How to Say a Lot Without Saying Much
The Backstreet Boys once sang, “It’s only words.” Which, at the time, felt like a tragic discovery. A young man realising that “I love you” had begun to sound like “please pass the salt”. The words were still there. The meaning had quietly packed its bags and left. I thought of that line again when →
An Unforgettable Wall Street Queue
I expected queues for coffee and museums in New York. I didn’t expect one behind a bull, or for it to stay with me long after I left. →
A Small Defence Of Thinking
Stillness has a way of bringing small things back into view. A breath. A thought. Even spinach in the teeth becomes visible once the rush stops. →
Fresh Bearings in January
The weather has not resolved itself. Neither has the world.
Still, moments like this appear. A quiet reminder to keep going. →
Word of the Year 2026
After years of motion, this year asked for something else. A pause. A clearer look.
A word that arrived slowly, and stayed. →
The Things That Worked. And the Ones That Quietly Didn’t.
Bells are meant to bring cheer. They are also very good at interrupting comfort.
This year had both kinds of rings. The trick was learning which ones to smile at, and which ones to pause for. →
Audit of Me: A December Reflection on Time, Attention, and Patterns
I tried to fit a year into seven kilos and failed in interesting ways. What followed was a quiet audit of time, attention, and the small patterns that shape our days. →
The Leisure We Forgot
We thought it was a dead insect. It turned out to be something else entirely.
A small discovery in a Dallas garden, a line read at 35,000 feet, and a reminder that leisure has very little to do with free time. →
Books in the Time of Dopamine
Once a lookout for escape attempts, now a landmark for people escaping into books. Bangalore has a sense of humour after all.
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The Stuff No One Claps For
“I work physically very hard every day of my life. It’s got nothing to do with cricket anymore. →
Stop the Play, I’m Still Thinking
Sunil Shanbag, weaving Mumbai’s theatre history with the calm authority of someone who has lived inside its stories. →
The Fort That Forgot Its Kingdom
Thick walls, stubborn stones, and a silence that carries the weight of centuries. →
Stop and Smell the… Tyres?
The world smells normal.
Until it doesn’t.
This rose is where my morning took a very unusual turn. →
What a Life Touches
I never met Ramki Sreenivasan. Yet I’ve heard his name often enough from friends and colleagues for him →
The Road Ends, the Sea Begins: Notes from Sayalgudi
Some beaches ask for attention. Sayalgudi behaves like it has better things to do. →