1000 Times (Un)lucky – The Journey to 13,000 km in Running

(First post on this blog after 10 years)

1000 Times Unlucky – The Journey to 13,000 km in Running

March 20, 2012 was when I started running to beat boredom (and loneliness) in Atlanta after I moved there. If someone had told me then that I’d become a reasonably decent runner—and more importantly, a mostly disciplined* runner—I’d not have believed them.

(*mostly disciplined because of the long break from running for most of 2024 and early 2025.)

I continued to run for over six months and got in 63 runs, recording each of them along with the list of songs I listened to during the run and writing a post on the thoughts that occurred during the run. Then, life happened.

 

Pre-2015:

I moved to India in March 2013, signed up for the TCS 10k that was happening in May for fun, and walked through most of the run. But that race ignited something in me. I’d go to the lake near home and run occasionally. This continued through 2014, including my second time running the TCS 10k.

This was also when my colleague-turned-friend-turned-coach-turned-pillar-of-support, Abhishek, started running too.

On May 1 that year, I discovered something called the Nike+ Running app (now Nike Run Club) and used it to track a run in the forests of Silchar, Assam (where I was on a work visit). I started tracking runs on that carrying my phone during my runs.

 

2015–2017:

In early 2015, I moved to a new role at work and relied on running to separate work from life. After a workday, I’d go to the local track and run random distances. No distance or pace targets—just running, tracked.

I graduated from the 10k to the half marathon distance in September 2015 with roughly 5-6 weeks of unstructured training. It was around this time my friend Nivie introduced me to the Garmin Forerunner series and got me a Forerunner 225. I used it in my very first half marathon (which ended up being 18 km due to a fallen tree on the Kukkrahalli Lake trail in Mysore). I loved the structured tracking including the kilometers splits. I did the half marathon distance in Kaveri Trail Marathon and the Bangalore Marathon in Sept/Oct 2015 and broke the 2:00 barrier for the half marathon distance at the Bangalore Marathon 2015.

I kept running on the track in one direction (anticlockwise), which eventually led to a stress fracture, accompanied by an ankle/tibia injury—both in early 2016. I sought orthopedic attention from Dr. Vinod and spent June–August 2016 with a physiotherapist, Sudin, who taught me how critical stretching is for runners.

After recovery, I continued running and completed more half marathons, including the National Marathon Circuit by NEB Sports during the 2016–17 cycle (running half marathons in Bangalore, Goa, Kolkata, and Delhi).

Mid-2015 was also when Tejas started running with me—laying the foundation for one of the few late-in-life friendships that has lasted. He became my training partner, race travel partner, and race-day companion. Around this time, my other friend Naga also started running.

 

2017:

A near-death experience from an appendix rupture and major incisional surgery forced me to take a five-month break (May–October 2017). This was my first major pause since starting to take running seriously in 2015.

To get back, I chose the Tata Mumbai Marathon (Jan 2018) as a target—no pace goals, just finishing, even if it meant walking. Abhishek became my coach and shared his training plan: all easy runs, 3–4 days a week, with focus on getting the distance in.

The first few weeks were tough—I wasn’t a morning runner—but I eventually adapted. Morning runs were a revelation. What a way to start the day! I also hit my first (and only) 100 km mileage week that December.

I also did the Bengaluru half marathon in October just to see my fitness level in less than 18 hours of notices. I was happy to finish it in a reasonably decent time (2:06) – muscle memory is a thing, perhaps!

All of this training was with Tejas by my side. We explored new routes like Pipeline Road and parts of Central Bangalore.

 

2018:

I did my first marathon at Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) in Mumbai, finishing in 4:12—a big achievement just 8 months after major surgery. I also began running consistently during work travel within the country and outside.

Thanks to Devrath Vijay’s Ninjafit bootcamp at The Outfit Jayanagar, I began strength training involving kettlebells. I had never liked gyms before, but this made a difference. (More on that soon.) I start going to the gym 2-3 times a week whenever I was in Bangalore and not on business trips which were aplenty in 2018.

