are times when all Science, logic, power, and money fail. No matter how hard you try, you cannot control everything. The laws of physics, the logic of programming, predictability in people’s behavior, time, nature, and many factors are outside your control. Despite your best-laid plans, you can’t execute to your expectations. Plan A becomes impractical, Plan B becomes infeasible and Plan C goes out the window. What can you do at this juncture? You lean in on your faith. You Pray, you ho...

There are times when all Science, logic, power, and money fail. No matter how hard you try, you cannot control everything. The laws of physics, the logic of programming, predictability in people’s behavior, time, nature, and many factors are outside your control. Despite your best-laid plans, you can’t execute to your expectations. Plan A becomes impractical, Plan B becomes infeasible and Plan C goes out the window. What can you do at this juncture? You lean in on your faith. You Pray, you ho...

At the end of the day, what do we really control or influence? Where do we begin from? The pedestal or hole we find ourselves in, is partly dug or raised by us, but mostly it is a function of where we start from, what we have been through and how we have consumed what we are fed. Do we consume more than we produce? Could we produce more than we did? Would working harder yield better outcomes? None of these are entirely in our hands, you realize after a few rodeos. Some that you labored throug...

At the end of the day, what do we really control or influence? Where do we begin from? The pedestal or hole we find ourselves in, is partly dug or raised by us, but mostly it is a function of where we start from, what we have been through and how we have consumed what we are fed. Do we consume more than we produce? Could we produce more than we did? Would working harder yield better outcomes? None of these are entirely in our hands, you realize after a few rodeos. Some that you labored throug...