Smile 2019 :)

Liverpool, you have got to be kidding me :)

Lawyer's logic vs Scientist's logic :)

Both a lawyer and a scientist are logical and rational. Both reach a conclusion logically. Then what's the difference in their approach?

A lawyer concludes first and then builds a logical route to reach the conclusion. A lawyer is supposed to defend his/her client no matter what even if the client is actually guilty. So 'the client is not guilty' has already been concluded. The lawyer's job is to then come up with a logical explanation.

On the other hand, a scientist does not conclude anything beforehand. A scientist waits for more experiments, more information, more evidence to show up until the conclusion emerges on its own.

It is a very subtle difference. We use both approaches in our daily lives. Sometimes we are scientific and sometimes we are lawyers. In retrospect I realise I should have been a lawyer at certain times and a scientist at certain others but somehow mixed the two approaches. Never mind. From now on, I will be more conscious of when to be a lawyer and when to be a scientist :)

Please express :)

Every machine, for that matter everything in existence, can be thought of as objects which take input(s) then processes it and then produce output(s). We humans are machines too. We eat food (input), digest the food (process), and perform some activity and shit (output).

Yes, shit! Excretion! Do it well. That's an extremely important part of the entire pipeline to lead a healthy life. You don't want Constipation or Diarrhoea.

Now if you are paying enough attention and look very closely, the pipeline of input -> processing -> output is happening not just in the physical body but your mental and emotional bodies too. Your mind and your heart are taking in information and sensing the world, processing it and want to express it out in the form of words or poetry or dance or song or art or ..., etcetera. It is subtle but it is happening.

So, for your wellbeing, I am asking you to please express and express yourself really well. I assure you, at the very least, I will never judge you. We definitely don't want constipation or loose motions, do we? :)

Boris Johnson seems to have re-drawn the map of UK politics!

What a victory! Whoa!

So Brexit is happening for real now, is it?

Green party

I support the Green Party for the UK General elections for two reasons:

• For nature: Trees, animals, our nature at large do not get to vote in the elections. Feels like they don't have any say in politics in spite of being most affected by our policies.

• Universal Basic Income: It is similar to 'probability smoothing' in maths and stats. A better version of wealth re-distribution. People may find it counterintuitive and not really understand the concept but I find it mathematically sane thing to do. I will write on this someday later.

"Life is Live!"

-Himanshi Bansal

Lets compare two performing arts - (1) a recorded movie/video, and (2) theatre. Movies are recorded and can be watched again and again. Theatre performances are 'live'. If you miss a scene in a movie, you can rewind and play it again. Miss a scene in a theatre performance and its gone forever. You can afford to be less attentive in a movie. Theatre requires absolute 100% attention, focus, awareness.

Extend this argument to your experience of life. It is LIVE. Not recorded. So what makes you think you can afford to be less attentive and/or less focussed and/or less conscious and/or less aware of the present? Why is your mind lost in the past or in the future?

Life is live :)

Buffet restaurants may just ban me :)

So turns out, with one-meal-a-day policy, I eat what an average person eats during the entire day in just one sitting. That makes it appear that I am eating so much more than a normal person but I am eating as much as a normal person should (not more). It also makes buffets/all-you-can-eat restaurants a real value for money for me. I have begun going to a Pizza-hut nearby where they serve unlimited salad and pizzas buffets. This way I save quite a bit of money too :)

I am just wondering when will Pizza-hut ban me from exploiting their buffet deal. Lets wait and watch. Hahaha :)

Sustaining the intensity

Things get done when I am intensely focussed. Getting intense is not a big deal. It is sustaining the intensity for long periods of time which is difficult. I have come up with a few practices which I believe will ramp-up my intensity on a daily basis enabling me to sustain it for 300 days.

300 days. Thats it. Lets do this!

350.org

Donated $88 to 350.org ... its all about ending fossil fuel consumption.

Previous month, I donated another $88 to the Cauvery Calling project.