Post the TMM in Jan, I continued building my aerobic base with easy runs and cracked 1:50 for the half marathon in June 2018 in Cape Cod.

A race holiday in Ladakh, a strong 1:46 half marathon in Delhi, and other events made 2018 memorable.

Tejas and I trained for TMM 2019 with a similar plan to 2018, but with added strength training after long runs.

 

2019:

At TMM 2019, I improved my marathon time by 25 minutes. Yes, early gains—but I credit this to strength training and building a consistent aerobic base.

Tejas and I got into the Chicago Marathon 2019 via lottery. That’s when I decided to get a professional coach—Dharmendra (D)—a long-delayed decision I consider one of the best in my running life.

I first spoke to D in 2017, but surgery delayed things. I was also not confident about following a routine before training for TMM 2018. After two marathon cycles, I felt ready.

We started training in February for the October race. D’s style clicked with me. His words after a initial few weeks of training—“Save your legs for the race and don’t overdo training runs”—stuck with me.

Within 10 weeks of training with D, I broke 50 minutes in the 10k with a 47:50 at TCS 10k, just 20 seconds off D’s prediction. I then ran 1:43 at the Celebrate Mysore half marathon in September 2019 5-6 weeks prior to Chicago Marathon.

Structured training—intervals, tempo, easy long runs, strength, cross-training—plus sleep and nutrition made a huge difference. This structured approach seemed to penetrate into other aspects by my life including at work where I had to build a decently sized team from scratch. While I seemed clueless in 2017 and 2018 on the work front, 2019 was a revelation. A marathon training cycle changes you!

At Chicago Marathon 2019, I cramped at 32 km but finished in 3:36 (D predicted 3:35–3:40). Tejas got a solid 3:49. This showed both of us that a combination of structure training, strength training, consistency and discipline works wonders. Post-race, we indulged in the Chicago deep-dish pizza I’d been dreaming about!

Tata Steel 25k in Dec 2019 was our last race before the pandemic. On our return from Kolkata, I joked to Tejas that it might be our last race together—and it was, at least for a while.

 

2020:

Apart from six weeks of lockdown (March–May 2020), I kept running. I aimed for the Malnad Ultra 50k in November but due to the pandemic, the event was uncertain.

Still, I trained for an ultra anyway. Every weekend, long runs. Weekday easy runs (often during lunch breaks), and strength training. My running friends—Veena, Sridhar, Naga, Abhishek, Ambika, Tejas, and others—deserve special thanks for showing up at 5:15 am every weekend.

On Nov 7, I ran the 50k self-supported. Thanks to D’s advice, I planned the day meticulously with a planning document. I was also in awe of the race organisers then since that’s when I realized the amount of planning that goes into a race. The support group—Ajit, Ashwin (on a bike), Veena, Sridhar, Abhishek, Ambika (with her car as an “aid station”), and Tejas (with coconut water!)—made it a success.

I ended the year with a 22:30 5k, not knowing what lay ahead in 2021.

 

2021:

I trained for a half marathon time trial in April and did most of my runs on Agara lake trail. A false Covid-19 scare in March forced a week’s isolation, but I bounced back. I ran my time trial on April 2 and clocked 1:42.

Shortly after, I contracted Covid-19 (Delta wave), leading to 23 days of isolation. Running was never the same. I struggled even with easy runs. Was it the virus or lost fitness? I’ll never know.

A false cardiac diagnosis in October led to more months of inactivity.

 

2022:

Another inconsistent year. Things began reopening. I ran races in Coimbatore and Goa during extended stays—but the spark was missing.

 

2023:

I trained for TMM 2023, completed it in a not-so-great time—mostly due to lack of discipline and the hybrid work mode that had started in November 2022 alongside business travel. But I was proud to finish the marathon and board a US-bound flight for a business trip within 24 hours, reaching just 15 minutes before my meetings started! I continued to train and take part in running events. There was some form of discipline that came back during this time, at least with respect to getting the training runs in.

