Blog
Civilisation, Sovereignty and the Future of War
Indian civilisation stretches back into prehistory, carrying within it one of humanity’s longest continuous memories. The Vedas stand among the earliest recorded repositories of knowledge, intuition, inquiry and metaphysical reflection. The spread of Indian culture across South-East Asia—visible in Angkor Wat, Borobudur, Prambanan and countless...
Lanterns of Lost Moments
These days, I have found myself increasingly drawn to the quiet brilliance of Japanese fiction. My journey began with the deeply reflective novels of Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, whose works opened a gateway into a literary tradition where memory, loss and the unseen emotional architecture of life are rendered with extraordinary subtlety. From...
The Wipro Visit
I have had a long association with Wipro since the 1990s. I accompanied Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam to the Wipro campus in Bengaluru in 1999. We aimed to develop a mobile Cath Lab, as none existed in the country outside a few large cities. There, I had the opportunity to present to Azim Premji on the civilian spin-offs of defence technology. I titled...
The Quiet Force of Purpose
There are meetings that remain as events, and there are meetings that quietly become reflections. My recent interaction with Pavan Pidugu, graciously hosted by Dr. Chinnababu Sunkavalli at his home, belongs to the latter category. It was not a formal gathering of titles and achievements, though both were present in abundance—it was a meeting of...
The Man Shaping Real-World AI
I stopped wondering about the world a long time ago. Even this waking life feels no different from a dream—strange, layered, quietly unfolding—especially if one watches carefully. Of late, I have neither been travelling a lot nor pursuing any agenda that would make me particularly relevant to the world. And yet, life continues to bring remarkable...
Technology, Post-Truth, and the Art of Storytelling
I count it among the quiet privileges of my life that I live in Cyberabad, that curious frontier of Hyderabad where glass and code rise together, and where the pulse of the contemporary world beats with an almost inaudible insistence. Yet, even here, amid the measured rhythm of machines and meetings, there comes a moment when the mind turns...
Awakening the Atom: India’s Quiet Energy Revolution
It is one of history’s great ironies that nuclear energy—arguably among humanity’s most profound technological achievements—remains burdened with the shadow of destruction. The association is not without reason; it was forged in the searing memory of the Hiroshima bombing on 6 August 1945, during the final stages of World War II, when the atom...
Water, Wisdom and the Fortitude of the Indian Farmer
There are days that begin as routine engagements and quietly unfold into moments of reflection—days that leave behind not just memories, but also a gentle reordering of one’s thoughts. My visit to the ICAR – Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) in Hyderabad on the occasion of World Water Day, celebrated every year on March...
Stay Awake, Stay Connected
There are certain timeless truths that can be ignored only by the most callous among us. One such truth is the Buddhist concept of Triple Refuge: Buddham saranam gacchami—I take refuge in the Buddha (the Enlightened One or Teacher); Dhammam saranam gacchami—I take refuge in the Dhamma (the teachings or truth); and Sangham saranam gacchami—I take...
Layers of Becoming
When I sat on the chair on stage to be felicitated on the 13th Foundation Day of the Ozone Hospital, on February 28, 2026, and Telangana Transport Minister Mr. Ponnam Prabhakar, Telugu film star of yesteryears Mr. Suman Talwar, and Chairman Mr. Satya Sai Prasad wrapped the ceremonial shawl around me, I wondered: Who am I? Am I the mechanical...