Eleven days of festivities, togetherness, and a few life lessons to carry forward

 

From Mahalaya to Vijayadashami: A Pause for Reflection

Eleven days of festivities, togetherness, and a few life lessons to carry forward.

From Mahalaya on 10^th Oct to Vijayadashami on 20/21^st October, this year’s festive season spans eleven days, with an additional day because Saptami Tithi falls on two days.

Somehow, this makes me happy. The longer the festive season lasts, the brighter and merrier life seems. Festivals give us a reason to step away from our busy routines, make time for worship and family, and enjoy the warmth of community. Even while managing our professional responsibilities, we make that extra effort to celebrate together and keep our traditions alive.

Beyond the rituals and festivities, every festival offers something deeper: an opportunity to pause and reflect. And perhaps, a life without such pauses is incomplete.

This Durga Puja, I found myself reflecting on the importance of letting go—not just of things, but also of conversations that bring negativity and disturb our peace.

We often try too hard to explain ourselves, hoping to change how others perceive us. But the truth is, we cannot change others, and no matter how hard we try, we may never be able to change their opinions about us. People see us through their own experiences and beliefs. We can clarify our intentions, but we cannot control their perceptions.

As long as we remain true to ourselves, act with sincerity, and stay aligned with our values, other people's opinions need not define us. Not every conversation deserves our attention, and not every opinion requires a response. Sometimes, protecting our peace means knowing when to step back.

Letting go of negativity is not a sign of weakness; it is an act of self-respect.

Life also teaches us the courage it takes to show up every day, fulfil our responsibilities, and remain consistent despite setbacks, disappointments, and circumstances beyond our control. 

Consistency is rarely dramatic. Much of the effort we make goes unnoticed. Our intentions may be misunderstood, our hard work may not always be acknowledged, and results may take longer than expected. Yet, we show up again the next day and continue doing what needs to be done.

Perhaps that is what matters most. We cannot control every outcome or how others perceive us, but we can choose to act with sincerity & maintain our dignity.

As we celebrate Vijayadashami, symbolising the triumph of good over evil, I am reminded that some of our most important victories happen within us—the victory of peace over negativity, self-belief over the need for validation, and wisdom over the urge to react.

Perhaps the real spirit of Vijayadashami lies in learning to let go of what diminishes us, hold on to what defines us, and move forward without losing ourselves along the way.

May Maa Durga bless us with the wisdom to see things clearly, the strength to protect our peace, and the courage to remain true to ourselves.

Shubho Vijayadashami! 

 

Happy Daughter's Day!

 Happy Daughters’ Day! 

Today, I don't just want to celebrate daughters.

I want to celebrate the parents who believed in their daughters.

Because if we look back just a few decades, we realise how much has changed.

For generations, girls were often expected to adjust, compromise and follow a path decided for them. Education was not always considered equally important for daughters. Career choices were often secondary. Marriage was treated as the destination, while a girl's own dreams sometimes came much later—or not at all.

The world has changed significantly since then.

Since the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, more girls are going to school, child marriage has declined, adolescent pregnancy has fallen, legal protections have expanded, and women have gained a much stronger presence in professional and public life.

But behind every statistic is a family.

A father who said, "My daughter will study as much as my son."

A mother who said, "You can have a career and a family."

Parents who said, "We trust your decision."

Parents who stood quietly behind their daughters when society questioned their choices.

And for those of us who grew up in the Boomer or Millennial generations, we know what that support meant.

We know that the freedom we sometimes take for granted today was not always available to women of our mothers' and grandmothers' generations.

Sometimes, it was a parent who quietly challenged an old belief.

Sometimes, it was a father who refused to differentiate between his son and daughter.

Sometimes, it was a mother who made sure her daughter knew that marriage was not the end of her dreams.

And sometimes, it was simply someone saying:

"Go ahead. I am with you."

Those words can change a girl's life.

Today, millions of girls around the world still face barriers. UNICEF estimates that 122 million girls remain out of school, nearly one in five girls globally is married in childhood, and adolescent girls continue to face violence and unequal access to opportunities. Progress has been real—but it has not reached every girl equally.

