Writing

Places where time doesn't matter

Hospitals, airports, and long train rides share something odd — they're the only places where we stop worrying about time.

On Writing in Public

Why I started putting my thoughts on the internet, and what I've learned from doing it.

The UX of Slowing Down

How friction — designed well — can actually improve the way software feels to use.

Product Marketing Is Translation

The core job isn't about spin or positioning theater. It's about bridging two languages that don't naturally speak to each other.

Retro-Futurism and Why It Endures

There's something deeply appealing about a future imagined from the past. Why do we keep returning to it?

Is the Hustle Culture Killing Our Creativity?

After burning out across a job, a newsletter, and a YouTube channel, I decided to slow down — and found more clarity.

Art Isn't Born, It's Found

Art isn't something we pull from thin air — it's a reflection of the people, experiences, and world around us.

Love Isn't Yours to Claim

How a one-sided love I carried through school and college taught me that love is never yours to claim.

The way up and the way down are the same

On Heraclitus's observation that the path up and down are the same — and what that means for the decisions we make.

Why is internet writing so hard but so rewarding?

As a creator, you're renting two minutes of your reader's attention — and that's why writing on the internet is both brutal and worthwhile.

Is Our Existence Just a Notification?

How digital notifications have become the only proof of life we have for people we once knew deeply.

Face Masks Remind Me of Butterflies

A discarded mask on the street and a surprising resemblance to a fallen butterfly.

Did my dad ever think of Jimmy?

A childhood dog named Jimmy, a house in Pondicherry, and the quiet grief my dad never talked about.

Are Middle-Class Families Teaching Their Kids To Give up in Life?

How middle-class conditioning quietly teaches kids to accept failure — and why that's worth questioning.

Waves and still water

Watching the sea at Pondicherry, I noticed a still puddle on a rock and understood something about our relationship with noise.

The Key to Big Ideas Is Walking Alone

Why walking without your phone is one of the most productive things you can do for your mind.

Epicurus – The Philosopher who believed in the power of Friendships

A look at Epicurus — the ancient philosopher who built a commune with friends and argued that happiness is found in simple pleasures.

The Fading Ambiance of Small Biriyani Shops

The traditional biriyani shop — with its open front, clanging ladles, and fixed menu — is quietly disappearing.

Your Family Is Like a Startup. It Should Show Growth Every Year.

How to think about your family's finances, health, and well-being the same way a startup thinks about growth.

Have Cities made us Insensitive?

Why city life makes us calculative and detached — and what it would take to care again.

My Dad's friend Who Did Not Have A Name

Uppu sold salt on the streets for decades. When packaged iodized salt arrived, he reinvented himself. Nobody knew his real name.

The dawn of premium instant coffee in India

How new-age coffee brands used storytelling to make instant coffee premium — and what their marketing is quietly normalizing.

Why Sahib-ibn-Abbad carried 2,06,000 books on 400 camels

The story of a 10th-century Persian vizier whose love for books was so vast it took 400 camels — arranged alphabetically — to carry them.

The snack that was named after an explosive

Anugundu — the Tamil name for atom bomb — is a bonda that kept my dad going through poverty and became our morning ritual.

What Makes a Sitcom Funny?

After watching too many sitcoms, I noticed they all follow the same formula — and it turns out there's a name for it.

I Ordered Chole Bhature and Received Customer Experience in Return

A small restaurant's thoughtful act of splitting a poori taught me more about customer experience than any business book.

The Digital Camera That Drowned My Dad's Business

When my dad dismissed digital cameras as a fad, he didn't realize they would put him out of business within two years.

How our previous generation built and lived the Indian dream

Watching retired men eat vada at 6 AM made me wonder if our generation will ever reach the peace they have.

Life is meaningful because we think so

A colleague's sudden death and a new joiner's question about meaning led me to think about what life actually is.

Stop being too humble. You won't get anywhere

There's a thin line between humility and invisibility — and staying on the wrong side of it has real career consequences.