Author: admin
-
The brand maps in my head
We carry around a private map of the world in our heads, and it is almost entirely visual.Not a neat, political-map kind of thing, but a messy collage of landmarks, logos, people, colours, and half-updated facts that only make sense to us. Think about how you remember directions and places. “Take a left at the…
-
Yes, I became an F1 fan after the movie. Sue me
I became a fan of F1 only after the movie. The cinematic experience—the Brad Pitt stardom, the adrenaline, the way the cars seemed to dance on the tarmac—just gripped me. It reminded me of why I love cars in the first place. The roar of an engine, the sleek beauty of a machine built for…
-
We create as we are, and it shows
Someone on LinkedIn shared this poster earlier today, applauding how far the quick commerce space in India has come, and how companies across the spectrum are boarding the train. There were obviously lots of reactions and comments; some spoke about the business model, the feasibility of charging so less, some even raised questions about the…
-
We’ve defined ‘generation’ wrongly all along
We’re obsessed with dividing people into generational buckets. Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, Alpha, Beta—the whole thing feels scientific, doesn’t it? Like if we just plot someone’s birth year on a graph, we can predict what they’ll buy, how they’ll vote, what makes them tick. But here’s what I actually noticed growing up: generational…
-
The point of a playbook is to come into existence
The strange thing about a playbook is this: the moment it comes into existence, it begins to decay.What was once greatness turns, almost instantly, into mediocrity. Not because the ideas lose power, but because the moment something is codified, it stops being a living force. A playbook is a fossil of a person’s creative journey—not…
-
Some places show you what home could be
Some days ago, I put up a story of a picture of a Chicago street someone had sent me, and I wrote “Home” with a purple heart next to it. Akash replied almost instantly: “How is it possible that you consider Chicago home, a place you stayed in for just two years, whereas Mumbai—where you’ve…
-
The Era of Academic Marketing
My social media feed is full of personal essays these days; emotional, evocative pieces that talk about a sub-cultural phenomenon with the seriousness of a PhD scholar’s dissertation defence, the subtlety of a poet, and the flair of an actor. If it’s not personal, it’s taking traditionally academic subjects—the history of a cuisine, the origin…
-
The trivia trap: How Indian society keeps repackaging shallow learning
We love to proclaim that we’re living through a digital revolution, that social media has fundamentally transformed how we learn, share, and grow. But scroll through Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts for ten minutes, and you’ll notice something familiar: the same obsession with disconnected facts, now dressed in better lighting and catchier background music. The…
-
Does cancel culture really make sense in a globalised world?
This year was wild. Ranveer Allahbadia’s question on India’s Got Latent, a parody show headlined by Samay Raina, shook the world of creators and comedians. Ranveer asked one of the contestants on the show, “Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once and…
-
JamJar, Tap, and the third places that have always existed
Third places, or at least the term, has regained popularity over the last year on social media. Certainly as a movement against the excessive digitalisation of our lives, and the capitalisation of everything else. It’s aesthetic is set. It’s the coffee shop with the perfect armchair, the library with the silent hum, the co-working space…
-
Analogue/Digital: A New Kind of Translation Exercise
Translation is the art of carrying meaning across languages. Today, we face a new translation challenge: carrying memory across time and technology. Some generations live primarily “analogue lives”—rooted in physical documents, face-to-face conversations, and embodied experiences. Others inhabit “digital lives”—where memories are stored in clouds, relationships maintained through screens, and identities curated through social media.…
-
micro formats and the trivialisation of knowledge
From Knowledge to Trivia: How Micro-Creators Changed the Nature of InformationWe create as we are, and it shows—in every Reel, tweet, and 30-second story vying for our attention. Today, individual creators and micro-dramas have upended what we once called journalism, fracturing our collective information diet into viral, snackable bites that feel important in the moment…
-
the day I broke a 1$ glass
the first time I lived away from Mumbai, in a house all to myself, in a place that I still think of as home, was in Chicago. I moved there in August 2019 to start my Fall Semester – MA in Digital Humanities, Loyola University Chicago. My lifestyle there was, poverty-induced minimalism, perfect for a…
-
Weekly Updates August 4-10
For the first time in a month, I do not have a “topic” to write about for the 10K challenge. Actually, scratch that, I do have things to write about but because I was consistently looking for working, applying to two jobs, focusing on their assignments, spending time on their interviews, getting lost in a…
-
who will AI write out of history?
there’s no doubt that those of us with the privilege of the internet, English language, and of safety from horrors unfolding in different parts of the world, are currently witnessing a technological revolution not seen before. Artificial Intelligence, emerging from the decades-long effort of Information Technology, and sweeping over our understanding of what it means…
-
whose name is on the trophy?
A few years ago, I went for dinner with a bunch of colleagues to celebrate the birthday of one of us, let’s call them X. It was a fine place. We had not made a reservation so we did not know if we would get a seat. “Quick, everyone, pretend we are X’s entourage. We…
-
yes, the perfect vacation exists
Date: November 2024Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu I check into my hotel and find a sweet welcome basket—snacks, drinks, a chocolate. After my hosts depart, I sink into a bathrobe and let the coziness of the Taj Coromandel’s rooms lull me into a nap, pushing aside the impulse to over-plan my first day in the city. For once,…
-
your social media feed is hinting at something much larger
Our content is telling a story, about us as individuals, and us as a grand unified humanity. The last five years have seen key storytelling trends emerge. The rise of the larger-than-life films with larger-than-life-heroes. The increased trust in individual creators.The non-religious gurus.The comeback to institutional faith. And all trends are indicators of something more.…
-
Out of an echo chamber
Lonavala with the Roach Mafia was so good. The best money I spent this year. Second to the nasal strips and mouth tape of course. This is what I have been telling every one I met for the last two days. And through these conversations recapping the weekend, I’ve been marinating this piece too, but…
-
why do we reserve our worst parts for those we love the most?