That is why Daughters' Day matters.

Not just because daughters deserve to be celebrated.

But because every generation has a responsibility to make the world a little fairer for the next generation of girls.

And today, I want to pause and say something that perhaps we don't say often enough:

Thank you, Mom and Dad. 

Thank you for believing in us.

Thank you for giving us the courage to make our own choices.

Thank you for supporting our dreams—even when they were different from what you had imagined for us.

And a heartfelt thank you to our in-laws too—for accepting us, respecting us, supporting us and giving us the space to remain the women we were before we became daughters-in-law.

We may have grown up, built careers, become wives and mothers, and created families of our own…

…but somewhere inside every daughter is still that little girl who remembers who stood beside her when she needed it most.

So today, let's celebrate our daughters.
Let's thank our parents.
Let's acknowledge those who supported us.
And let's make sure the daughters of tomorrow inherit a world where they never have to ask whether their dreams are "too much" simply because they are girls. 

Because the greatest gift we can give a daughter is not a perfect life.

It is the confidence to believe that she deserves to choose her own. 

Happy Daughters' Day. 

Titan: A built in India, designed in India & eventually made for the world Leadership Story

 Titan: A built in India, designed in India & eventually made for the world Leadership Story

“When the future is unpredictable, what can a leader make predictable?”

Titan story provides a powerful leadership example through Xerxes Desai, Titan founding managing Director. It is not merely a story of a successful Indian watch company. It is a story of visionary leadership, strategic thinking, exemplary execution & most importantly the importance & power of the people or the team.

Back in the 1980’s when Titan entered the watch market, it was predominantly dominated by the traditional big & established brands. But the visionary leadership of Mr. Desai challenged the traditional & trusted paradigm. The leadership lesson was not simply, “How do we make a better watch?” but “How do we change the way India experiences time?”. The watch was transformed from a functional instrument into a fashion and emotional product. This is the essence of visionary leadership.

Titan did not try to win simply by competing on price. Rather it chose a different strategy which relied on reliability, contemporary design, Quartz technology, understanding consumers & building trust around the brand. The strategic lesson is powerful: You do not always win by doing what competitors are doing better. Sometimes you win by changing the basis of competition.

From management to Leadership: One of the most important thing that differentiates a leader from a manger is inspiring people to act. Titan's journey demonstrates how a compelling vision can align designers, engineers, marketers, retailers and thousands of employees behind something bigger than their individual roles. This is where leadership becomes different from management. A leader makes people understand “Why does this matter?”.

And last but the most important lesson, one which is the most talked about in recent times, which is empathetic leadership (Understanding your people).

“Markets are unpredictable. People are the constant.”

Consumer preferences change. Technologies change. Competitors change. Economic conditions change. But people continue to be driven by fundamental needs: trust, recognition, dignity, belonging, aspiration and purpose.

A great leader therefore does not try to predict everything.

Instead, the leader builds an organisation that can respond intelligently to uncertainty.

Titan's greatest achievement was not simply making watches in India.

“Its greater achievement was demonstrating what Indian leadership could imagine, build and inspire.”

A leader sees what others don't see.

A leader makes strategic choices when there is uncertainty.

A leader gives people a purpose.

A leader creates trust.

And a leader makes people believe:

“I can be part of creating something bigger than myself.”

Because ultimately, markets don't create organisations.

People do.

Technology doesn't create transformation.

People do.

Strategy doesn't create value.

People execute the strategy and create the value.

And therefore, when the future is unpredictable, the greatest responsibility of a leader is not to predict the future.

It is to build people and organisations capable of winning in that future.

That is the essence of Leadership.

 

Down the Memory Lane....

Down the Memory Lane… 17 Years Later

Some places don’t just hold memories—they bring them back to life.

I joined IndianOil in August 2009. Soon after joining, our induction programme was conducted at IIPM (IndianOil Institute of Petroleum Management), Gurugram—then Gurgaon—the apex Learning & Development centre of IndianOil.

