I have an embarrassingly long list of things I promise myself to do and then not do it — sometimes even intentionally. I’ve had different labels and often legit reasons/excuses for them. But it never dawned on me, that collectively this is called self-sabotaging. Credit goes to a recent book I read. Self-sabotage is the […]
Finding joy and magic in the mundane
Many of us treat joy like our mothers treat “the good silverware” — only brought out for special occasions. “The tyranny of when” – the idea that we will only be happy “when” we’ve lost weight, gone for that dream vacation, got a better job, or it’s your birthday. We tend to wait for these […]
Rewire your brain
Most self-help advice for any anxious, depressed, or anyone going through some mental trauma revolves around rewiring your brain. “X steps to fix your mood forever.” Although well-intentioned, they all seem to skip a critical step. In order to rewire your brain, you first need to identify exactly when your brain is spiraling out of […]
A day in the life of a newbie solo traveller
On my first solo trip to Kashmir, I wanted to go for a day or two hikes in Gulmarg/Pahalgam. But the weather had suddenly become quite cold (~Zero degree Celsius at night) and I didn’t have appropriate winter clothing. Contemplating between whether or not to buy all the winter gear and then a hard look […]
From Cacti Killer to Gardener
This quote hits home. I’ve tried growing plants a couple of times. And I’ve killed all of them – every single time. I’m talking about killing – Aloe vera and cactus, also known as the king and queen of the most indestructible plants on every gardening list. After a while, I ran out of excuses […]
Why Kashmir is my happy place?
Kashmir became my home in just one visit. And almost the whole of it is because of these people. I went on a solo trip to Srinagar and stayed with Insha and her beautiful family for 6 nights. I’ve never stayed/seen such a huge property and also lived with a joint family. The place is […]
My Solo Trip To Kashmir And A Brush With Kashmiriyat (Part 1)
Terrorism and Jannat are the two words that come to your mind when you think about Kashmir. The magical valleys as I had only seen in photographs and movies were calling me for a while now. It has always been on top of my bucket list. But the constant horror stories of curfews, crackdowns, terrorist […]
Dear Husband,
12 Years ago, on this day, I met a guy in a tech conference who looked quite clueless. Little did I know that he was actually following me throughout the event and was startled when his crush approached him out of the blue. We became best friends within a year and I had no idea […]