 

2024:

I trained for the TMM Half Marathon, but a bout of tonsillitis weeks before the race ruined key long runs and taper. That became my last race of the year.

What followed was a tough period mentally. Running, once my anchor, wasn’t available. I no-showed TCS 10k for the first time since 2016 and donated via four more registrations by not showing up to the races.

It was an awful year—personally and for running.

 

2025:

Things thankfully began improving in March. I registered for TCS 10k 2025, hoping to use it as a comeback. I managed only 4–5 runs before the event.

My three goals for the event: show up, not walk, and finish. And I did. The race atmosphere, post-run conversations with D’s mentees, and my own mental clarity made me realize how much I’d missed this. The event reminded me that running is a part of my identity.

Now, I’m slowly rebuilding a routine—with one realistic goal: easy runs a few days a week.

I don’t know where this journey will go. Maybe this is another false start like 2023 or 2024. But I’ll take it one day at a time. My body can still run, and I know my mind works better when it does.

The 13,000 km milestone came at just the right time—and gave me the boost I needed. Here’s hoping I reach 14,000 km by year-end!

 

Special thanks to friends who’ve been part of this journey  (sorry if I forgot anyone):

Suchindra, Abhijit, Praveen, Syed, Suraj, Sindhu, Sandeep, Abhishek, Tejas, Nivedita, Naga, Ahmed,  Arundhathi, Madhav, Ambika, Veena, Sridhar, Deepthi, Mamatha, Sudarshan, Ajit, Ashwin, Kritika, and more.

More special thanks to my strength training coaches from 2018:

Devrath Vijay, Ranjitha, Sankrit, Narsimhan, Sathish, Vishakh, Aravind Raj (my current coach), Marlon, Mariam, Sreenath, Tushar, Rohit, Tejashree, Harsha, Shravan, Mallikarjun, Micheal, Varun, Vaishnavi and some more.

Countries I’ve run in:

India, USA, Germany, England, Scotland, Peru, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan

 

List of Running events I have participated in:

The following are the running events I have taken part in from 2013 until 2025. I will put in the exact dates and timing for each event shortly.

Year	Events
2013	TCS 10k
2014	TCS 10k Ajmera Thump 10k
2015	TCS 10k Celebration Mysore Half Marathon Kaveri Trail Marathon (Half) Bengaluru Marathon (Half)
2016	TCS 10k Ealing Half Marathon (first overseas event) Bengaluru Marathon (Half) Kaveri Trail Marathon (Half) Goa River Marathon (Half)
2017	Dubai Marathon (10k) IDBI Kolkata Marathon (Half) IDBI New Delhi Marathon (Half) Bengaluru Marathon (Half) Kaveri Trail Marathon (Half)
2018	Tata Mumbai Marathon TCS 10k Beach and Back Half Marathon (Mashpee, MA) Hyderabad Marathon (Half) Ladakh Marathon (Half) Airtel Delhi Half Marathon Kaveri Trail Marathon (Half) Tata Steel Kolkata 25k
2019	Tata Mumbai Marathon Town of Celebration Half Marathon (Orlando FL) Surf City Marathon (half, Huntington Beach, CA) TCS 10k The North Face Endurance Challenge (half, Wachusett Mountain, Princeton MA) Celebrate Life Mysore Marathon (Half) Chicago Marathon Kaveri Trail Marathon (Half) Tata Steel Kolkata 25k
2020	N/A
2021	N/A
2022	Bengaluru Marathon April (half) Bengaluru Marathon October (half) Western Naval Command (WNC) Navy Half Marathon Kaveri Trail Marathon (Half)
2023	Tata Mumbai Marathon TCS 10k Cambridge Town and Gown 10k Kaveri Trail Marathon (Half)
2024	Tata Mumbai Marathon (half)
2025	TCS 10k

 

If you made it this far, thank you for reading and thank you for being a part of my running journey. Do write a comment here or a drop me a message if you liked reading this post.

