Category: Blog

This year, I want my celebration to carry more depth. I do not want to participate in it simply because the day arrives on the calendar. I want to experience it with awareness. I want it to feel intentional, grounded, and meaningful.

Every year, his name is spoken with reverence. It carries strength, legacy, and a pride that quietly moves through generations. I have always celebrated with sincerity, but this time I paused and asked myself a simple question: do I truly understand the legacy I am honouring?

Having studied under the CBSE curriculum, I was never given the opportunity to explore his life in depth during my school years. My knowledge remained surface level. I knew the admiration attached to his name. I understood the respect people held. But I had never explored the foundation beneath that respect. Slowly, that realization began to matter to me.

Because celebration becomes far more meaningful when it is rooted in understanding.

Recently, while shaping my vision of building a digital marketing venture of my own, I shared an idea with my father. I wanted my brand to promise growth, to tell clients that no matter where their company stands today, it can rise steadily and gracefully, just like the phases of the moon. When I asked Aaba(Dad) how I could express that thought with greater strength and conviction, he introduced me to the Rajmudra of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

He recited the Sanskrit inscription:

“प्रतिपच्चन्द्रलेखेव वर्धिष्णुर्विश्ववन्दिता
शाहसूनो: शिवस्यैषा मुद्रा भद्राय राजते।”

He explained that it speaks of growth like the first day of the moon, expanding gradually, earning respect across the world, and shining only for the welfare of the people. I was genuinely in awe. The metaphor I was searching for in a modern business context had already existed centuries ago in his vision.

And I had never consciously known it.

I come from a family where his name is spoken with pride, yet my understanding of that pride had remained incomplete. In that moment, I felt something quiet but undeniable. Sometimes we may not actively study certain things, yet they live somewhere within us. Even without deliberate awareness, they influence the way we think, dream, and express ourselves.

That realization did not weigh on me. It made me thoughtful.

So, this Jayanti, my intention is simple. I will celebrate through learning. There has been a book in my home for years, brought by my father, waiting patiently on a shelf. This year, I am choosing to open it. Not as a bold declaration or a sweeping change, but as a quiet beginning.

Because sometimes, the deepest respect we can offer a legacy is the effort to truly understand it.

Valentine’s Day shows up every year reminding us to celebrate love. Most of the time, we think about who we are celebrating it with, whether it’s a partner, friends, or family, and the moments we share with them. And while all of that matters deeply, I’ve realised something quietly sits in the background. The one relationship that stays with us from the beginning to the very end often gets ignored. The one we have with ourselves. So, this Valentine’s Day, the one relationship that deserves a little extra attention is the one you have with yourself.

This isn’t about loving others less, not your partner, not your friends, not even your family. It’s about remembering that loving yourself is just as important. Caring for others matters. Being kind matters. Being emotionally present matters. But love should never require you to lose yourself in the process.

I once heard Sadhguru say something along the lines of:
Be deeply involved and aware of everything around you, but don’t get tangled in it.
That thought stayed with me.

Love deeply.
Care honestly.
Stay aware.
But don’t get tied up in ways that make you forget who you are.

Growing up, especially during teenage years, I believed that giving endlessly was love. Adjusting. Letting things slide. Always being available. It felt normal to put ourselves second, to believe that love meant sacrificing your comfort.

But slowly, I began to see things differently. I realised that love isn’t meant to feel overwhelming or complicated. It shouldn’t ask you to stretch yourself too far or hide parts of who you are just to keep it going.

With time came awareness. Love can be warm. Safe. Steady. It can allow you to relax into yourself instead of constantly second-guessing how you show up. It can make you feel comfortable being exactly who you are.

And maybe that’s what real love looks like. It isn’t found only in grand gestures or dramatic expressions. More often, it lives in consistency, in presence, in effort, and in the quiet ways you choose yourself every day.

Valentine’s Day isn’t about perfection or having a “green flag” personality. No one is entirely good or entirely flawed. Instead of labelling yourself, maybe it’s about growing the parts of you that feel kind and honest, while gently accepting the rest.

Only when you are full of love within yourself can you truly share it with others freely and honestly.

So, this Valentine’s Day, be kind to yourself. Be gentle. Be aware. Loving yourself is not selfish. It is where everything else begins. It is the quiet foundation beneath every connection you build, and the one relationship that stays with you through every season of your life.

The First Brew of Srushtea

Three years ago, I asked my Aaba (Dad) to get me an iPhone.
Not because it was trendy or fancy, but because I had a dream.
I wanted to create, to share little pieces of my world through photos, videos, and stories. I wanted to build something of my own, something that reflected me.

When I finally got that iPhone, it felt like the first step toward that dream. It was more than a device; it was my creative partner, my small window to the world I wanted to belong to.

Over time, I became active on Instagram, capturing moments, sharing glimpses of my thoughts, the things that inspired me, the moods I lived through. But deep down, I wanted to do more, to tell stories with depth, to bring together everything I loved: food, wellness, reflections, creativity, and life itself.

Yet I kept waiting for the perfect time, the right camera angle, the ideal setup. And that “someday” just kept slipping further away.

Then life happened. The dream grew quieter. I told myself, “soon,” “maybe next week,” “once I have the perfect idea.” But that moment never really came.

And then one day, after a software update, my iPhone screen went blank.
A pink line first. Then the green ones. Until it was just gone.
When I was told it would cost ₹25,000 to fix, I froze. It wasn’t my fault, but it felt like the universe was reminding me of something deeper.

I started regretting everything, not the update, not even the phone, but the fact that I never used it for what I bought it for. I had this tool for three whole years, and I never truly began. That realization hurt more than the broken screen.

But after a few days of sulking and scrolling through my old notes and drafts, I realized something important: maybe this isn’t an ending. Maybe this is my real beginning.

Because I might have lost my phone, but I haven’t lost my vision. I have something stronger, the will to finally live it. I have my laptop, my words, and my heart, all still here, waiting to create.

So today, I’m starting again with no fancy setup, no perfect picture, just pure intention.
This blog is my space to write, reflect, and rebuild.
To share stories that feel like home, to express the things I kept inside for too long, and to remind myself (and you) that even when it feels like everything has crumbled, you can still rebuild something beautiful from whatever you have right now.

If you’ve ever delayed your dream because you thought you weren’t ready, you might already be.
Sometimes, the things we lose are just lessons guiding us back to what truly matters.

And maybe, just maybe… this was the real beginning all along.