Lets kill that tumour in your breast :)

These cells in your breast

How dare they misbehave

Why are they greedy

Why don't they die for god sake

Will have to kill these forcefully

There will be collateral damage

A civil war in your body

I hope you emerge safe

Lets cut their supplies and resources

Lets starve them to death, shall we?

Lets fight this war brave soldier

Lets kill that tumour stuck so deep :)

-Chiraag

Starting again :)

So much happened in the past couple of weeks and I regret not documenting it. No problem. Re-starting this blog once again :)

The final sprint :)

Like in every sport, it is the final stage which is the toughest. The last lap in F1, the last over in cricket, the last stoppage time in football. I am nearing the last phase of my time at Google and I need to make that final sprint count. Everything else has to wait, including this blog. While this blog has helped me a lot, I am pausing it until mid November.

See you then :)

Cauvery Mitr :)

Reviving rivers in India starting with Cauvery down south via tree plantations. My home land suffers from the highest population pressure on the planet and this has taken a toll on nature. The forest cover has gone down. When it rains, we have floods. When it does not, we have droughts. The reason is water is not seeping into the ground. Instead of going vertically down into the soil with the help of trees and roots, all of the rain water moves horizontally out into the ocean in a very short time during monsoon. Hence floods during monsoon and drought rest of the time. If the project succeeds then lessons learnt will spread across all rivers in India and around the world. The science is clear and the solution of strategic tree plantations and Agroforestry makes sense (a large portion of my diet is fruits so I will be happy if fruits get cheaper in the process) which is why I donated $88 towards the cause. Also, Google will match the donation I made which means a total of $176 goes to Cauvery Calling (equivalent to about 300 tree saplings) making me a Cauvery Mitr (Friend of Cauvery). Damn Google, respect :)

You are living an amazing story :)

Bhai mere,

You enjoyed reading Shakespeare, didn't you? You didn't read mediocre, uneventful, unadventurous stories. You loved reading Shakespeare because it was dramatic. Now the only difference is the same drama is happening to you. You are living an amazing story. Even if it ends up in a tragedy, the thought of which is freaking you out, it will still be a fantastic story. But why do you want to know the climax now. Tragedy or Happy Ending, that will unfold whenever it does. You can cry or laugh accordingly then. Enjoy the suspense and the drama for now. Add a bit of humour as and when possible :)

I am always there for you.

Love,

Lala

P.S: "Ab mood swing se nikal #@&%$. Pehli fursat mein nikal."

Giving up elevators :)

I tried it yesterday. Did not use the elevators at all. My office is on the 5th floor and I need to go up or down a few floors for meetings and down to 1st floor for food. It was doable and made me wonder - what if I gave up elevators and escalators for good :)

A couple of exceptions are when there is no alternative like some London underground stations do not have stairs or if I am carrying a suitcase (or anything heavier than a backpack) or if the climb is more than 10 floors. 10 is a good threshold I feel. This is an interesting challenge :)

Edinburgh is Love, Edinburgh is Bliss, Edinburgh is a Poem :)

It is 2am Sunday in Sunnyvale, CA and all lights in the Google building CRSM1265 are off except the 5th floor where one crazy person is blissed out riding his chair across the lab. How happy can one be! Isn't he tired? He was in here since Saturday morning, but all of a sudden he is glowing like a star!

That glowing star is me. And what made me glow is 'Edinburgh'.

I was reminded of the city by a friend who is visiting Edinburgh today. The Arthur Seat, The Meadows, The Dean village, Nicholson Street, Richmond Lane, Appleton Tower ...

Of all the beautiful memories, one tiny little insignificant memory resurfaced in my mind - the poems on the walls of the Edinburgh airport. I was catching a flight from Edinburgh to Exeter back in 2014 and at the airport I noticed poems and quotes written on the walls. I had spent time reading the poems and I remember how blessed I felt to be in Edinburgh. Was this the seed of poetry that got sowed in me and it got nurtured over time finding full expression now? Maybe. Here is a tribute to Edinburgh anyway:

What is love? they asked a lover

What does it look like? How does it feel?

It looks like a rainbow over Edinburgh

It feels like mist over Arthur seat

What is bliss? they asked a blissed-out (person)

What does it look like? How does it feel?