 

Yennai Arindhaal [Movie Review]

I have been a fan of Gautam Menon’s female leads. Mostly. Be it Maya in Khakha Khakha, Aradhana in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu or for that matter even Jessie in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya, they all have a sense of contemporariness in them. Maya and Aradhana (both played by Jyothika) came alive in Yennai Arindhaal in the form of Hemanika. Wonderfully played by Trisha who looked stunning to say the least (and voiced ably by Krithika Nelson), this character had just enough screen time to make it a memorable appearance.

Arun Vijay, the son of ‘Nattamai’ Vijayakumar, has been an unlucky actor for quite while (I’d say close to 18-20 years). He seemed to have some decent movies on and off, but nothing that was a big break! Fortunately, Yennai Arindhaal has space for his performance and he doesn’t disappoint. Playing Victor, who again seems a mishmash of Khakha Khakha’s Pandian (played by Jeevan) and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu’s Amudhan (played by Daniel Balaji), Arun makes the best out of this outing. While Jeevan and Daniel Balaji did not seem to have many big releases following their respective movies with Gautham Menon, I sincerely hope this is the break that Arun Vijay was waiting for. And Gautam (un)subtly tries to portray him in either white or black. And yes, he’s become one more inspiration for me to get fitter! :P

Billa (2007) was my last favourite movie of Ajith Kumar. Having become that mass hero, Ajith rarely has had a fun outing in the recent past (you may say Mankatha, but no that wasn’t one for me!). Embracing his salt and pepper look (which suits him very well), Ajith takes a role of a character who is in his late thirties, and he mostly succeeds in it. While he lacks the grace of Surya’s Anbuselvan character, there is definitely an influence of Kamal’s Raghavan character in many a way. His pairing with Trisha is spot on and it is difficult to believe that the pair has grown so gracefully in ten years since Ji!

With these three actors and their characters and some more, Gautam Menon tries to come out with yet another chapter in a policeman’s life. With his intentions all in the right form, Gautam Menon tries to interpolate his storytelling from the first two movies assuming that it will have the required effect. But what comes out in the end is mainly nostalgia, thanks to Khakha Khakha and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu. It is not that Yennai Arindhaal does not have its moments, but every bit of it is either predictable or employed in another Gautam Menon movie. This includes the father sentiment with Nasser (in a wonderful performance) and wanderlust, both like in Vaaranam Aayiram. With yet another influenced soundtrack (with a couple of good songs) and uninspiring background score from a complacent Harris Jayaraj, Yennai Arindhaal could have been much more, especially considering that Gautam Menon had two able screenplay writers!

Dear Gautam Menon, I think you should take a break from these cop movies and love stories and make a movie with two or more female leads, like what Rajeev Menon did in Kandukonden Kandukonden (an adaptation of Sense and Sensibility).

Sincerely,
Your fan from Minnale days.

Kurukshetra - Aryavarta Chronicles #3 - [Book Review]

Kurukshetra by Krishna Udayasankar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A few weeks back, I was in a discussion with author Krishna Udaysankar on BlogAdda’s chat on mythological fiction. In general, I am of the view that a lot of the happenings in our epics are left open to interpretation and it is always refreshing to see someone go down an untraveled path while exercising their creativity. The author, in the discussion, mentioned that a lot of details differ in editions including critical editions, and we just assume that the popular version is the ‘correct’ one. I could not have agreed with the author Ms. Krishna on this more, and this perhaps is where the Krishna Udaysankar’s trilogy ‘Aryavarta Chronicles’ stands out. A retelling of the Mahabharatha standing in a very stable way in a very new realm, including a (fictitious) plot point that mostly works, Aryavarta Chronicles is a wonderful journey from start to finish. The focus of this post will essentially be on the third book of the trilogy ‘Kurukshetra,’ but there will be references to the first two books ‘Govinda’ and ‘Kauravas’ in a few places in the post.

