the inner voice

A s someone interested in human perspectives and stories, Trinny Woodall's quote, "Age is irrelevant, it's about the energy you bring," caught my attention. She expressed this PoV over a lunch interview, the Financial Times was running with her. For a very long time, time management was touted as an important skill. Of course, it is and will remain so, but I've come to believe something even more fundamental needs to be taken care of. More so, since the world is increasingly volatile and uncertain. With everyone 24x7 connected, time has become fluid and all-pervasive, and its management is losing relevance. Managing energy has become the key. Our calendars are often choreographed to maximize efficiency, operating under the flawed assumption that our energy is infinite when clearly it is not. Managing energy manifests in multiple ways: a) Activities - how one structures the day, allocating high-focus tasks to periods of peak energy while reserving routine work for...

One of my most memorable visits has been to Barabar Caves. Therefore this one is also a photo blog.  Nestled in the rugged hills of Bihar's Jehanabad district ( India ) lies one of India's most remarkable yet underappreciated ancient wonders - the Barabar Caves. As the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, dating back to the Mauryan period (321-185 BCE), this architectural marvel offers an extraordinary window into ancient India's technological sophistication and spiritual diversity. India has many rock-cut caves or structures, such as Ajanta, Ellora, Badami, Varaha, Elephanta, Kanheri, and many many more, but this one is the oldest!! The caves were commissioned during the reign of Emperor Ashoka and his successors, as evidenced by inscriptions found within. As I walked on the same steps that Emperor Ashoka took, and probably sat and prayed where he may have done,  I felt deeply connected to my past to the grand history of India. That feeling deserves a separate post. W...

I am not a frequent blogger, but I always wanted to be. Need to build some discipline around it. So what brought me back. In the early days, had posted a one-line blog titled 'Do what is Right'. For very long I didn't find anyone practicing this. However a couple of things happened in quick succession and here I am.  The CEO of the company I used to offer my services for, did two things which brought cheers and hope. We were debating the introduction of two new products. Obviously, I wouldn't name given professional confidentiality. Many arguments were being put in favor and against both. He came back thundering that it doesn't really matter which is tough to implement or what RHQ or HQ thinks, whether it's acceptable to them or not - but think 'what is right for the company'. Align your thoughts accordingly without any bias of ease-to-implement. For a min, there was a deafening silence. Something like this had landed on our ears after a very long time. ...

As Fall sets in and leaves don beautiful pastel shades of red and yellow before turning crisp to detach themselves - the finale performance act of the season by Nature is a timely reminder for us to take a pause and reflect on the year gone by.  Reflection is a very empowering and fulfilling process irrespective of the time of the year and infinitely more so when we have been wrecked by the pandemic. The Corona pandemic has taken away the lives and livelihoods of millions, pushed them into poverty eroding all the gains made over multiple decades. While the economic impact attracts more attention, the social and mental impact has been worse. Continued isolation due to stringent lockdowns, no social get-togethers, birthdays, anniversaries, vacation breaks with friends, working from home, no team or client meetings, etc. almost no social engagement in any form has created unbearable pressure on our minds. Homo Sapiens, the social animal, has been confined to the four walls and is prog...

What are the chances that an extreme tail event like a pandemic is followed by another outlier? asked my senior colleague and further nudged, pretty low, right? wanting to engage all of us and stir up a conversation amongst colleagues and global fora. Before I dive into sharing my views please allow me to indulge in a bit of mathematics – what are the chances of another outlier post an extreme tail event? Contrarian, as my response may seem to be, I would argue its ‘High’. The world loves simplification because that is what a human mind can absorb and fit into its logical neural circuits. But that’s precisely where the problem lies. More or less all analytics, economic, financial, geopolitical, or otherwise assumes Normal distribution of outcomes. The number of studies done, starting from Mandelbrot and Fama, proves otherwise but still, we choose to regress, consciously or unconsciously, to this convenient simplification. This convenient relapse, an amenity, allows one to limit the pro...

The head of the division of the bank which I work for posted a discussion note on an internal discussion site ( and also on LinkedIn) - Quote Imagine it is 2040 and the exam question at school is "#Solidarity during the Corona crisis in 2020" - What will the next generation with the massive benefit of hindsight, assess as successful, and what might we have missed? especially on multiple aspects of #solidarity for e.g.  - was our #solidarity national / continental / global  - economic #solidarity with Italy  - was there any money left for climate change or was it just fashionable topic at summer conferences  - #solidarity with people suffering from mental illness due to the ubiquitous fear  - #solidarity with people getting laid off and prevention of stigma  - #solidarity with people more worried about livelihood than life  - were we given unbiased facts or fed worst-case scenarios and sensationalistic headlines  - #solidarity with pe...