Thank You, Gloria!

More than a generation of women owe something of their lives, their choices, and their freedom to this woman.

Thank you, Gloria, for being the voice when so many of us were still learning to find our own. For being the strength when standing up came with a cost. For being the role model who showed generations of women that we could question, choose, speak, lead, create, and live on our own terms.

Your words gave language to things we had felt but couldn't always articulate. Your courage made it a little easier for others to find theirs.

And for me, you were one of those women whose very existence made the world feel a little larger and the possibilities for women a little wider.

Thank you for the voice!
Thank you for the courage!
Thank you for the example!

Rest in peace, Gloria! You will remain in my heart forever. ❤️

A Song for the India We Share

There are some songs that never become irrelevant. In a few weeks, on 1 October 2026, it will be exactly 30 years since Hariharan and Leslee Lewis released their iconic album Colonial Cousins. I love every song in it, but Krishna has forever stayed closest to my heart. 

Every time I listen to it, I'm reminded of an idea of India that has always inspired me. An India that has, for centuries, been home to people of different faiths, languages, traditions, and ways of life. It has never been a perfect story. Like every civilization, ours has seen moments of harmony alongside moments of conflict and triumph alongside mistakes. But the aspiration to coexist has always been one of the most beautiful parts of our shared heritage. That is exactly what makes this song timeless.

As we celebrate this Independence Day, I'd like to dedicate it especially to the younger generation. Yours is the first generation to grow up in a world shaped so completely by globalization and digital connectivity that you have opportunities, influences, and responsibilities unlike any generation before you.

As you help shape India's future, I hope you also carry forward one of its greatest strengths, the ability to see humanity, curiosity, and respect before anything else. May this song remind us that being secular is not simply a constitutional principle. It is also a way of living with openness, dignity, and compassion towards one another. And perhaps that's why, there couldn't be a better song to celebrate the many colours of India.

Happy Independence Day!

 

Walking Through the World of Sherlock

 

I just got back from London, and I still think nothing captures the city's spirit quite like the Sherlock theme. One of the highlights of my trip was visiting almost every location featured in it. And thanks to playing the popular game, Scotland Yard, I also decided to experience every mode of transport the city had to offer.

The Tube. The trains. The iconic black cabs. The Uber boats. And, of course, the classic red double decker buses. It felt less like sightseeing and more like stepping into a city I had already explored countless times through music, television, and board games.

Some places surprise you because they're new. Others because they somehow already feel familiar.

To Every Woman

 

Few conversations have stayed with me the way this one has. Thank you, Elizabeth Gilbert, for putting into words something I've been reflecting on for a long time. It reminded me that perhaps the question isn't "Why are so many educated, accomplished, and financially independent women choosing not to marry or have children?"

The better question is, "What has society done to make these choices feel less safe, less equal, or less fulfilling than they could be?" Marriage itself isn't the problem. Patriarchal expectations within marriage are.

Until our relationships evolve into genuine partnerships built on mutual respect, shared responsibility, and emotional equality, many women will continue questioning whether the institution, as it exists today, aligns with the life they want to build.

This conversation is worth having. 

Happy Woman's Day!  

तू बुद्धि दे तू तेज दे

A prayer I first heard at the experimental school that inspired the book I co authored has stayed with me ever since. Few prayers ask us to become better human beings instead of merely asking God to make our lives better. This is one of them.

Listen to the song here.

तू बुद्धि दे तू तेज दे नवचेतना विश्वास दे
जे सत्य सुंदर सर्वथा आजन्म त्याचा ध्यास दे

हरवले आभाळ ज्यांचे हो तयांचा सोबती
सापडेना वाट ज्यांना हो तयांचा सारथी
साधना करिती तुझी जे नित्य तव सहवास दे

जाणवाया दुर्बलांचे दुःख आणि वेदना
तेवत्या राहो सदा रंध्रातुनी संवेदना
धमन्यातल्या रुधिरास या खल भेदण्याची आस दे
सामर्थ्य या शब्दांस आणि अर्थ या जगण्यास दे

सन्मार्ग आणि सन्मती लाभो सदा सत्संगती
नीती ना ही भ्रष्ट हो जरी संकटे आली किती
पंखास या बळ दे नवे झेपावण्या आकाश दे

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

 

There are songs you enjoy, songs you remember, and then there are songs that become a part of who you are. Today, Mile Sur Mera Tumhara has been on loop.

