Abhinav Bhatt

You Vax, You Lose?

It is a good thought experiment to consider that the world is a simulation. You are living in a Matrix and your life is just a program. All your actions and even your thoughts are just someone’s gigantic piece of code. If you’re not living in a Matrix or The Truman Show, then why was 2020 like a movie?

Bargaining Skills are a passé

Before I begin, I would like to take this opportunity to thank e-commerce websites. Thank you! They have not only totally taken over the businesses of nearby and faraway local grocery stores, but they have also left no stone unturned in making us truly lazy. But that’s not the main reason. For me, one of the major moments of embarrassment in public is faced when I have to bargain. Despite being an Indian, I cannot bargain. But I don’t have to add it in my weakness section of the resume anymore. E-Commerce has literally killed the art and science of Bargaining.

What’s the deadline for accepting Happy New Year Wishes?

person in white and pink striped long sleeve shirt

If there’s something more cliche than gifting and receiving Soanpapdi on Diwali, it is the Happy New Year wishes. Saying Happy New Year to each and everyone with a smiling face is prevalent universally. The only day one would smile and greet others with the same intensity is the day when one is throwing a reception for the wedding. The smile gets inverted after that anyway. But the question looming over our heads is this: What’s the date by which you are going to accept Happy New Year’s wishes? Is it the first week of January? Or Mid-January? Or if you are meeting someone for the first time in late January? Is it really required to video call or just a ‘Same to you’ on Whatsapp would suffice?

Start of the decade is here

Janus, the Greek God behind the name of January, has 2 heads. One head looking backward, and another towards the future. Probably, that was the reason for adapting January as the 1st month of the Julian Calendar Year. Many countries like India and China still maintain their own Lunar Calendars but January is the first month officially nevertheless. And this January, in particular, brings the start of a new Decade. I like to think that the new decade starts now. 2020 was a Trial or the Zeroth Year for calculations and shaking everyone by the throat just to wake them up.

Year 2020 End Blog Post

120 odd blog posts this year! Out of these, 100 or more have been published daily for the last 100 or so days. Total Words 41,227+. Average words per post 352. That’s a big achievement so a self-pat-on-the-back is a given. So, I have nothing to sum up as consolidated thoughts today. 2020 has been a year that taught us a lot of things. I will share what I think were the 3 most important lessons we should have learned.

You

Your and your family’s health is above everything else. Money is required to keep the health intact as well. But if you are not healthy to earn money, then all the best. In case you fail to keep yourself healthy for any reason, the only thing which can save you is Insurance. If you don’t have yourself insured, then it is like bungee jumping with a rope made of noodles. Take care of yourself. You matter.

This and That

So many things are there that we take for granted. Internet and People top that list so thank you Tim Berners Lee and Evolution. But there are things which, if taken away, everything would crumble. To each, his own, but savoring small things should be our priority always. This year showed us if our basic things are taken away from us, we might implode.

The Off Switch

Beginning with the start of this year, till at least October end, I worked more than I have ever worked in my life. I took up more responsibilities than I have ever had. Then I took on some more challenges. I experienced a few things that were life-altering. What did I achieve out of that? Nothing as of now. Probably, the results would show in the next few years. But one big lesson learned is the missing Off Switch. I spent all my time this year in front of a screen and kept my eyes closed only when I was sleeping. This is unsustainable and impractical. It fast forwards you to old age. An Off Switch needs to be found and that’s going to be my focus in 2021. One cannot get back the lost moments (and people). So, spending time rightly is to be cherished.

Wishing the millions and millions of the readers of this blog the best for the upcoming year. For rest of the world, read more people! Let’s hope 2021 acts as the start of a wonderful decade for humanity. Do the due.

A bit about Crying

It was the wedding of my cousin in 2014. In fact, it the time of farewell when the bride was about to leave with the husband to her new home. It was the time when everyone was teary eyed. Partly because in India family profusely cries when their daughter is about to leave. And partly because everyone is tired of the mammoth of the event a North Indian wedding is, as it draws curtains. So, as my cousin was about to sign off from the scene with her newly added friends and family, my whole family started to cry, while saying bye, as per the tradition (and heartfelt too, of course).

If it is not Agoraphobia

I gifted a book called ‘Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking’ to someone recently. Gifting such book is like poking inside a Socket with a Tester Screwdriver. The only problem being is not that you don’t know that there is an electric current there. Rather it is that you don’t have much confidence in the insulation of the screwdriver itself. Another analogy is that when you try interacting with introverts, it might be like asking directions from a person who’s wearing headphones. The headphones might be a signal for You but you are not getting it. It is understandable for me because, surprise, I am an introvert myself here. Gifting such a book might be counter-productive. However, I had gifted the book thinking that there might be some tricks and tips in it which might improve productivity.