Exactly 17 years later, I found myself back at the same institute.

Same institute.
Same month.
Same accommodation.
But a completely different feeling.

The moment I entered the premises, memories of my very first day at IndianOil came flooding back.

I still remember my parents dropping me at IIPM for the first time. I was excited, yet nervous. Excited because, as a Chemical Engineer, I had always wanted to work in the core industry. And I felt truly fortunate to have been given the opportunity to begin my career with India’s largest energy company.

Walking through those familiar spaces after 17 years felt almost surreal. It was as if time had folded back on itself.

Time really does fly.

It feels like it was only yesterday, but in reality, almost two decades have passed. So much has changed over these years—professionally, personally, and around us.

Life at IIPM during our induction was much simpler. There was no internet, no Wi-Fi and certainly no constant stream of notifications demanding our attention.

Our entire batch was one big group of friends. After classes, we would play carrom, table tennis or go swimming. We talked, laughed, played and simply enjoyed each other’s company.

We didn’t have smartphones to capture those moments.

But perhaps that’s why we remember them so vividly.

Looking back, I realise that those were not just days of induction. They were the beginning of friendships, experiences and memories that became an integral part of our journey at IndianOil.

And returning to IIPM after 17 years was more than just a visit to an old workplace.

It was like meeting my younger self—the young Chemical Engineer who walked into those gates in 2009 with excitement, nervousness, dreams and a whole lot of hope for the future.

17 years later, the place is familiar, but the person standing there has changed.

The corridors may look the same, but the journey in between has made all the difference.

Grateful for the journey.
Grateful for the memories.
And above all, grateful to IndianOil for a journey that continues to add new chapters.

Some journeys take us far,
Some bring us back to the start.
And some places never really leave us—
Because they quietly live in our heart.

 

"कुछ रिश्ते वक्त नहीं, यादें निभाती हैं… दोस्ती उन्हीं में से एक है।" ❤️

 

बचपन की मासूमियत का साथी,
कॉलेज के सुनहरे दिनों का सबसे प्यारा हमसफ़र,
नौकरी की चुनौतियों भरी दुनिया का सबसे बड़ा हमराज़,
और ज़िंदगी की दूसरी पारी का सबसे भरोसेमंद खिलाड़ी…

एक ही ज़िंदगी के अलग-अलग पड़ावों, संघर्षों और खुशियों में जो हर पल साथ चला, वह है — दोस्त। ❤️

दोस्त…
जिससे कुछ पल बात कर लेने भर से मन हल्का हो जाता है।
जो आपकी कमियों के साथ भी आपको पूरे दिल से अपनाता है।
जो मीलों दूर रहकर भी हमेशा दिल के सबसे करीब रहता है।

ज़िंदगी के हर उस दोस्त के नाम,
जिसने हमारी हर मुस्कान, हर जीत, हर हार और हर याद को अपने साथ संजोया।

आज हम सब अपनी-अपनी मंज़िलों पर हैं, अपनी-अपनी ज़िम्मेदारियों में व्यस्त हैं।
लेकिन बचपन की शरारतें, कॉलेज की बेफ़िक्र हँसी, पहली नौकरी के संघर्ष और साथ बिताए वे अनगिनत पल…
ये यादें कभी पुरानी नहीं होतीं।

दोस्ती समय की मोहताज नहीं होती,
सालों की दूरी भी उस रिश्ते की गर्माहट को कम नहीं कर पाती।

आइए, आज उन सभी दोस्तों का शुक्रिया अदा करें, जिन्होंने हमारी ज़िंदगी को खूबसूरत बनाया।

दोस्ती के नाम… उन यादों के नाम… और उन रिश्तों के नाम, जो समय के साथ और भी मज़बूत होते जाते हैं।❤️

 

The Art of Letting Go & Finding Inner Peace

The Art of Letting Go & Finding Inner Peace

One day, someone looked at me and said,

"You have money, but money doesn't bring happiness. You never laugh loudly."

I smiled, but I didn't respond.

Not because I agreed with them, but because I realized how easily we define someone else's happiness through our own lens.