For the fact that Mahabharata got me back to reading, I am usually keen on reading any interpretation of the epic that shows up. Upon hearing about the Aryavarta Chronicles and the author (and her credentials, I must say) my interest was piqued. With BlogAdda having this third book for review, it was no brainer for me to apply and ensure that I had read the first two books before the third one. I was tempted to try this one as a standalone, but a friend mentioned that flow and the understanding of the characters would be better if I read the first two books. (More on this a little later in the post.) I got the first two books, and it formed an integral part of my mornings for six days when I read it on the bus (my first time with continued reading on the bus).

Among the retellings of the epic Mahabharatha, I was most fascinated by two books for two different reasons: the character analysis in Irawati Karwe’s Yuganta: The End of an Epoch and general theme of M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s Bhima: Lone Warrior (though I am tempted to add Jaya by Devdutt Pattanaik to the list!). I can safely say that the Aryavarta Chronicles is going to feature in this list.

A portrayal of the lesser-known characters in a very new dimension, Kurukshetra starts at where Kauravas ended: a hint of the declaration of a war between the cousins. While many a version have written about the epic and the war in great depth, Krishna adds in a premise featuring a section of people called the Firewrights and a Secret Keeper. The reasons for many happenings in the epic are attributed to the Firewrights, and this includes the occurences of events including Dharma marrying Panchali and the empire expansion with the annexure of many a kingdom in Aryavarta (described in detail in Book 2).

Who are the Firewrights, what do they want, what is their ancestry and why is that the First borns are involved in the occurences along with the Firewrights? These are all the questions that Krishna tries to pose in the first two books and answer them (mostly satisfactorily) in the Kurukshetra. The fact that the Firewright theory stemmed from one of the first few people of the Kaurava family is indeed interesting and I quite liked how the author blended the happening in the last year of the exile of Dharma and his brothers to this.
There were many thing that had the book going great for me. Firstly, the writing. The author takes into account the intelligence of the reader and leaves quite a few things open for interpretation or for the reader to figure out himself. In an age, when story-telling can mean jotting down a screenplay lazily, Krishna makes a wonderful effort to introduce elements into the story which have meaning much later in the story, and it is up to the reader to connect those. Secondly, there was no God like stature to any of the characters, including Govinda. For example, the fact that the shaming of Panchali did not have a divine angle to it made you sympathize with the character a lot more. In addition, Govinda is shown as a selfish character for the most part (and there is a reason to it), and this I guess makes the character a lot more relatable. Thirdly, the main characters in this retelling included the characters that are mostly mentioned in the other versions to drive the story. With Dhristadymna, Shikhandin, Ashwattama, Sanjaya, Vyasa Dwaipayana, and Suka, forming a major chunk of the characters on who the story is focused on, it is refreshing to see the author not adopting the safe route for the epic. Even though a lot of the other characters including Pritha (Kunthi), Gandhaari, and Dhritarashtra, do not get enough screen time in the book, it doesn’t seem to affect the premise.

Two more things that I loved about the book were the innocent romance that Abhimanyu and Uttara had in the first part of the book including the days leading up to the war. I would definitely love to read a short piece by the author solely focusing on these two characters. One reason, she did not take Uttara’s love for Abhimanyu granted and two, Abhimanyu’s dignified (and perhaps awkward) behavior. The second thing was that in the book (and in the trilogy), a different side of Syoddhan is shown. One, he is not shown on the arrogant and angry cousin of Dharma. Two, his reason to declare a war of Dharma and his brothers is not for the kingdom as such. I would love to dwell on this for longer, but it would mean posting spoilers.