It looks like the clouds flying over the Meadows

It feels like playing in large swings (of the Meadows) near the trees

What is a poem? they asked a poet

What does it look like? How does it feel?

It looks like the night lights seen from Appleton tower

It feels like these are twinkling in rhythm for you and me :)

-Chiraag

Whisper in the dark :)

Tired am I

I have a mountain ahead to climb

So I will rest for tomorrow, tonight

Turning off the lights

And then I close my eyes

Letting go of all the sorrows, with a smile :)

Hold my hand against the plight

Give me all the strength I need to fight

Heal all the wounds in my heart

Thanking you as I whisper in the dark :)

-Chiraag

Surprising A***** - Instructions

Hi N*****,

As soon as you land in London,

(1) Buy an Oyster card

It will be available at the Airport. An Oyster card costs £5. I recommend loading it up with £20 (total £25). You may load more later from any underground station. A***** will help you out later on.

(2) Travel to Hotel/Oxford Circus

I am assuming you land at Heathrow airport which is actually very close to my house, but 'sigh!' I am not around. Its okay :).

Take the piccadilly line underground train to Green Park Station. This will take you an hour. Then, Victoria Line train to Oxford Circus station. This is just one stop. Click here for directions . You can then find your hotel. Which hotel is it? Let me know.

(3) Buy a local sim

Prepaid sim. Lyca, lebara, giffgaff, tescomobile, anything will do from any store like tesco or local groceries. Don't forget to carry the pin to remove the sim card slot of your phone. Prepaid sim loaded with data will cost a maximum of £20. I would suggest you go with 8GB data at least and possibly more. Don't try to save money here. This is an essential.

(4) Currency Exchange

You don't really need a lot of cash. Your ********* debit/credit card will work at most places including tesco or sainsbury or any coffee shops or restaurants or even when you load your Oyster card or buy a UK sim. Use those. Direct use of credit/debit card is better than buying Sterling Pounds cash. To be on the safe side though, buy £100 cash from reliable currency exchange bureaus like those mentioned in this article. Although there are tons of currency exchange shops in Oxford Circus, I would still recommend you to stick to the ones mentioned in the article. Or best, don't buy pounds until you meet A*****, discuss with him how much cash you will really need and he will take you to the right places.

(5) Message A***** to meet you at Wok to Walk

You can message something as follows from the new number

"Hi A*****. A*** here. How are you doing bro? This is my local number. N******* tells me you and Chirag often meet at some food-joint called Wok to Walk near Oxford Circus. I happen to be staying very close to that place and I would love to try it. My conference, for today, ends at 4pm and I will be back to my hotel half past 4 onwards. So let's meet at Wok to Walk in Oxford Circus at 5pm. Looking forward to hanging out with you! I wish Chirag was here and would join us. Let me know."

After that message... plan it with him... if he calls then do not pick up the call. Message him back saying, "sorry. I am attending a conference talk. please message."

If he calls after 4:30pm, pick up his call and let him say "hello hello hello", but you don't say anything back. Then you call him back and don't say anything and let him say "hello hello hello"... and then message him "I was trying to speak but you could not hear me. Was I not audible? Must be a network problem or something. Let's coordinate via messages. Have you reached Wok to walk?".

(6) Make A***** Cry and capture it on camera

Ensure that A***** reaches the place first. Message him to verify he has reached. Once he is there and you are nearing in too, then turn on the camera and capture the moment when he sees you. I think he will cry out of joy. Capture that moment, 5-10sec bhi chalega. and then stop recording and continue with him. Send me a message saying "touch down"... I will understand you guys met :)

Have a really joyful trip N*****. Give my regards to A***. I wish I was there :)

Love,

Chiraag

Jab koi bohot bhooka ho toh butter pav bhi butter chicken lagta hai :)

Loosely translates as When you are very hungry then butter bread tastes like butter chicken. Hahaha. Had a funny long conversation with a friend from which this quote emerged :)

Redwood trees in Palo Alto :)