For me, no other song has come even remotely close to capturing the diversity, heritage, cultures, languages, music, folk traditions, landscapes, and spirit of India the way this one does. It reminds me that our differences were never meant to divide us. They were meant to come together, just as countless rivers eventually find the same ocean.

I've also shared the lyrics below in case you'd like to follow along or even sing it yourself. Trust me, if you've never done it before, give it a try. I have been doing it since morning. Especially, the finale... the song gently flows into the tune of Jana Gana Mana, I still get goosebumps. Every! Single! Time!

My hope for the generations that will shape India's future is that they inherit not just our progress, but also the values that have held this country together for centuries. Respect for diversity, openness to different cultures, and the understanding that unity doesn't require uniformity.

Happy Republic Day! 🇮🇳

 

Hindi

Mile sur mera tumharaa, to sur bane hamaraa....

Sur kee nadhiyaan har disha se behke saagar mein milee...

Baadalon ka roop lekar barsen halke halke...

Mile sur mera tumharaa.. toh... sur bane hamaara..

Mile sur mera tumhara...

Kashmiri 

Chaain taraj tahin nyay taraj

Ek but baniye saayen taraj

Punjabi

Tera sur mile mere sur de naal

Milke bane ek nava surtaal

Hindi

Mile sur mera tumharaa....

To sur bane hamaara..

Sindhi

Mohnja sur tohi desa pyara mile jadein

Geet ashaanjo madhur tarano bane tadein

Urdu

Sur ka dariya behke saagar me mile

Punjabi 

Badlaan da roop leike barasan hole hole

Tamil

Isaindhal namm iruvarin suramum namadhakum..

Dhisai veru aanalum aariser aarugal

Mugilai mazaiyai pozivadu pol isai

...Namm isssaiiii....

Padhant

Thik thakida thathikakida....thaka thimi thaka junu

Kannada

Nanna danige ninna daniyu,

Seridante namma daniyu..

Telugu

Naa swaramu nee swaramu sangammamai,

Mana swaram ga avatarinchey

Malayalam

Ente swaravum ningalude swaravum

Otthu chernnu nammude swaramai....

Bengali

Tomaar shoor moder shoor srishti korook oikyashoor...

Tomaar shoor moder shoor srishti korook oikyashoor...

Assamese

Srishti hok oikyatan

Oriya

Toma mora swarer milan srishti kare chalbochatano

Gujarati

Male sur jo taro maro, bane aapno sur niralo

Marathi

Majhya tumchya julta tara madhur suranchya barasti dhara

Hindi

Sur ki nadiya har disha se behke saagar mein mile...Baadlo ka roop leke barse halke halke..

Oh...Mile sur mera tumhara tho....sur bane hamara...

Mile Sur mera tumhara

To sur bane hamara tho sur bane hamara

To sur bane hamara

.......

And then...

🎶 Jaya he, jaya he... jaya jaya jaya he...

भगवानदास माहौर (स्मृतिदिन १२ मार्च १९७९)

में विद्रोही हूँ उत्पीड़क सत्ता को ललकार रहा हूँ 

खूब समझता हूँ में खुद ही अपनी मौत पुकार रहा हूँ 

मेरे शोणितकी लालीसे कुछ तो लाल धरा होगी ही | 

मेरे वर्त्तनसे परिवर्तित कुछ तो परंपरा होगी ही || 

में जो उल्टे सीधे स्वरसे गाता रहता करुण कथाएँ | 

सुनकर अकुलाती ही होंगी, व्यथितोंकी चिरमूक व्यथाएँ || 

मेरे स्वरसे कुछ तो मुखरित जगती दुःखभरा होगी ही | 

मेरे शोणितकी लालीसे कुछ तो लाल धरा होगी ही || 

--x--

Game of Thrones

I can't help but quote my favourite dialogues from GoT! As a fan who's fallen in love with the books and TV series I am listing below my top 10 dialogues from this series! 