A couple of things that did not work for me in the third book was the identity of the secret keeper and in general, the (lack of) emphasis of the Firewrights. I was able to identify who the current secret keeper was in the first few pages of the book and perhaps that made me a little disappointed because I was waiting for the author to spring up a surprise and prove me wrong. Firewrights have been an intergral part of this trilogy with a major part of the second book focusing on the happenings involving them. Perhaps the author intended the third book to focus on the war more, and considering that the war was a result of the action of Firewrights, it is justified. A few minor typos, which do not matter in the larger scheme of things, could be corrected in the subsequent editions.

How does this book stand by itself and how is it as a part of the trilogy? I can safely say that for an enhanced reading experience and better background of the characters, especially considering the characters the author focuses on, the book is better read a trilogy. However, as a standalone too, the book is able to speak for itself, and the author provides sufficient background on a few of the key happenings the reader would need to know or remember from the first two book.

Overall, with some good writing which wonderfully compliments the reader’s intelligence, Kurukshetra (and overall the Aryavarta Chronicles) is a winner! I would love to see how Krishna Udaysankar’s next book turns out to be. And the TV show on this trilogy.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!


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I (Tamil) [Movie Review]

Tamil Cinema has seen a lot of successful and impactful collaborations off-screen. One such memorable collaboration is that of director Shankar and writer Sujatha. Having collaborated on many a movie including the very successful and entertaining Anniyan, Mudhalvan and Sivaji, the combination was sorely missed in parts of Endhiran (due to the death of Sujatha). Shankar did a quick and dirty project Nanban which didn’t need much creativity in the story or dialogues considering it was a scene-by-scene remake of 3 Idiots. With all these factors, Shankar had a pretty important litmus test on whether he would have a successful outing in I, without Sujatha. In a way to compensate for this, Shankar had roped in the actor Vikram, I guess. And he almost gets lucky.

A revenge-drama entered around Lingesan (Vikram), a local guy who shoots up to prominence, I definitely has Vikram in a very satisfying outing since Raavanan. Giving a 100% physically and perhaps mentally, Vikram definitely needs to be lauded for his performance throughout the movie, including the few scenes which showcase his acting prowess completely.

I is a story that could have been condensed to a fast-paced thriller of 100-120 minutes. With a total of five antagonists/villains, and a back-story for each of them with Vikram, the story definitely appeared stretched. To add to this, Shankar along with the writer Subha decides to insult the audience’s intelligence by replaying a few sequences which were quite obvious to ensure that the viewer places a piece of the jigsaw puzzle with just five pieces which already has four pieces in place. This tedious nature of the narrative does not help with the length either and makes it a dragging 189 minutes long movie.

One can always trust Shankar to work with A.R.Rahman well. And he sure has this time too. From the ’damaal-dumeel’ U-turn that I made (of not relishing the songs on the first listen, putting away the songs in a cold freezer and then getting called by the songs after a good two months to love them entirely), I was sure that the songs would be picturized in a way that would to justice to it. It is almost a blind faith that Shankar gets what he wants from Rahman, like Mani Ratnam (and perhaps Imtiaz Ali now). Starting the wonderful Ladio and Aila Aila, which turn out to be product commercials, to Mersalaiyten that shows even the not-so-enticing parts of Chennai as a wondrous spectacle, the songs are placed in the movie well and picturized well. The staple romantic duet in any Shankar movie is the Pookale Sattru Oyvendungal, which is shot in China and has the grandeur of nature showcased very well. I particularly want to mention ‘The’ song of the album and its picturization here. Ennodu Nee Irundhal is that song that perhaps a lot of us hated on the first listen only for us to go back and listen to it in a loop. With a Beauty and the Beast theme, even the video takes its time to grow on you. And how!