Today, I had to visit Palo Alto for a personal work and couldn't stop noticing the tall trees there. Redwood. These are the tallest trees I have ever seen! No tree in India, Europe or Japan comes close. These are like sky scrapers. The Dubai skyline of trees :)

I was in a bit of hurry so I did not spend much time there. Did not even take a picture. But I guess no picture will do justice. It is only when one stands beneath a Redwood tree and touches it that one truly experiences the size. Now I have been thinking about it the whole day and regret not spending more time. I should have spend an hour or so exploring more. Could have been a spiritual experience. A life so tall, so enormous, so sturdy, so still, so old must be very wise. In contrast, I am so tiny, so short-lived and full of fuss. There is a lot left to learn from a Redwood tree :)

Be my sunrise :)

On your way back home from work today, when you see the setting sun

Know I am watching the same sun glow, as it rises here from behind the mountain

Remember the time we climbed up the hill, and saw two instead of one

One sinking deep into the sea, the other rising high as the day moved on

From now on lets do the same, splitting the task as the planet spins on

You be my sunrise and bring me a smile, let me be your setting sun :)

-Chiraag

Frozen :)

Watched the animated movie Frozen with my niece and her parents. I loved it :)

A beautiful storyline. The poetic and musical flow of the story captured my imagination. The northern lights and other animations were picturesque. A dream world :)

I would love to write a musical and a poetic script like this with some deep cryptic profound meanings someday :)

I strongly recommend to watch this with your loved ones and melt for them. Just like the snowman Olaf says in the movie - "some people are worth melting for" :)

MY HEART JUST MELTED :)

I have been staring for hours with a smile and a melting heart. Still staring as I write because "mann hi nahi bhar raha". How can someone be so beautiful? And its not just the external beauty. I know the deepest realms of your mind and heart. You are beautiful beyond words, more than what you think you are, my love :)

So cheers to love :) an emotion so profound that it can literally move mountains. Recall Manjhi. After losing his wife, the man carved a mountain to pave way for others to a nearby hospital. He did it purely out of love. And while doing so if he was hurt or injured, the love within made him laugh at the suffering. If it wasn't love, he would have complained and hated his dead wife at the first hint of pain and not laughed.

So cheers to laughter and playfulness in general :) an act so profound that it heals wounds which medicines cannot. No wonder they say laughter is the best medicine. And because his wounds were getting healed with laughter, Manjhi could function on full throttle and push himself relentlessly to achieve something which was believed humanly impossible. A single man carving a mountain is simply miraculous and magical.

So cheers to the magic :) that comes with love and laughter.

There you go, I connected the three, perhaps not the way you thought, but I did it anyway. Perhaps, deep down you knew the three were connected. It is my wish and my blessing that you love and laugh with people around you so much that it brings magic and profoundness to your experience of life :)

Keep expressing and keep sharing, please :) I was tempted to respond, or at least reach out, but I did not because I am aware I am the villain in your circles and a joke in mine. Forgotten and ignored. Writing pointlessly in vain. But I do it with love and laughter... lets see what magic it unfolds :)

Filoli gardens picnic :)

Dear Nature / The Entire Cosmos,

How kind of you to grant me a sense of individualism. I am aware I am just an object in you. Like any other object in existence. A tree, a rock, a cloud, a comet, a star, the chair I am sitting on, the shoes I am wearing. But you were kind to bestow on me the ability to be aware of myself. You did not give many other objects the same privilege. Thank you :)

You gave me this body. I will explore how fast it can run, how strong it can get, how flexible it is, how dexterous and balanced it can be.

You gave me this mind with intellect. I will explore the extent to which I can grasp the whole universe, the boundaries of my knowledge and ignorance and how far can I stretch it, how much can I understand and unravel your mysterious workings, how creative and artistic I can get.

You gave me emotions. I will explore every terrain of the emotional landscape, the entire spectrum without losing myself, how deep I can experience each emotion including love and how balanced I can stay while doing so.

You gave me life - this energy - the fire within. I will make it burn as much as possible for as long as possible.

