Some books take you somewhere you've never been. And then there are books that take you somewhere you remember dearly. Lallan Sweets felt a little like that to me. Set in the small town of Siyaka in the 1990s, the book follows Tara, her family, an old friendship, a sweet shop, and a rather unusual search for the secret ingredient in her grandfather's laddoos. But strangely, it wasn't the mystery that stayed with me. It was the world around it, the 1990s, those Hindi songs, th

Most of us don't realize when it happens. One day, we begin doing something because we genuinely enjoy it. We love working, learning, creating. The effort itself feels meaningful. Then, somewhere along the way, something quietly changes. The work is no longer enough. Our focus shifts towards the results in the form of appreciation, promotion, recognition, numbers, outcomes. Without noticing it, we work not because we love the work but because we hope the result will finally m

The first raindrops arrived before the rain itself. A faint fragrance drifted through the open window. Soft, earthy, familiar. Within seconds, I knew it had started raining somewhere nearby. There is something almost magical about that smell. The scent of dry earth meeting rain after a long wait. A fragrance so ordinary that most of us have known it since childhood - Petrichor !!! And yet, every time it arrives, it feels like a visitor we are happy to welcome back. I walked

There are mornings when I catch myself hurrying for absolutely no reason. The tea is brewing, breakfast is on the table, nothing is burning, no one is waiting and I'm not even late. Still, I find myself moving faster than the moment asks me to. Opening one cupboard before I've closed another, walking quickly from one room to the next, checking my phone while waiting for the kettle to boil, mentally arranging tomorrow before today has properly not even begun. It happens so nat

Some stories stay with us because of what happens. Others stay with us because of where they take us. And every once in a while, a story quietly changes the way you look at an entire era. That was my experience while watching Made in India: A Titan Story. I began watching it expecting a story about Titan, about watches, entrepreneurship, about one of India's most respected companies. And it certainly is all of that. But somewhere along the way, my attention wandered beyond th

There always seems to be one more thing standing between us and the life we imagine. Once I get that promotion. Once I buy my own home. Once the children settle down. Once I lose some weight. Once the business grows. Once I retire. Once... It is a small word. Yet so much of our happiness quietly hangs from it. We tell ourselves that life will become lighter after the next milestone. Then we'll finally relax But life has an interesting habit. The moment we reach one destinatio

Have you ever slept for eight or nine hours and still woken up tired? Not physically tired. But something else, like a heaviness that lingers even after the body has supposedly rested. And then there are other mornings. You sleep fewer hours than usual, yet wake up surprisingly refreshed. Clear. Light. Ready for the day. For a long time, I assumed sleep was simply a matter of quantity. More sleep meant more rest. But experience kept suggesting otherwise - Not all sleep is res

Some teams win trophies. Some teams win the world's respect. Cape Verde became one of the most beautiful stories of this World Cup. A story that will be remembered long after the final score has been forgotten because they reminded us what belief in yourself can look like. A nation of just over half a million people walked onto football's biggest stage carrying very little expectation. They faced three former world champions. They drew with two of them. And when they met defe

Have you ever walked away from a conversation, only to find yourself replaying it hours later? Wondering if you spoke too much, sounded foolish or rude, or left the wrong impression. It's curious how someone else's opinion can continue living inside our mind long after they've moved on with their day. A single compliment can stay with us for hours. Sometimes, a careless remark stays with us for days. We tell ourselves we've forgotten it, but every now and then it quietly retu

A few days ago, I stepped out for my usual walk and realized I had forgotten my earphones. For a moment, I almost went back. Not because I needed them, but because I had become used to them - A podcast while walking, Music while driving, Videos while eating, Scrolling while waiting. Somewhere along the way, every empty moment in our lives seems to have found a companion. Something to listen to. Something to watch. Something to fill the space. So I continued walking without th