At 12.40 am, the watchman at the security gate of Keshav Kunj apartment woke up with a phone call on the intercom. “A bunch of people are making noise outside the gate. I am unable to sleep. Can you check who it is?” the voice on the other side said. The watchman instantly recognised it … Read more
“In my apartment, the parking is in the basement,” Jigneshbhai said when we met last weekend for coffee. “Nothing new in that. Most apartments in urban areas have that,” Swami cast him off with a ‘what’s the big deal’ look. But I knew our wise friend wasn’t done, so I waited for him to say … Read more
Notes from my reading of Sri Ramakrishna Life and Message by Swami Vijnananada: Infinite are the names of God and the modes of His worship. Whatever name of God and path to reach Him we may choose is enough for us to see God. The same water is called vāri, pānī, aqua, and so on. … Read more
A few years ago, I had read The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel and quietly fallen in love with it. It was a book for builders — for those in the phase of accumulation, discipline, compounding, patience. It spoke to the long game. To restraint. To the power of staying the course. This new … Read more
“I think I made a big mistake by buying this endowment policy twenty years back,” Swami said, peeping into a piece of paper, over coffee when we met at the café the other day. “At that time, no one knew, least of all me, that term insurance is the only insurance we need. And this … Read more
I recently read Yashodhara by Volga, translated from Telugu into English by PSV Prasad. I had earlier read The Liberation of Sita, and was already familiar with Volga’s distinctive approach — she revisits mythological women who are often peripheral in grand narratives, and quietly brings them to the centre. Not with anger. Not with rebellion … Read more
Among treadmills humming like distant traffic and dumbbells clinking in tired rhythm, I have found a species at the gym that is endlessly fascinating: Couples Who Work Out Together. They come in many forms, each a bundle of motivation, negotiation, love, and compromise. Over the past many weeks of observing different packages, I’ve come to … Read more
It was only the second week of January when Swami walked into the café looking like a man who had already been defeated by the year. He plonked himself on the chair opposite Jigneshbhai, sighed heavily, and declared, “It’s over.” Jigneshbhai looked up from his coffee, mildly amused. “What’s over, Swami? The year’s barely begun.” … Read more
When I write dialogue, I often catch myself doing too much. Explaining, clarifying, justifying — as if my characters would lose their way without me holding their hands. But over time, I’ve learned that what’s left unsaid often carries more meaning than all the words I can string together. It’s the silence between two sentences … Read more