You gave me senses to absorb the world. I will highten the senses and make them more and more receptive and sensitive.

You made me conscious and aware. I will continue to raise my consciousness higher and higher.

Until you take away these privileges, I will function on full throttle :)

Humbly yours,

A tiny little object in you which is called 'Chiraag' by several other objects of the same kind :)

Legitimate or scam?

An IISER Bhopal alumni, Shivam Shive, who was junior to me approached me today asking for financial help. Long story short - he says his mother has been unwell and her medical treatment is costly and he has not received his salary for the last couple of months and he is in debt and financial crisis. My first instantaneous reaction was sympathy. I know what debt feels like. Also, it is my mother's birthday today so I was already in that zone of 'love for mother'. In fact, I was going to spend time writing something for my mother today. In such an emotional state when I heard Shivam talk about his mother's suffering, I felt for that guy.

But then I took a deep breath and paused. Who is Shivam Shive? I was struggling to remember his face. Looked into his FB profile and could faintly remember interacting with him for a mere few minutes more that 6 years ago. For me this guy is a stranger, although he is a friend on facebook, I seriously don't remember him. But I want to help him. He accurately struck my 'sympathy G-spot'. My parents say "nothing doing, just ignore".

I paused again. Deep breathe and thought, "Lets find out if this situation is legitimate or a scam. If it is legitimate then I will help him generously and get more people to help him out. If it is a scam then I will complain through the right channels."

Shivam had mentioned two other IISER Bhopal Alumni who had helped him. I know the two he mentioned so I contacted them and asked them whether Shivam's story is legitimate or not. They say they just paid him a month ago out of sympathy but don't know if he is saying the truth. In fact, they started raising doubts now after hearing my version of the story. After paying, Shivam had told them that his mother is recovering well, but now he is approaching me for more money and not them who had paid. That is a red flag - those who paid don't know if Shivam's situation is legitimate or not.

So next, I inquired with my IISER batch mates. One after another my batch mates raised their finger - "yes, I was approached". Turns out Shivam has been approaching many IISER Alumni. Some paid him. Many did not. But everyone, for some strange reason, kept quiet and ignored. And whoever I ask whether his situation is legitimate, they say they don't know. All I wanted to hear was one trusted voice saying, "yes, I know Shivam and his situation is true". But none so far.

Until I get to hear that trusted voice I will not take any action - neither donate nor complain. So after spending more than 2 hours of inquiry today, the question remains - Legitimate or Scam?

Happy independence day India

I say this with some doubt and unease. Kashmir valley. The telecom and internet bans. Doesn't really feel 'independence' there. I hope I am wrong. I hope whatever happened and is happening there is for the best in the long run.

Anyway... I hope, soon 'everyone' in India feels independent.

The fire within - a limerick :)

All I have is this fire within

And love in my heart and a bit of vision

Scorch the Sun

Hotter than its core

I think I can burn like never before :)

-Chiraag

A great opportunity to regain health :)

The workload here is not much. Although, I hear few complaining about it. But turns out, compared to where I come from, this is a far more relaxed place. On top of that the amount of support like sports, gym, food, massage, medical, etcetera blows my mind.

I won't get this opportunity again after I return back to London. Perhaps, I should grab this chance and regain the fitness level I possessed like Edinburgh time or even better like St. John's time. Oh, can I ever be as fit as I was at St. John's? I don't know, but lets give it a shot :)

News

Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong

Mass shootings in Texas

Article 370 and Kashmir riots

So much has happened in the last one week! I read and read and read and still reading.

Living the dream?

Yes. But the dream is not mine. This was someone else's dream. And each day I think about that one person who dreamt this. Each moment, I wish that one person was experiencing all this with me :)

Blank

My brain just turned off. No, not the meditative blank. This was the blackout kind.

chiraag@google.com

Hey Google,

You are famous for many. You are infamous too, I am aware. Many come here with pride. A few don't out of hatred and fear of your power. But I come with no prejudice.

I am neither for you nor against you. I am here to know you, who you really are, what you really do.

And I am here to know me, who I really am, what can I really do.