1. "Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you." - Tyrion Lannister
2. "A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the sheep." - Tywin Lannister
3. "It's easy to confuse 'what is' with 'what ought to be', especially when 'what is' has worked out in your favour." - Tyrion Lannister
4. "I think mothers and fathers made up the Gods because they wanted their children to sleep through the night." - Davos Seaworth
5. "A very small man can cast a very large shadow" - Tyrion Lannister
6. Bran thought about it, "can a man be brave if he is afraid?" "That is the only time a man can be brave!" - Ned Stark
7. "The more people you love, the weaker you are." - Cersei Lannister
8. "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who doesn't read lives only one." Jojen Reed
9. "Remember what father used to say? Everything before 'but' is horse shit." Jon Snow
10. "If we die, we die. But first we live." - Ygritte

संसार से भागे फिरते हो

A person who's known life beyond beliefs and faith is capable of  penning down such a brilliant song. Sahir Ludhianvi is without a doubt one of my favorite lyricist. My admiration and love for his writings grows with reading every thing he's ever written. Music director and Singer's combination of Roshan and Lata Mangeshkar was a hit for obvious reasons. This song is no exception to that golden pair. And last but not the least, Meena Kumari shows her caliber as an actress in a way that proves there's no one like her and there won't be anyone like her, in every sense of the term!

संसार से भागे फिरते हो 

भगवान को तुम क्या पाओगे 

इस लोग को भी अपना न सके 

उस लोग में भी पछताओगे 

संसार से भागे फिरते हो। 

ये पाप है क्या ये पून्य है क्या 

रीतों पर धरम की मोहरें हे 

हर युग में बदलते धरमों को  

कैसे आदर्श बनाओगे ?

संसार से भागे फिरते हो। 

ये भोग भी एक तपस्या है 

तुम त्याग के मारे क्या जानो 

अपमान रचेता का होगा 

रचना को अगर ठुकराओगे 

संसार से भागे फिरते हो। 

हम कहते है ये जग अपना है 

तुम कहते हो झूठा सपना है 

हम जनम बिता कर जायेंगे 

तुम जनम गवां कर जाओगे 

संसार से भागे फिरते हो 

भगवान को तुम क्या पाओगे

संसार से भागे फिरते हो। 

Beautiful lines I have read

These are selected few sentences I have loved in the context of their books as well as out of it. 

1. "After all, tomorrow is another day." - Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2. "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." - The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger 
3. "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 
4. "In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart." - The diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
5. "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" - Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats
6. "I wondered if that was how forgiving budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night" - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
7. "It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
8. "I have never met a strong person with an easy past." - To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
9. "The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." - The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
10. "Great men are not born great, they grow great". - The Godfather by Mario Puzo 

गुलजार

ऐ उम्र !

कुछ कहा मैँने,

पर शायद तूने सुना नहीं .. 

तू छीन सकती है बचपन मेरा,

पर बचपना नहीं!!

हर बात का कोई जवाब नही होता 

हर इश्क का नाम खराब नही होता। 

यु तो झूम लेते है नशेमें पीनेवाले 

मगर हर नशे का नाम शराब नही होता।

खामोश चहरे पर हजारों पहरे होते है 

हंसती आखों में भी जख्म गहरे होते है 

जिनसे अक्सर रूठ जाते है हम,

असल में उनसे ही रिश्ते गहरे होते है। 

किसी ने खुदासे दुआ मांगी 

दुआ में अपनी मौत मांगी,

खुदा ने कहा, मौत तो तुझे दे दू मगर,

उसे क्या कहु जिसने तेरी जिंदगी की दुआ मांगी .. 

हर इन्सान का दिल बुरा नहीं होता 

हर एक इन्सान बुरा नहीं होता 

बुझ जाते है दिये कभी तेल की कमी से ..  

हर बार कुसूर हवा का नहीं होता!!!