Challenging Realities

During my training with the Indian Police Service, we were attached to an elite army unit in Nagaland for exposure. So a few days after we landed, we went for a patrol in full combat gear – we had to wear a metallic flak jacket and a bulletproof headgear that was so...

Is promptness such a great virtue?

A friend of mine doing investment banking with a Wall Street bank once told me about his managing director, who would frantically reply to every email within 2-3 minutes, no matter what time of the day or night you emailed her. Clearly, she was very prompt. But why?...

Anger reveals our weakness

During my stint in the Civil Services, the most powerful person I ever worked with was the Kerala Chief Minister, which at that time was Mr. AK Antony. And when we think of powerful people, what is the imagery that comes to one’s mind? Maybe someone who shouts down...

Start Now

When I started my Civil Services or IITJEE preparation, I had no idea how I would get to the finish line – so I just bought a few books and started learning. When I quit my job to do a startup, I did not know how I would build a company. But I got started, made...

Building Habits

When I was in the 9th grade, I built a habit that inadvertently helped me crack the Civil Services interview almost a decade later. In those days, I started reading newspapers religiously because I loved following the international stories (e.g., the Tamil conflict in...