Writing a Life-In post in the last week of Dec is equivalent to a year-end retro post. So, this is what it is going to be.
2025 didn't turn out the year it was supposed to be. At-least the way I was expecting it to be. If you had asked me in Jan'25, what would this year look like, I would have said peaceful, healthy, balanced (between work and life) but it was far away from it. The pursuit of balance is an endeavor now that will continue in the next year.
So, what happened in 2025 then? One of the metric that we have been using to track is how many nights have I spent outside home. It is a proxy metric that captures travels and the quantum of it. In 2025, I had
- Trip to Bandipur - 1 night
- (Work) 5 trips to Pune (1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 3 nights) - 10 nights
- Trip to Udaipur to attend Rajasthan Kabir Yatra retreat - 1 day
- Trip to Mumbai - 2 nights
- Trip to River Tern (Papa's 70th bday) - 1 night
- Trip to Wayanad (Kanishka's dad's 80th bday) - 3 nights
- (Work) Trip to US -1 - 15 nights
- (Work) Trip to US-2 - 11 nights
- Trip to Japan - 10 nights
- (Work) Trip to EU - 10 nights
- Trip to Bekal - 2 nights
- Trip to Delhi (Buaji's 75th bday) - 1 night
- Kannur at the start of the year - 4 nights
- Stargzing + camping event - 1 night
Total - 72 nights. Out of which 46 are work related.
Note - the above does not include the Peru trip that was planned and later cancelled.
Each one of them in isolation was a good call. But, collectively, this is a lot of travel. 71 are just nights, if you add the days at the start/end, add jet-lag, it clearly had an impact on 90+ days.
The other thing that happened in 2025 was health was not prioritized. The second stint at Kannur was meant to kick-start a healthy year but it soon fizzled out. I was also sick a lot this year, most so during second half.
- Post US-2 trip, developed a back spasm and had to cancel the Peru trip. Still dealing with it.
- Bekal - developed some stomach infection, had viral cramps and then had to come back via ambulance.
- Had atleast 2 bouts of Flu - one during the June Pune trip.
- Have taken at-least one sick leave each month from June - Dec.
The travel and sickness impacted my wellness plans -
- I was part of Base fitness till Apr - attended it partially and then finally gave up.
- May - Aug - almost nothing. May was spent at home doing nothing to recover from US trip and plan for Japan. June was Japan+Delhi+Pune. July was River-Tern. Aug was Pune.
- Joined Liftr in Sept, attended 2-3 weeks. Then Wayanad, Pune and later EU trip took over.
- Re-joined Liftr in Dec 2nd half.
While we write about the good things in the life-in series, sometimes it is equally important to document the not-so-good things. At the year-end, I am writing while I am having back spasm that is refusing to go away it seems and some dry cough. This year, I crossed 40 birth year and now the realization is coming that the body at 40 can not be treated like a college kid. Cancelling a very well planned trip is painful but in hindsight, it has been a good decision. Have been regular to the gym this past week and I have slept a lot to recoup some energies. Started MBSR meditation course. Finished a book, writing blogs and deciding to take things slow.
With that reflection done, here is what gave me joy -
Kanishka and I decided to do book-dates - go out to a cafe and read books. Kudos to Kanishka for coming up with this idea!
Attended a star-gazing event. Went to see the farmland at Denkanikottai and on the way back, Kanishka booked a stargazing camp event. Saw okay-ish stars. The mattress inside the tents made the tent very cozy. Took lot of pics :)
With Abhishek, Sonal, we did a HSR thindi car-walk - Was meant to be a walk but since it was raining, we ended up visiting places by car. Places visited - Meddi-Messina food truck (27th main), Ooran tiffins, Godavari cafe.
We continued out Diwali ritual and made Boondi laddu this year. Tried two recipes. Funny story - when we were making it, we were also tasting and our mouths became so sweet that when the laddus were done, we thought that they are not good. But after a day, when we tried the same laddus, they tasted like amazing. Friends, family loved it as well.
Played board games with friends -
In more randomness, tried a goatee look for a month and colored my hair
I typically do not post any of work-pics but breaking this. Went to Bengaluru Oota company for a team dinner social. Amazing food!
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From the travels -
Trip to Mumbai -
- Visited Khao galli
- Went to NMACC (Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural centre) - Saw the fountain show, an art museum.
- Walked on the Marine drive and went to Pizza by the bay (with stomach full unfortunately)
- Small early morning hike with Nikesh.
River Tern -
A 30+ group to river tern out of which 18 folks were 60+. Everyone enjoyed. Hired a bus and a car. Everyone was on time! River tern never disappoints - be it Safari, food or stay!
Wayand trip
Always good to visit the same place after some years have passed. Visited Wayanad exactly 10 years later. There are more museums, the Banasura dam is way more organized, there is a bus service to take it to the top, lot more touristy as well.
Big thanks to Nikesh for the push to attend this event. He even paid for it. Loved the experience. I feel that such experiences are needed to slow you down. The music performances were awesome, but equally good was interactions with the artists over dinner. The event was organized very well and encouraged you to loosen yourself and go with the flow. We are so self-conscious so much of the time. One such activity they had organized was a dinner social where two people were paired together. The catch is that the other peson will feed you. Yes, literally feed you - they will get the food from buffet, and break it down to morsels and feed you in the mouth. So simple activity yet felt so uncomfortable till you get used to it.
Also, the stay was at a very nice Udapur resort - Yaan Udaipur which is a 5-start property. Stay was lovely.
Delhi trip
Always good to meet all relatives in one place.
Trip to US - 2
Whilst it was a work-trip, many interesting things happened and I am grateful to each one. By far the bet highlight was April inviting us to her home where she had her annual tradition of singing Christmas carols. Such a lovely, warm tradition and I am so thankful to her for inviting us to be part of this experience.
Had a morning free before the flight, so walked the Mission street and clicked few murals. Also, visited the datacentre and saw where the physical servers are placed. One one weekend, hiked the Arastedro Preserve
Also, someone tried to break into my car and cracked the rear car window. Got lucky to survive it.
Books read / heard
Omar El Akkad's One day everyone will have always been against this - By far the best book that I have read last few years. High praise. 5/5
Wolf Hall and Bring up the bodies by Hillary Mantel 4/5
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn Williams
I liked it a lot. A cautionary tale of our times. Deals with tech, deals with the time that I have lived, seen it shape and not all of it is for good. May write a detailed review of it. 4/5
Ancillary Justice: (Imperial Radch Book 1) by Ann Leckie. Going to finish the trilogy and write a review. First one is very different, to narrate this complexity is no easy task. 4/5
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson - Audiobook. Good masala thriller book. 3/5
Serial - Season one - A true-crime podcast 5/5 Supposedly created the genre of true-crime. Based on a true story which is as bizarre as it can be. Very very well made.
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