Vipassana experience: I failed!

This passage details my Vipassana experience and how I failed to complete the 10-day vipassana meditation course. “Let’s get out…let’s get out…let’s get out now!” – one of the voices in my head screamed out. “Hold on. Just focus on the imaginary square on top of your head and ignore the agony.” – another calming …

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18 Side hustle ideas for students in India (Updated for 2024)

Side hustles india

In this post, I will cover some of the most exciting side hustle ideas for students in India, many of which are gaining popularity in 2023. Side hustles, or side gigs, have become very popular in India. I covered some of the most popular side hustles for Indians (organized by passion/interest) in one of my …

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Lamy Safari Vista fountain pen: Review

Lamy Safari Vista

This post is a brief review of one of my recent acquisitions, a Lamy Safari Vista fountain pen, after having used it for over a month now. If you are into fountain pens like me, please read on. I have been a fountain pen user all my life. Ever since I made the switch from …

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10 best travel movies and shows (June 2021)

Best Travel Shows June 2021

First of all, let me admit that I am officially tired of what we are going through right now: locked down in one place, interacting with talking heads on screens most of the day. Of late, I have been taking ‘sanity breaks’ to clear my head and maintain positivity. Boy, how I miss travel right …

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Top 10 most inspirational speeches

most-inspiring-speeches

Oh, hey there! Welcome to this post about the Top 10 most inspirational speeches I enjoyed watching (Many of these would also make The Most Inspirational Speeches of All Time list).  You must be an entrepreneur hustling to change the world. Or a homemaker working your behind off to make the world a bit better …

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How do you develop self discipline

If you are looking to develop self discipline, this article can come in handy. For the past several years, I have been promising myself that I would shed a few kilos and get back in shape. And for the past several years, I have never been able to keep that promise. Though there were periods–a …

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Of investing and financial planning

Ok, so this is not another ‘how to do financial planning’ blog post. This is just a page from my life, and I am jotting it down here hoping it would help youngsters in some way. So here goes: I turned forty seven this year. And I admit it – in my forty seven years …

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What is the Fire movement (Financial Independence Retire Early)?

FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early), for the uninitiated, is a financial movement that revolves around extreme savings and worthwhile investments with an intent to retire early and live off small withdrawals from accumulated funds. Once you achieve your FIRE target, the amount will be good enough to provide you with an inflation-adjusted income for your …

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Best Indian comic books for children?

shaniwar wada fort door elephants

Tiger Comics, a new comic books company, brings to life real & inspirational Indian stories through wonderful storytelling and colourful sketches. I grew up reading Indrajal comics, Anant Pai’s stories, Chacha Chaudhary, Akbar/Birbal tales, Shikari Shambu and Tenali Raman. It takes me back to my growing-up years. Could Tiger Comics soon evolve as one of …

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Must. Break. Free

“Time to wake up!”, she says. I half open my eyes, struggling to shake off sleep that had engulfed me with great difficulty in the wee hours of the morning. Through the blur of my eyelids, I see her staring at me—lying in the same position that I’d last seen her before I fell asleep. She …

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Notes from office

How much Covid19 has changed our world! I never imagined that I will ever see a time when we must wear masks before stepping out of our homes—this is indeed surreal. I hope we can get out of this dreaded situation soon, and as the cliched saying goes, let us hope that this too shall …

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Dharamshala and McLeodganj places to visit

Dharamshala and McLeodganj places to visit: After our last year’s trip to Varanasi and Bodhgaya, my friend ‘Smiling Buddha’, Deepak, and I were back on the road again; this time to the abode of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet in Dharamshala (Dharamsala – also known as ‘Little Lhasa of Tibet’). This is my …

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Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree

Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree

This post covers reviews of two courses I did – Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree and Diploma in Creative Writing from Symbiosis, Pune. Over the past year or so, I have been trying to get some formal training on areas that may not be directly related to the work I do; but have been personally interested …

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The Grandmother Clock

I’ve been a collector all my life; not the administrative kind, but the accumulator of things kind. I love collecting old stuff (‘antiques’ in my eyes), watches, perfumes (blame my ‘mallu’ blood for this one), and gadgets.  My wife, on the other hand, likes to live a de-cluttered life. This difference in living style has …

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