-Chiraag

This show made me cry. Those who were very close to me then know this.

While there are many people concerned about the environment, their concern is often restricted to things they can see. The things out of sight, are simply out of mind. For a long time, the life in the ocean has been out of sight. And so has the human impact on them. More specifically, the plastic pollution of the oceans by humans. Not visible. When a city like Mumbai or London or San Francisco dumps its plastic in landfills in rural areas, there will be villagers coming out in protest. Dump the plastic waste in the oceans and nobody protests. Even if the fish do protest - out of sight, ....

Many say, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. I don't know about that but I do know we are consuming a lot of plastic and a lot of that goes into the ocean.

The Ocean Cleanup project is novel, elegant and a seemingly effective solution taking advantage of the ocean currents and wind currents.

They are still working on the first models and I wish them speedy success. If they do succeed then this will surely save numerous marine species. Besides the donation, this will also be my 'NoPlastic' month. I will not buy/consume anything that comes in a plastic bag or a plastic bottle or anything plastic for one whole month. Let us do our bit for the oceans :)

Going offline until 1 Aug

I want my mind to be at its efficient best for the next 100 days. For that, I need absolute clarity. To make a glass of muddy water clear, one needs to keep it still to let the mud settle down. And hence... Meditation. Vipassana for two days :)

24 hours of fun with Nimu, Karthik anna and Swati didi :)

Yesterday's sequence of events summarised:

• Watched 2 movies - (1) De de pyar de, and (2) Luka Chupi. It is very easy to enjoy such movies, which can otherwise make you scratch your head. Just turn your brain off and focus on dialogues and punchlines only. Loved laughing pointlessly with Nimesh :)

• School stories - Rohan (over whatsapp video) joined us. We chatted and laughed for hours over silly school stories. My cheeks hurt laughing :)

• Authentic Maharastrian poha - Swati didi prepared delicious poha for breakfast as we continued to joke, laugh, and behave like teenagers :)

• Drive to Eastbourne, Brighton and several places on the way - Karthik anna drove us to several places down south. More jokes, more leg pulling. I found Birling Gap very beautiful. Would love to explore the geology of the region and the white cliffs if I go back alone. Seagulls were hovering in the fierce ocean winds. Wrote a quick short one inspired by the seagulls in front of the cliffs

Like a seagull in fierce winds

Keep your wings in shape - firm and steady

Don't you pull the rudder now

Else be thrown away, hitting the cliff and falling into the sea

-Chiraag

• Mohan Anna and family - Finally, we went to Karthik anna's elder brother Siddharth's (a.k.a Mohan Anna) home. His wife, Priyanka didi, had cooked an amazing dinner. Mohan anna had returned from Bombay and shared us the news that 'Modern dairy building' (where we all grew up) is now all rubble :(

London's hottest day EVER! And it went by like a cool breeze :)

Rehne ko ghar nahi, sone ko bistar nahi :)

My mother was singing this song so beautifully, but she is shy to record it for me. We are all staying in one room with just one single bed to share so two have to sleep on the floor. Nothing uncomfortable. It just made my mother joke and sing about it and her past.

"Rehne ko ghar nahi. Sone ko bistar nahi. Apna khuda hai rakhwala. Ab tak ussi ne hai pala."

Also, since my parents and I have opened up so much, they are sharing their stories with me. Some pretty bizarre. Some uncomfortable to hear. Some tragic especially with the number of deaths in the family. Some funny.

They also shared the partition stories of their parents, my grandparents. My grandparents were from Sindh and had to migrate 1500km to Mumbai in 1947. These stories were far more worse than I originally thought they were. Explains why my parents had the kind of upbringing they had and what makes them think in a particular way.