Amy Jackson, introduced by Vijay in Madrasapattinam, does what she supposed to do very well. She looks good. She dances well. She emotes well. And in one scene where she is supposed to talk in a local dialect, she throws in the attitude casually without much discomfort. A lot of this is to be credited to the voice Raveena. Upen Patel is the major antagonist here and will perhaps find chances in Tamil cinema to play the good-looking Hindi-speaking villain (who essentially speaks one two three baa baa black sheep and gets saved by the dubbing artist). There’s Suresh Gopi, Ramkumar (late actor Sivaji Ganesan’s son) Ojas M Rajini, and another actor who are up against Vikram. Santhanam is not a major annoyance in this movie, especially after the disastrous Lingaa, has some good one-liners and helps the storyline move, like how Vivek did in Anniyan. (Ojas M Rajini's character in the movie will definitely make a few of the activists for sexual equality gang up against the movie and the movie could have done without this character. )

Shankar, thanks for enabling Vikram win this one! Better luck to you next time!

PS: This was my first movie review in over 4 years with the last one being that of Shankar's Endhiran with Rajini! Time to get back to writing more I guess!

2014 - In a nutshell

After 4 years of writing about ‘This Year in a Nutshell’ blogpost, I skipped 2013. 2013 was one big year for me with a big career and personal move. I’d moved back to India after 7 years and 7 months in the US. And that was for good, and life has been good!

So here’s 2014 in a nutshell:

- The year with most travel to date! Thanks to work-related travel primarily and professional travel. Personal trips to Srilanka, Costa Rica, Amritsar, and Pondicherry; work-related trips to Nagaland (yes, you read it right!), Assam (again right!), Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Delhi, Indore, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi. So much air travel that the flight seat has become of one of my favourite reading chairs!

- The year of reading books! Finished my Goodreads yearly challenge of 20 books by reading 56 books (and counting). I can lose myself in books completely anytime. @NameFieldMT was one big motivator for me on this front. Thanks A!

- The year that I became a book review blogger! Thanks to @blogadda and @vivekisms, by sending in many many books for reviewing. You made me both read and write! The book review blog (I do crosspost on this blog, at times!)

- The year where I successfully completed two 10k runs! TCS 10k and Ajmera Thump, with a personal best of 59:22! Thanks to Bengaluru Runners and GS for the motivation.

- The year the Siblingeshwari got married and also left home to head to Bombay for studies (both being independent events).

- The year with increased traveling on public transport! Boo to traffic woes and dust! :D

- The year I moved past TV shows (hopefully!)! Have a huge backlog of TV shows to watch and I continue to read books.

- The year with two recordings including this 90stalgia! Hope I get back to music more and get better! Thanks @sdhrshn for that 90stalgia and making me sing some of my favorite songs by my God! Thanks @amaravind and @_curses too!

Okay, I think I have had a great year! Let me stop here before I cast nazar on myself! ;-)

Rabda: My Sigh... My Sai [Book Review]

Rabda: My Sigh . . . My Sai by Ruzbeh N Bharucha


It is not often that I go into an experimental phase with respect to reading, though I’d like to count a lot of the reads that I have done this year as experiments to see how my taste has evolved. When I got a chance to review ‘Rabda: My Sai… My Sigh,’ by Ruzbeh N. Bharuch I was not too sure if this book, given the spiritual read it was described to be, would be my cup of tea. I carefully navigated through the first few pages and had multiple false starts before I sat and completed the book in almost one go. While I am not too sure if I will go back to this type of reading, I must say that reading this was an experience in itself.

The premise of the book is a very simple one where a patient Rabda who is very very close to death gets to interact with Baba Sai. Baba Sai looking at this devotee of his from a previous lifetime begins to talk about his life, from the time he got to Shirdi, how he treated his devotees, what he thinks of life, and more. This interaction more or less turns out to be a discourse of sorts and there is definitely a lot of philosophy, spirituality and some common sense in it.

While the writing is pretty much to the point such that a reader is not bogged down by the vocabulary especially considering it is a spiritual read, the use of abusive words that are found in Baba’s speech is something that definitely leaves a bad taste in the reader. It is true that Baba was a man who had a colourful vocabulary and used words at his will especially given his temper. However, the same set of words and same provocations and reactions from Rabda were done to death after a while.