Perhaps, to them, happiness meant being loud, laughing & talking loudly.

But what if happiness looks different?

What if you are naturally calm? Someone who finds joy in silence rather than noise. Someone who is content with what life has given, disciplined in daily habits, and consistent in pursuing personal goals.

Does that make you unhappy?

Or does it simply make you... different?

Every day, we meet people who form opinions about us. Some admire us, some misunderstand us, and some judge us without knowing our story. Ironically, even those who have known us for years only know a part of who we are. They know the version of us that crossed paths with their lives, not the countless battles we fought silently, the sacrifices we made, or the reasons behind our decisions.

No one can truly know another person completely.

Just look around us. Even siblings raised in the same home are different. Twins may look identical, yet their dreams, fears, personalities, and ways of seeing the world are unique. If nature itself celebrates individuality, why do we expect everyone to think, behave, or understand life in the same way?

As I grew older, I realized that life becomes much lighter when we stop carrying the weight of everyone's opinions.

People will always have something to say.

The question is not whether people will judge you.

The real question is: Will you allow their opinions to define your peace?

The day I stopped trying to explain myself to everyone was the day I felt truly free.

Some things are better left where they belong, with the people who created them.

Inner peace doesn't come from proving people wrong. It comes from accepting that everyone sees the world through the lens of their own experiences. Their opinion reflects their perspective, not your worth.

Today, whenever someone misunderstands me, I simply remind myself that they are reading one chapter of my life, while I am living the entire book.

And that's enough.

Letting go is not giving up. It is giving yourself permission to live authentically, to grow without guilt, and to smile without needing everyone's approval.

At the end of life, we won't be remembered for how successfully we pleased everyone.

We'll be remembered for how genuinely we lived.

So let people have their opinions.

You keep your peace.

Sometimes, that's the greatest victory of all.

 **The Quiet Within**

They measured joy by the sound of my laugh,
I measured it by the calm in my heart.
 
They thought silence meant emptiness,
Little did they know
Silence was where I found myself.
 
Not every river rushes with noise,
Yet every river reaches the sea.
 
I have stopped correcting every sentence,
For I know the truth needs no applause.
 
Today, I travel lighter
Leaving behind opinions that were never mine to carry.
 
For happiness is not always loud,
Peace is not always seen,
And the strongest souls
Often bloom in quiet places.
I no longer seek to be understood by everyone.
I only seek to remain true to myself.

Still Being Carved!!

 Still Being Carved!!

In a world that worships polished stone,
He chose to remain unfinished.

He holds every broken heart,
And reaches those who have lost their way.
With eyes that never blink,
He watches silently, not to judge, but to embrace.

We spend our lives becoming
A title, a designation, a success story.
He sits upon His throne and smiles,
For He knows we were never meant to become things,
But human beings.

We rush through life with calendars and deadlines,
Chasing promotions, applause, and victories.
He reminds us that the finest sculptures of life
Are carved slowly, in silence, by time itself.

The King opened the door too soon.
How often do we do the same?
Impatient with our failures,
Restless with our journey,
Forgetting that God is still at work within us.

Lord Jagannath whispers—

"You are allowed to be unfinished."

You need not earn your worth.
You need not become perfect to deserve peace.
You need not conquer the world to discover yourself.

Your designation will retire one day.
Your possessions will change hands.
Your achievements will become memories.

But your kindness will remain.
Your compassion will remain.

Life, too, is a Rath Yatra.

Sometimes we pull the chariot.
Sometimes we are carried by it.
Sometimes the wheels move slowly.
Yet, every turn of the wheel is taking us home.

Work with excellence, but do not become your work.
Lead with humility, but never with pride.
Grow without comparison.
Change without losing yourself.

For the Lord of the Universe chose a wooden body,
and a boundless heart
To teach us the simplest truth of all:

You do not have to be complete to be divine.

So when the world asks,"What have you achieved?"

May Lord Jagannath inspire you to ask instead,

"What kind of human being have I become while achieving it?"

Jai Jagannath!!