a memory of shopping // when i was a child, buying new clothes was a very rare luxury, a once in a year affair. These new clothes would become our “outside clothes” and the earlier outside clothes were only then worn at home, and then the earlier home clothes became our nightdresses. so while we…
-
Consent begins at the dinner table
Trigger Warning: Language that hints at coercion. “But it’s my birthday!” “Sometimes, it’s okay.” “You have to! For me?” “But how can you not? You did it last time.” “You are so strict about this, sometimes you should do it for the other person.” *** Have you heard any of these sentences before? I bet…
-
Slow the scroll: Week 1 of mindful digital consumption
Brain rot was the word of last year, and I have not felt a word as strongly in a while. The moment Oxford announced it as the word of the year, I was re-looking my entire content consumption cycle. Because this is the first week I am writing this, some context. Growing up, I wanted…
-
What is happening to Purple Pencil Project?
Brace yourselves, this is going to be a long story, part answering often-asked questions part thinking out loud, and part, finding a way forward the only way I know how: Writing. Sometime in August last year, for a variety of decisions, after a burst of clarity, and a humility of acceptance, I told myself that…
-
Human nature, hybrid work, and company culture
(Disclaimer: I come from a privileged, upper middle class family. I live with my parents, have no financial and household responsibilities, and I am able to afford both the time and money spent in commuting, being at places, etc. The thoughts in this piece come from this very specific circumstance, and is in no way…
-
Where does the compulsive need to compare come from?
Earlier this week, at a dinner, a friend asked me to read a couple of pages of a book before making a point. As I made my way through the words and sentences, they sat right next to me, proclaiming, thrice: “Oh I didn’t know you are such a slow reader.” “I think she [another…
-
Social Media Is Not A Digital Bulletin Board
Over the last two years, as I have worked with or talked to organisations wanting to build their brand on the digital mediums, it’s become clear that while they want to pivot their communication efforts, putting story and people at the centre, they are not very equipped to do so. Most company pages look like…
-
Navigating the Internet of Advice
The C4E Collective is a marketing communication agency, whose members index highly on keeping up with the latest essays, videos, thoughts leaders around the ideas, models, and frameworks of work-life, growth, designing your life, leadership lessons, business lessons, and more. I like to group most content discussed here, as Tech Bro Thoughts, or Tech Bro…
-
Collect the dots before you connect the dots
Steve Jobs’ said this to Stanford, and the world absorbed it as its motto. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards,” he said, to eager students, pushing them to not over-plan their life, and take it as it comes. This idea of connecting the dots is not new – it…
-
The rightful romanticisation of railways
It was a rainy morning in the early 2000s, when Harry Potter had become a big part of the Indian reading diet. My family and I had to leave our house to catch the train for our vacation to Gujarat, Rajkot, at my uncle’s house. By 10 am, I did not know what to carry…
-
Why you should hire an internal journalist on priority
My first job was at an MBA institute, in the PR-Comms team on the admin side. Our job was to maintain the college social media; ensuring that the many many departments and programs were mentioned, the Dean’s speeches covered, special days and events celebrated and talked about. We would also work on the print magazines…
-
Do you remember your first blog?
Snapchat, BeReal, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, Substack – the list of the places where I am regularly present on, is endless. I share photos, gifs, videos, texts of all manners, freely, flowingly, trusting, expressing (even sometimes when I know we should not). My opinions, however silly, stupid, profound, lame, uncool, cringe, unpopular, unrefined, go…
-
Writing Challenge Day 5: #1000WordsofSummer
Today I woke up incredibly energised, with the kind of inner glow that comes when you spend a week eating clean, exercising, doing weights and cardio, having your micro nutrients and vitamin D3. There is a lightness in your step, like you’ve woken up from a long slumber and are ready to conquer the world. …
-
Writing Challenge Day 1: #1000WordsofSummer
Stream of consciousness writing is hard work. You risk sounding dumber thank you want to be perceived.
-
Age, agency, and being the older woman in a romance
About The Idea of You, Something In the Rain, and cougars
-
Why more of us women need to be mentors
Men really are from Mars it would seem, and women from Venus. What does that mean at work?
-
Dating apps and our algorithmic behaviours
Here’s how dating apps do a disservice; turning us all into caricatures of what we see and hear around us.
-
Startups require a mindset shift before anything else
Taking an idea to business first requires a product-mindset-fit, not a product-market-fit.
-
The Year of Chai, and not turning 30
Why be 30, or 29, or 28, when you can define your years in chai, pool, and co-working?
-
A note of appreciation for our sparring partners
Here’s how sparring partners help you take action faster, and achieve your goals.
-
Friend of six years: In unpaid praise of Tiny Change
Good planners must go beyond being a record of your task list; and help you as a life coach does.
-
The journey of returning from a sabbatical
Sabbaticals from work are amazing. The real challenge is to return from them. Here are some ways to!
-
The unspoken emotional cost of Indian weddings
Indian weddings are grand and expensive affairs. But what we don’t talk about is the emotional toll they take.
-
How to find your voice as a writer
We focus too much on our IQ to become better writers. Here’s how to access your EQ and channel it for your art.