Abhinav Bhatt

So I recently read: ‘Your Life in Weeks’ on WaitButWhy.com

I generally don’t think long-term. I do have ambitions and I have a general plan but there is no more irksome question than “Where do you see yourself after 5 years?”. Memes about this question being asked in 2015 are already aplenty. All your plans, goals, and targets crumble as soon as a personal calamity occurs.

Just a day after Diwali 78% people of my family fell sick which totally ruined all the festivities. The scare is still hanging in the balance and the road to recovery is still a few weeks longer. This has totally toppled everyone’s plans, goals, and targets and now everyone is looking for short-term betterment.

I recently read: Your Life in Weeks (https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/life-weeks.html). Summarizing it below:

Think about your life. Divide it into weeks (or months or years or decades). If you are already in your 30s, 33% of your life has already gone. The majority of the time you spent with your parents, your real friends, and your hobbies might already be spent. Many of the attempts are already being used up as we speak.

But, it is not all bad. We still have 66% of the life left. That is actually good. The most satisfactory time is yet to come your way. Your earlier time might have been for your own self. Maybe, now is the time to think about others. Now might be the time when you can guide others to lead their lives better. Now might be the time when you can devote to your latent hobbies. The others can be anyone you care for.

We will always be short of time. But there might be a wee bit of time in your week left to spend thinking about others. Think of your life in weeks or months or years or decades. Many greats achieved their highs in their careers in 2nd halves of their lives. So can we.

There will be a mixed bag of news coming our way as we grow older. Many of them would be out of our control anyway. So, instead of saying why me, we can change our perspective and think about what can be done to change the next few coming weeks, or years, or decades. But don’t reply to the dreaded question about where do you see yourself after 5 years as the answer remains: In the mirror.

Photo by United Nations COVID-19 Response on Unsplash

Tomorrow would be better

Diwali isn’t the same when the first thing you hear is that half of your family is coping with the C thing. Your stomach feels weird and taste feels weirder when your loved ones suffer. Of course, I won’t be the first one and the last one to feel this as whole humankind of going through this churn of uneasiness and mental upheaval.

Hopefully tomorrow would be better. That’s the message of Diwali too. Next morning should bring happiness and prosperity. Hope is what we have!

Festivities in 2020

A few days ago, I attended a birthday party of my 2-year-old nephew on Zoom. As expected, it was beautiful but chaotic. Most of the guests (their age ranged from 2-year-olds to 75-year-olds) were using Zoom for the first time. At least they hadn’t attended with so many participants. But it was the only way possible. Since it happened online, people who would ignore such parties, also joined in.

That is the basic premise of 2020. People are more connected than ever. We also realize that online is not the same as in-person.

This would be my 3rd time in 10 years away from my hometown when I am going to spend Diwali (the biggest festival for me and my family) in Bangalore. As I write this, it is raining here. I just switched off the lights which I installed outside. There’s hardly any noise of crackers this time. Out of say 50 houses, I see from my balcony, only 5 of them barely show any glitter which looks Diwali-worthy. A lot has happened this year already which has brought more gloom than glee. The picture outside doesn’t really help. And this is all compared to the usual hoopla the festival of Diwali is in Jaipur. If I say Jaipur is designed for Diwali, it won’t be an understatement. Most of the friends here have either left Bangalore or are staying far away.

We could have stayed gloomy and kept it dark. But we did step up and tried to do our bit. Again, I am not bursting crackers, but I did install some Lights outside, we bought dozens of Diyas and Candles, we are making some Diwali special dishes, prepping up to make rangoli, and doing everything possible to make it memorable. We won’t go outside as the pandemic is still not over. This time, we would celebrate it on Zoom. It would be chaotic, but it would still be beautiful. This might give another opportunity to connect with folks, with whom, it has been a long time no see situation.

Happy Diwali to everyone staying away from their homes! And by home, I mean people you care about. Let’s brighten things up!

Final Word on Crackers on Diwali

Let’s give it a try. By not bursting firecrackers this time? I know it is a cliche but have we really given it a go, completely ever? Obviously, I cannot force or coerce anyone. I am just thinking out loud.

What if, the next morning of Diwali, roads look a bit cleaner, devoid of white and red leftovers of the crackers, half-burnt sparkle sticks, crushed flower pots, and rockets gone haywire?
What if, the air feels a bit lighter than the usual next day? Easier to breathe for non-asthmatic people too.
What if, instead of spending 2 hours outside the home, you reconnect with family and friends, just by having a conversation?
What if, money spent on Firecrackers can be put to some other use?
We have known Diwali to be full of loud noises throughout the evening and late into the night. What if it is just silent in decibels? But all the shiny and fancy clothes, houses, markets, and shops staying intact.
What if it works out and we end up liking it this way?

Let’s give it a try.

Simple doesn’t mean easy

The Hacker’s Diet starts with this passage:

There’s an old Wall Street Tale: a tyro asks an old-timer, “How do you make money in the market?”

The wise man answers, “Nothing could be simpler: buy low, sell high“. The beginner asks, “How can I learn to do that?”. The sage responds, “Ahhh… that takes a lifetime.”

Simple doesn’t mean easy.

Probably this is how Democracies work too.

Sound Check

In your head you might have a baritone of a voice. But in actuality, you might sound like a whistle.

Anyways, I sound exactly like what I picture myself sounding like: Fast, Hyper, and somewhat sparky.

I got an opportunity to talk about Blogging on a Podcast recently.

On the go gyaan, is a relatively new podcast but getting popular as we speak. It deals with discussions on Communication and is made by my friends from Toastmasters. Here are the links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onthegogyaan/

Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL29udGhlZ29neWFhbi9mZWVkLnhtbA/episode/b250aGVnb2d5YWFuLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tLzg2MDY5YzY3LTg5ZjktMzY2Ni05ZGM3LTNkZTAwNTA1MGYyOA?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiYqIf3rPjsAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

Apple Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/11-blogging/id1525908344?i=1000497926503

What’s in the Title?

There might not be anything in the name but there might be everything in the Title.

Bhujia or Namkeen, the delightful savory made in Bikaner, is world-famous without a doubt (at least for me). Near the old place of my grandparents, there is one particular shop from which we still get our quarterly supplies in kilograms of Bhujia every time someone gets a chance to visit. The shop is called Hariram Namkeen Bhandaar but someone nicknamed it ‘Kauda ki Dukaan’, or the Shop owned by ‘Kauda‘. Now, Kauda was just a slang which actually means nothing. But it was meant to depict the somewhat large eyes of the then shopkeeper, as a joke.