Hmmm...

After so many years, Natraj took the pain of finding each one from his intermediate batch and created a WhatsApp group. The group was buzzing from day one. “Hey, where are you now?” “Still in Delhi.” “Wow, after 34 years, can’t believe I’m talking to you again.” Everyone wanted to know how their classmates were doing. Each time a new person joined, the group would light up. There was teasing, laughter, old incidents shared, and plenty of photos from the past. Slowly the group grew to around 120 people. Then Pinky from Mumbai suggested, “This is our 35th year of passing. Why don’t we all meet up for a reunion?” The group went wild. “Yes, let’s do it.” “I’m in.” “June is perfect.” People started posting pictures of their tickets. “NZ confirmed!” “Canada done!” “South Africa booking.” The Hyderabad friends took the responsibility of hosting. Close to 100 people showed up. Laughter, music, drinks, dance — it felt like college all over again. No one looked like they were 50 plus. By evening...

Today is Onam. A harvest festival that has such deep meaning in Kerala’s culture and history. Yet, when I scroll through conversations and posts, what I mostly see is talk about the sadhya and the new clothes. The feast is grand and the outfits are beautiful, but is that all we want to pass on to the next generation? The real value of Onam was never just about what is on the plate or in the wardrobe. It was about unity, equality, and gratitude for nature’s blessings. This is not just about Onam. Think of other festivals we celebrate. Ganesh festival rituals never asked for loud music or massive processions. Deepavali never demanded deafening crackers, it was meant to be about lighting your home. Dandiya was about community joy, not blasting speakers all night. Burning the effigy of Ravan in Dussehra, carrying out tazias in Moharram, or decorating trees at Christmas all had meaning and purpose. But what have we turned them into today. If we can burst crackers for IPL wins or weddings, t...

In our service industry, we often meet clients who carry their ego on their sleeves. Recently, I had an incident that reminded me why I choose to stay calm. I was in a group chat with my team and the client. As usual, the client’s tone was not very cordial. Every explanation my team gave was treated like a challenge. It was very clear that the mistake was on the client’s side. I could see my team getting frustrated, and even their language was starting to show it. Before things could heat up, I stepped in and told the client that we would sort it out and just needed some time. A couple of hours later, the client messaged saying the matter was resolved on their side. Ironically, that was exactly what my team had been trying to explain to them from the start. That weekend, during our team meeting, they asked me, “Why do you never lose your cool? Why don’t you put your points aggressively?” I told them there are many reasons for that, and I want to share them here. 1. Winning the moment v...

  The news that ICICI Bank has raised the minimum balance requirement to ₹50,000 in urban centres while setting different slabs for other areas might sound like a routine corporate decision. But scratch the surface and you will see something far more dangerous: the rise of a modern-day caste system disguised as “policy.” When you say a city resident must park ₹50,000 just to keep an account alive, you are doing more than managing finances. You are deciding who is “worthy” of banking and who is not. You are saying that convenience, safety, and financial dignity belong only to those who already have more. This is not just about one bank. It is about a mindset. The same mindset that once decided who could enter certain temples, who could sit in which part of a classroom, who could drink from which well is now deciding who gets access to the simplest financial services. We have seen this before in many forms: • Credit cards with “Platinum” and “Black” labels, not for better service...

These days, whether it's a simple conversation between two people at home or a political argument on TV, one thing has become too common. Blaming others has become our first reaction. We don’t even stop for a second to think what the other person is actually trying to say. Take a normal situation at home. If one partner says, I felt uncomfortable with your family’s behaviour, the immediate reply will be, should I start talking about your family too? Or say someone brings up something like, off late you’ve been spending a lot. You already know what kind of reaction that gets. The focus shifts from the concern to a personal attack. The issue just disappears. This habit has gone beyond homes. In friendships, at work, and also in politics. Look at how things work in our country. The moment someone raises a real concern, like rising prices, unemployment, or law and order, the answer is never let’s work on it. The reply is always something like, you also did the same when you were in pow...

  Comfort Is Not the Enemy People keep saying this — “Where there is comfort, there is no growth.” But I never believed that. And I still don’t. My best work happens when I am comfortable. When I am in my zone, with my tools, sitting at my own desk. I have seen it again and again in my life. Let me tell you what happened once. Someone thought they were doing me a favour by giving me a “challenge”. They moved me to a new office. Big open space, strange smell, noisy, everyone walking around, nothing in place. They said this will help me adapt, help me discover new energy, push me out of my comfort zone. What really happened? I spent the whole day just looking for my pen, getting distracted by the chatter, and waiting for the day to end. I was not growing. a few month latter I was just irritated. That day I understood something very clearly. Growth does not always mean breaking yourself. It can also mean building yourself quietly, in a space that feels right to you. It’s the ...

I’ve always wondered if chasing big goals is actually making people feel worse. Over time, I learned something simpler and more powerful and it changed my life. For a long time, wherever I read books or listened to self help talks, there was always so much focus on setting goals. Everybody kept saying, write down your big goals, chase them, push yourself. But somehow, it never felt right to me. In fact, I started feeling that this is the reason why many people around me feel low, frustrated or even lost. I have always believed something else. I feel if you just set the right intention every day, you will reach wherever you are meant to reach. Goals feel like a burden sometimes, but intentions feel lighter. They keep you moving without that heavy pressure. I have seen this in my own life. At work, when I kept saying I must become this or earn that much in a year, I was always anxious. The day I decided to just show up every day, do my work well, help people around me and learn something...