For the record: Ma Pa, I acknowledge and understand the struggles and tragedies of your lives. I really do. Calling your stories tragedy is an understatement and calling my story the same is an overstatement. I understand and appreciate everything you did. I am not blaming anything on you. I am not blaming anything on anybody else either. Nobody was wrong except me. Everybody did the best they could in the situation they were. It is just me and me alone who spoiled it for everyone in one way or another. I cracked under pressure. From now on, I promise I am committed to everybody's wellbeing in whatever limited capacity I can :)

Took Ma Pa to Radha-Krishna temple :)

Yesterday, after US embassy, I took my parents to the Radha-Krishna temple in SOHO Central London. Made them sit the very same place where I sat smiling. They know the whole story. They are humbled, overwhelmed and silent. Contemplating. Praying for the wellbeing and happiness of everyone involved. And how powerful were their prayers...

...Later in the evening, after returning home, I received the most genuine and the most beautiful message that made me smile and cry my heart out. Truly miraculous for me. I was so very happy :)

But soon, I became worried and concerned because it feels 'all is not well' at the other end :(

Feeling so helpless. I hope this feeling is wrong. I hope everything is fine.

That shaky shivery hand and that limping leg

Pa, I see your hands shake and shiver. They didn't when I last saw you. Yes, it is old age. But I know, it is also because of me. I am so sorry.

Ma, you are the fittest, most athletic and most energetic person I have ever known. But I noticed you limp today. You cannot hide it from me.

Don't worry... 'zakhm bhi maine diya hai... malham bhi main lagaunga'

Smoothy

No. Not the drink. It is my mother's fingers caressing me and running over my back, my arms, legs, neck, face, scalp. She used to do it to calm my nerves.

My parents are here with me in London. I am meeting them, especially my father, after a very very long time :)

Late in the evening my mother started doing 'smoothy' to me. I didn't ask for it. But she did it anyway. She did it with tears in her eyes. Later, my father joined her too. Both doing smoothy. Both having tears. All of us silent. They did it for several hours till I fell asleep in their arms. I slept twice or thrice longer than usual :)

I don't have any wounds and yet you continued relentlessly to heal me. Thank you Ma Pa. Love you. I am at peace :)

Raani aur ghulaam :)

Ehhh meri raani

Ki hogi iss ghulaam ne galti

Par isse apne darbaar se mat nikaal

Hara zaroor hai, par hai kaabil insaan

Kaam aayega yeh pyaada

Rakhega aapki aur raja ki shaan

Nahi karega koi bhi saazish

Mazboot usool hai iske, aap pe hai meherbaan

Rakhle isse meri raani

Kar le iska istamaal

Karz pe jee raha hai aapke ishq ki

Sukoon mile isse agar pukaar lo uska naam

-Chiraag

Autophagy - Nobel Prize in Medicine 2016. Please consider widening the gap between meals :)

For the last 9 months or so, I have been eating just once a day. I was under immense pressure of time back then and decided to save some by eating just once a day. With experience and observation, I realised this works for me. My efficiency sky-rocketed. [There were many other things happening at the same time so I cannot credit this surge in efficiency entirely to 'one meal a day only' practice, but still]

Today I went with a few new friends for dinner. I didn't order anything.

"Are you fasting?"

"No, I eat just once a day and I have already eaten today."

"Oh! Are you doing it because of the Nobel Prize winning research on fasting?"

"What?"

Then I searched and found this - Autophagy

Simply put, fasting/starving a bit is good. It triggers 'autophagy'. Allows your system to remove trash. Think of it like this. In a movie hall, you allow people to leave and then clean the hall and repair seats and then allow next batch of people to enter. The cleaning and maintenance happens when the hall is empty.

I wasn't suggesting this to anyone thinking its working just for me and may be harmful to others. But now there is evidence. Please consider this. Consult your dietician too with this research if you wish. I would be happy to see you live long :)

Bleeding blue: success and failure :)

Watched India vs New Zealand. India lost :(

Could feel the nervous energy in players.

One bad 30 minute phase and the team is out in spite of performing the best in the entire tournament. While New Zealand had performed relatively poorly in the entire tournament but one excellent 30 minute session and they are in the final.

When I look back at my failures in life, I see many a times I have been like India.

