I was finding it tough… to find that spark of joy…amidst certain difficult times... I was bogged down by the weight of my thoughts! Thoughts such as ‘what’s the meaning of life?’, ‘what are we chasing when one day we are sure to leave this world?’, ‘I can never be happy when my loved ones are suffering!’, ‘How can I be happy when people are fighting and getting killed around the world?’ etc., etc. I was going about doing my duties, and what was required of me, but deep down w

All my recent experiences have been pointing to just one thing- the answer to the above question! The first of these experiences was my unexpected encounter with the unprecedented floods in my hometown in Kerala in mid-2018. All other challenges that I had faced in my life until this point had seemed insignificant in front of the challenge of several lives at stake. When I left behind my precious belongings and waded through the floods without even once turning back, I had a

“Compassion is an extremely valuable virtue for the survival of our species. Our experience showed us that only mutual care and support can help us overcome adversities and not the instinct to selfishly secure limited resources. ” A Fateful Independence Day In the past, whenever I have watched news on natural disasters around the world, I have felt sad and bad for the affected people, but I had never thought that it could ever happen to me! Most of us, humans, tend to take th

“To have fear is human, but those who overcome their fears become extraordinary humans” Recently, when my 7-year old spoke of his fear to sleep alone, after hearing 'ghost stories' from friends, I narrated my own stories to him when I conquered my fears and went onto do what I wanted to in my life. This is one such story- an account of my first trip to the US as a 21 year old graduate student in 2001, a time so different from now when cell phones and credit cards were still