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I graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and pursued a master’s in design at GB Pant University. I then spent 15 years at DRDO working on missile hardware. Afterwards, I explored biomedical materials, with a focus on civilian spinoffs. Nearly half of my career has involved interdisciplinary work. I primarily worked with doctors and...

On May 1, 2019, I began a journey that I could not have anticipated would change the way I see myself as a writer. It was not born of ambition or grand design but of inspiration. Gopi Reddy and his wife, Tanya, nudged me toward blogging as a form of expression. Tanya went a step further and built a website for me—a modest but enduring home where...

I have been blessed with the friendship of Manher Sameer. We met at GB Pant University in 1974, where I was pursuing my graduation in Mechanical Engineering, and where Sameer joined the Mechanical Engineering program after completing his graduation in Sciences from the adjacent College of Basic Sciences and Humanities. So technically, he was a...

Leaving DRDO in 1997 was a leap of faith for me. I had spent 15 years working with missiles, developing India’s first titanium air bottle and facilitating the industry interface for the indigenous production of astronautical-grade aluminium alloys, as well as AKASH missile airframes. By creating a special stainless steel to make an indigenous...

Darning, known as Rafookari in Hindi, is an umbrella term for a mending technique used to repair holes or worn areas in fabric or knitted materials by weaving a new piece of cloth or thread into the existing material. Often done by hand, this practice was prevalent in the past, and as a child, I recall seeing it used to extend the life of...

For most people, the pursuit of happiness is the purpose of life. All actions and thoughts are fuelled by the desire to be happy. No one wants to be unhappy, yet unhappiness and dissatisfaction are prevalent. Perhaps serving others can be one’s higher purpose, leading to deep satisfaction rather than fleeting happiness. Two brothers I met are...

Caves are inseparable from human imagination. When the Vanara army searches for Sita in the Ramayana, they are clueless and lost in the dense forest. Tired, thirsty, and hopeless, Hanuman sees some birds flying into a cave, which he infers is where water must be…

I learned about Don Quixote, a novel written in the early seventeenth century, through various articles. It is the most translated and best-selling Spanish novel by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra. Still, I have only recently read its English translation by John Ormsby…

Lately, I have visualised life as a strange loop, exploring the enigmatic, self-referential patterns often defining human existence. In fact, ‘I Am a Strange Loop’ is the title of a book by the cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter, published in 2007…

I arrived in Hyderabad in 1982, and since there were no official housing options, I rented a section of a house in the Vidyanagar neighbourhood. From there, I would take the local train to Uppuguda, and as a form of physical exercise…