For me, the read was mostly material that I think I would listen to in a discourse/lecture. And the fact that the author Ruzbeh is able to put in a book is impressive. I am sure people who are into spiritual reads will enjoy this book.

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The Ripple Effect

I was in Class 3. Due to some family constraints, I was put in a ‘local’ school close to home for two years, before I went on to one of the ‘bigger’ schools in the city from Class 5. Class 3 is where you more often than not associate a kid with a happy-go-lucky lifestyle without bothering as much. You still are in a nascent phase of your life and do not have a clue of what happens in life anyway. This school that I was in did have a lot of students from the lower economic background and a few of them did go hungry through the day filling their ever-growling tummies with the tap water during lunch and headed out to play. There were many such classmates of mine, and the fussy eater that I was would end up passing on parts of my lunch or at times in entirety to one of those classmates.

The reason I mention this is because I have seen at least a dozen of my classmates faint during the physical training (PT) classes which were usually held after lunch. The reason why that happened is not difficult to trace back to. This would in turn mean the student would miss the classes at least for the rest of the day, and at times for multiple days in a row. It is not rocket science that this definitely disrupts the learning of the student.

So hunger fuels bad health. Bad health in turn leads to the student missing his classes. This in turn leads to a less-than-perfect learning for the student. This may very well continue to haunt him for the rest of his life particularly considering the impact that education has on one’s career and life.

I’d rather be seen as a person of action than that of words. One way that I along with my family has acted on this is by shunning all forms of celebrations for birthdays, anniversaries, and success. We instead contribute to an orphanage closely which though managed well is quite short of funds. Rather than spending a good Rs. 2000 on getting a few pizzas, I’d use the same to feed the 20 kids in the institute three times a day for two days. This has been the case for close to 10 years and we will continue to do so in the years to come.

BlogAdda, as innovative as they are, are supporting the AkshayaPatra foundation and I am happy to be a part of this cause since the ripple effect that a mid-day meal scheme for children has is indeed amazing. Kudos to you, BlogAdda!

I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda.

The Magician who lost his Wallet [Book Review]

(I received this book from the author Gautam Acharya as a part of Goodreads First-Reads giveaway program. Thank you Gautam!)

I have always been fascinated by the first book of an author, mainly because I am curious to see how the author pens down his thoughts and sustains his ‘first-book’ enthusiasm through the course of the book. Gautam Acharya, the author of ‘The Magician who lost his Wallet,’ had me intrigued with the title of the book itself and he moderately succeeds in having me glued to the book till the end.

At less than 190 pages, The Magician who lost his Wallet is an easy read with mostly simple and conversational language with a semi-compelling premise. The premise is that of a person who finds a wallet and tries to trace down the owner of the wallet, while there are others who are onto doing the same thing. In the process, we learn about a person who finds a way to work on what he thought was his true calling, his complex with his neighbor, his relationship with his brother-in-law and the like. The word ‘magician’ in the title is where all the mystery is shrouded in and Gautam handles this mystery in a pretty safe and tested manner.

As mentioned, the book has its premise in a lost-and-found setting while incorporating quite a few characters into the premise. While Gautam builds up a good background for most of the characters including Debu, Rana, Ritvik, Pandey and others, he could have perhaps emphasized a little more on the other three characters around which the novel is centered in the last few pages. As a result of this, the mystery is not an easy guess, especially considering the detailing that goes into most of the characters. This is where Gautam wins (and perhaps falters!). You seem as though you are led into believing something and then there’s a perfect foil to what you thought might be the ending. Of course, there are a few loose ends which do not seem to matter in the larger scheme of things.

Gautam Acharya in his first books seems to have treaded a safe line quite successfully without indulging in many a fancy writing. But it would be good to see how he gets out of this safe zone aka. comfort zone and voices his thoughts in the near future.