Stepping Up

  The intuition of writing about this topic has been for the last few months now. At present, I am at my work desk at my home, and there's a money plant that is taking my attention, intuitively telling me to think about it. My mother told me last month, "Why aren't you planting other trees as you said last month?" We have moved to our new home. I have a dedicated study space on the first floor. Just in front of my table, there's a window. On the edge of the window, I have put a money plant about which I am talking now. I told my mother, "I don't know why I am not bringing another plant, but soon I will bring."  Intuitively, I brought this small plant, and I am taking care of it each day. Every day I water it. Last week, when I was away from home for work reasons, I told my wife Reena to not forget to water it. Now the question, "Why am I not bringing other plants?" Maybe because I am not sure if I will be able to take care of it. Maybe I am...

  It is human nature to never be satisfied with what you have. We start expecting more, more, and even more with life. When we don't get what we expected, we feel underwhelmed, dissatisfied with life, and vulnerable to someone else's actions. We start being obsessed with those things that are not ours, but we expect them to be ours. This obsession distracts you from your real potential. People start asking for it, but they forget to focus on "How to earn it?"  The View Mount Abu was wrapped in mist when we arrived. The hills looked soft, almost unreal, and Nakki Lake reflected the sky like a quiet mirror. It felt like a place where nothing had to be proven. We were enjoying the best time. But across the valley, perched high on a cliff, stood a glass-walled bungalow glowing in the morning light. My friend Ishaan noticed it immediately. “That,” he said, “is how life should be.” He didn’t say could be . He said should be . And that single word changed everything. When ...

All the Indians got shaken up when they heard the news of the Pahalgam terror attack (April 22, 2025), and so did I. The entire nation was perturbed, heart-wrenched, and was expecting a powerful response to this sinful act of terrorism. The retaliation of the Indian army through the attack on the terrorist base camps in Pakistan, named "Operation Sindoor", was much needed. The Indian Navy was fully prepared for the escalation from the Pakistan side, and each escalation from the Pakistan side resulted in a substantial loss to them only, since it gave reasons to the Indian army to answer proportionally and accurately. When the ceasefire was announced, it was the perfect time because by then, the message was clearly sent from the Indian side to the terrorists and their safe haven, "Pakistan". However, this message could have been sent earlier. Why so late? There were multiple such attacks by terrorists in India. If we talk about only a few from recent ones: Mumbai trai...

  A few days back, I stammered out of fear! Or out of shame? Or out of embarrassment? Or out of guilt? It was the strongest emotion I had ever felt. Maybe it was an amalgamation of all these at  extreme and  at once.  26th January 2023 We almost destroyed our wedding anniversary by watching the movie "Pathaan."  My wife Reena doesn't like action movies, and this time, no offense to SRK fans! But, "I, too, did not like it."  Reena puts her mobile in her purse and says, "Let's get back home with an extra large ice cream tub; I am in no mood to cook today, and we are going for dinner tonight."  "Of course, my lord," I said with a smile as we entered " Natural " Ice Cream. Someone punched my chest at the exact moment I turned from the counter after giving the order. I was almost half bent saying, "Idiot, we are in our 30s now."  He laughed; my best friend, Bhavya, said, "Don't know about you, but I'm in a diff...

It's another Sunday today, but a bit more relaxed yet critically thoughtful. I spend normal weekends (when I get so much free time) watching movies. It's another such Weekend. Yesterday, I went to a movie theater with my wife on a local train in Mumbai. It was around 9 AM in the morning. It was the same crowd that you can expect in Mumbai; however, it would be much more if it would not be the Weekend. We stepped into the train and did the same thing that any other would do, searched for the vacant seat. Reena (my wife) called me from somewhere around, "Kartik, here it is; come fast." I quickly looked at the seat and approached just in time but stopped when I realized that a kid who expected to get that seat had stepped back to his father seeing me. I signaled the kid to take a seat and exchanged a smile with his father. These are very normal scenes you will come across while traveling in Mumbai locals. What I did was similar to what anyone would have done if they had ...

As I'm writing this, I'm really feeling low with the only question repeating in mind, "Is this how Kaliyug looks?" Then, I start to think about the existence of this universe. The cause, "Why these things that I'm living? What's the purpose? Why is this needed? Is life really valuable, or it's overrated?"  What is going to be my role in this universe? If I matter to this universe? If NO, then why should I be born, if YES "What change am I able to make?" From my life experience, I have learned one sure thing, and I am confident about it, and that is destiny. Your destiny is already defined. But will my destiny change with my changing deed? I am feeling low right now just because I am not accepting some things about this universe, about the people around me, and I cannot change the way they think, I cannot change their beliefs but wait... I am asking, "Can I? Can I change their way of thinking?" I have been a really optimistic ...