LinkedIn Posts

When I first decided to write the Civil Services exam, I was horrified at: 1. How sub-par the syllabus was. 2. How random the marking was. 3. How unbelievably opaque the system was. For my optional subjects (Maths & Physics), supposedly at B.Sc Honours level, the...

Whenever I struggle to persevere while doing something hard, here is what I tell myself: Slowing down is an option. Taking a break is an option. Modifying your goals is an option. Reprioritizing is an option. But if you really care about something -- quitting can’t be...

During my stint as a consultant with McKinsey, late nights were the norm. However, after a lot of generalist work, to pursue my passion for finance, I opted for a 3-month rotation with a Corporate Finance specialist group in New York. This new group I was with, did...

Before joining the Indian Police Service, the most physically intense thing I had done in a few years was climbing the stairs of PK Kelkar Library at IIT Kanpur. Naturally, the upcoming 10-month training at the National Police Academy was making me sweat bullets. And...

The first time I did pistol shooting, in Mussoorie’s IAS training academy, our pistols all malfunctioned - or so it seemed. Five of us, barely 15 m from the targets, fired a volley of shots, and yet, the targets were practically untouched. Scratching my head, I asked...

At a typical IITJEE coaching center in Andhra, a student wakes up at 6 am and studies till 10 pm. For 16 hours, 6 days a week, they slog, with a few short breaks to freshen up, eat, etc. And they do this for years. Time for sports = 0 Time for extracurriculars and...

Once I was talking to a friend whose extended family had built a pharma business from scratch to worth tens of thousands of crores. Now, here is the most interesting thing -- In 40 years, they become multi-billionaires. But in the first 30 years, by comparison, they...

The startup world has today become a circus. Once, ‘startup’ meant innovation. Today it has become this drama of VC funding, valuation, unicorn, week-over-week growth, blitzscaling, and pursuit of the next billion/trillion/quadrillion. Now, there is NOTHING...

I have been working out regularly for more than a decade but it took years of struggle to make meditation a daily habit. Without guidance, it was really hard - every time, I would try but give up after a few days. But once I started reading some of the Buddhist texts...

In 2003, I was facing a potentially career-ending crisis. A group of tribals from northern Kerala landed in Trivandrum and started agitating. As the City Police chief, I had to ensure that there was no violence or obstruction. Since these were impoverished tribals, we...

In investment banking and Wall Street jobs, the ‘bonus day’ is an interesting one -- everybody gets a cash windfall. Naturally, they should all be thrilled, right? Yet, NOT everyone is happy. Why? Did they not just get more money? Here are the two reasons: 1. Though...

When I joined the Indian Police Service, I was in for a big disappointment -- I was assigned to serve in the Kerala cadre for the rest of my life. Folklore says that for the Civil Services, the north Indian states are ‘good cadres’ -- good facilities, nice houses, and...