Latest Post
To become a student, empty your cup
A few years ago, my Indian Police Service training boss, Shri Atul Karwal, told me the story of his commando training with India's elite National Security Guards (aka black cat commandos). When he, along with another batchmate of his, reported for...
Recent Posts
Is promptness such a great virtue?
A friend of mine doing investment banking with a Wall Street bank once told me about his managing director, who would frantically reply to every...
Anger reveals our weakness
During my stint in the Civil Services, the most powerful person I ever worked with was the Kerala Chief Minister, which at that time was Mr. AK...
Start Now
When I started my Civil Services or IITJEE preparation, I had no idea how I would get to the finish line – so I just bought a few books and started...
Building Habits
When I was in the 9th grade, I built a habit that inadvertently helped me crack the Civil Services interview almost a decade later. In those days, I...
More Articles
Fresh Start
When I finished my BTech, instead of feeling on top of the world, I felt dejected and defeated. Till I went to IIT, like any teenager, I felt that I could accomplish anything – I felt bullet-proof. But during college, for the first time in my life,...
Life is a Journey
Soon after I landed in Kerala on joining the Indian Police Service (IPS), my batchmates and I did a courtesy call on an officer of the rank Additional Director General of Police – the second-highest rank in the IPS. Naturally, as rookies, our rank...
Life is often the best teacher
When I was in the 5th grade, I learnt the basics of monetary theory from a local shopkeeper in Assam. Here is what happened. At that time, my father got posted to a remote place in Assam’s Kamrup district. There, the most prominent shop in the...
Writing Wisdom
The skill that has changed my life the most is ‘writing.’ And if I could give you some unsolicited advice, here it is: Learn the craft of writing and it will pay you a hundred times over. In school, my writing was pathetic. Nobody taught me because...