However, to be fair, when I look at my successes in life, many a times I have been like New Zealand :)

This brings me back to Nishkam Karma - forget the outcome and just focus on the process. Because sometimes you may work hard and rightfully deserve the desired outcome but not get it due to a tiny mistake while sometimes you may not work as hard as many others and may not deserve the desired outcome but still get it due to some tiny little brilliance.

Wow - a beautiful poem in the London Underground :)

Bleeding blue, Kohli's comment and considering to skip the Portugal trip :)

Watched both India vs Sri Lanka and Australia vs South Africa. Enjoyed a full day of cricket :)

Picked up this quote from Virat Kohli's interview (a bit paraphrased) - "If we don't play well then any weak team can beat us. If we play well then we can beat any strong team. And therefore the focus is on our own performance and not the strength of the opposition." Sounds like someone is reading the Bhagavad Gita :)

I sense an India vs England final at Lords. Whoever wins, London would be celebrating (plus we got the Wimbledon too at the same time). Exciting time to be in the city but unfortunately I will be headed to Portugal :(

I am considering skipping the Portugal trip :)

Mark Andrew Charles, ruk jata yaar!

This IIT Hyderabad student committed suicide. He wrote an 8-page suicide note. Articulate and clear. I am mourning for this kid.

"Ruk jata yaar. Cheek leta jab tak gala na fatte. Bhaag leta jab tak per na dukhe. Gaana ga leta. Kavita likh deta kitna bhi chutiyaap kyu na ho. Blog likhta koi pade na pade. Gaali de deta bhenchod. Khudko jhaapad maar deta. Bas ruk jata yaar. Ruk jata."

The underlying code :)

Yesterday facebook owned services faced outages... hahaha

Bleeding blue. We have qualified for the semi-finals :)

Staring at the ceiling :)

One day conquering the world

The next day staring at the ceiling

All the drama, tragedy and humour

Ending with a blank feeling

Death is a great normaliser/equaliser :)

Bringing all to the same setting

No matter how triumphant or embarrassed

We will all end up staring at the ceiling :)

-Chiraag

I am ill and have been lying in bed unable to do anything else but stare at the ceiling for hours which inspired me to write this poem :)

Sunstroke :(

Pretty bad one! Made the mistake of riding my bike to the lab in the sun. After reaching the library, experienced a blackout. Now I have fever too and the brain wants to explode. Turns out, it was the hottest day of the year and it happened quite suddenly. Big big big big mistake riding in the sun! Should have taken a bus and the underground. Furious with myself. 'Penny wise pound foolish' thing I did. God knows how much time this will take to recover and how much time I will end up loosing!

Not able to move or think or do anything at all. No energy to go back home either. Just listening to my breath and waiting patiently to recover.

Expensive cars giving my bike some company :)

My supervisor had invited me to a party at her house yesterday in Chelsea Harbour. A very posh neighbourhood. I parked my bicycle in the car park of her building which was full of super expensive cars. A Ferrari on one side and a Rolls Royce on the other. I whispered to my bike - "Great vehicles around to admire but I love you the most" :)

Flavours :)

First of all, I am convinced - London is the food capital of the world!

Secondly, the biggest advantage of cycling to work is that I get to stop anywhere I want and explore a random market and taste a random food item from a random eatery in a matter of minutes. A quick adventure of the taste buds. Such adventures happen each day :)

I guess it is time to start a food miniblog - just 5 minutes each day to articulate the flavour and post it on social media. After all, I eat every day :)

I am starting a food blog on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flavours_afoodblog/

The same posts will also be posted on the website: https://www.chiraaglala.com/flavours

I thought... But now... :)

I thought, I have done enough

But now, there is so much left to do

I thought, I have cried enough

But now, there are more tears coming through

I thought, I have loved enough

But now, there is so much more love left for you :)

-Chiraag

I, seriously, don't know where are these words coming from. Trust me, I am as surprised as you :)

A stroll around Soho and Mayfair :)

Kati Roll Company

A 1970's 80's Bollywood themed eatery serving a variety of kathi rolls. Played with a Child - Guddu - sitting next to us.

Central London Roads to be closed on Sunday. Why? Rathayatra... hahaha :)

Mayfair