A colleague of mine bullied us into sharing five embarrassing experiences for a New Year event. I thought I might as well share them publicly – so here they are: 1. When I first tasted a martini (at the kitchen counter of my aunt's house in San Francisco), I loved it....

When I took on my first major assignment in the police service – as the Police Commissioner of Trivandrum City – I got a lot of unsolicited advice. A common one was, “Be very careful! The politics is very dirty and many people will be out to get you.” Apparently, the...

When I landed at Wharton, the constant refrain I heard was – “MBA is all about networking. So build connections and make friends.” Academics and learning seemed to just be a sideshow. But unfortunately, as an introvert, I hated networking. Even while serving in the...

During my stint as an investor, once the CFO of an Indian conglomerate came to our office with his team. They were looking for funding since their businesses were not doing very well. During the discussion, just to see how clear their thinking was, I asked the CFO,...

I first went to a gym in class 12th, for three days. And then, I quit. After many false starts, in 2009, I finally nailed the habit. For the last 12 years, I have been working out regularly despite the occasional ups and downs of life. Here is what changed. Until...

Ego is not always your enemy. I first realized this in 2001, when as a police officer, I was facing a fierce agitation by a tribal group from Kerala’s Wayanad district. For publicity, these agitators decided to disrupt the annual Onam procession, a huge cultural event...

VCs love to talk about the unicorns in their portfolio – and understandably so. But why don’t we talk about how many of our companies are ethical? Sometimes, winning at ANY cost is not 'winning’ -- it is ‘cheating.’ Long ago, when I came to Kerala after joining the...

A few years ago, at an organic food show in Trivandrum, a girl at the entry counter stopped me. And with the zeal of a convert, she shoved a pamphlet in my face, and started lambasting how evil genetically modified (GM) food was. I am not for or against GM food but to...

In a finance class at Wharton, I realized the root cause of the 2008 financial meltdown -- complexity. And if we are not careful, for the same reason, many will get hurt in the current crypto craze. In the abovementioned class, the professor explained loan derivatives...

In my first year at IIT, we had a race -- no, not the rat race, but a literal one. We had to pick a humanities course, which was assigned ‘first come, first served.’ Prof Amit Ray’s course on arts/design was the most popular -- he gave ‘A’ grades quite liberally. And...

When I left McKinsey to join private equity in India, I was extremely nervous. I knew nothing about investing. All I had learned at b-school and at McKinsey was the theoretical stuff. And now I would have to rub shoulders with the ‘pros.’ Since these people were...

Many years ago, during a social event, an IPS officer known for obsessive drinking claimed that while serving in the Border Security Force, he had liquor in the deserts of Rajasthan, under the night sky. And that according to him, was the most enjoyable experience man...

Years ago, my first detox was not from unhealthy food or some bad habit, but from authority and power. Working in the IPS had many good things, but one bad thing was that you get addicted to power and authority. And I could see all the symptoms of addiction. When you...

Years ago, I was at an evening get-together at the house of a senior IPS officer. At that time, as a relatively junior IPS officer, I was heading a city police force. During the conversation, one senior officer started lamenting about how the quality of IPS officers...

Every time I go for a run, the uphill stretches of Trivandrum roads remind me what raw agony feels like 🙂 Yet, when I see people taking a gentle stroll in nearby parks, I don’t envy them -- instead, I feel truly privileged. Why is it a privilege to suffer that pain?...