Ajay Zaveri

It is not the amount of knowledge that makes a brain. It is not even the distribution of knowledge. It is the interconnectedness. ~ James Gleick,

In the Mahabharata King Yayati was cursed with ageing. Full of lust, he exchanges his son's youth for his old age. The King realises that the more desires he fulfils the emptier he feels. He then becomes an ascetic and attains through renunciation the joy he sought in indulgence. In the East ageing was attainment of wisdom and respect. From the West we have learnt holding on to youth. From colouring hair to skin lifts and from anti wrinkle serums to Botox injections - whatever it takes to look young! Even language has been softened. You are 18 years old but 81 years young! You never get old, you get older! There are children so logically there should be old people! There are none, they are senior citizens but there are no junior citizens! Carl Jung gave us the four pillars for a happy old age. 1.Individuation - In the first half of our life we seek acceptance, appreciation, rewards. We develop a persona. It is a mask tht has become our face. The family man, the obedient child, a high achiever. In the second stage of our life there must be a gradual shift of authority from the external to our internal world. Meaning in life cannot just be our position and achievements. 2.Integrating the Shadow - The shadow contains everything we suppressed, feared, did not fully explore. Along side the persona the shadow expressing as cynicism, anger, frustration, envy, aggression. In our second half of life we need to integrate this shadow and make peace with it. 3.From doing to being. The first half of our life meaning is by doing, achieving, building while the second half is about finding the joy of being alive. Not rushing through the day, but savouring it. Not seeking escape but enjoying our own company. 4.Acceptance of death. A life lived in denial of mortality driven by distraction and avoidance is shallow but a life lived in awareness of mortality is sincere and present. By the second half, we have attended enough funerals and our body starts showing signs of decline. Probably what scares us is all we postponed or hoped for will now not happen. In preparation for old age there are five things you must be able to enjoy alone. I have my list, do you have yours? As we get old, work and children that took a large part of our time no longer demand it. Everyone’s life is a mixed bag. हासिल-ए-ज़िंदगी  हसरतों के सिवा कुछ भी नहीं, ये किया नहीं, वो हुआ नहीं, ये मिला नहीं, वो रहा नहीं। (There is no outcome of life except desires. I didn’t do this, that did not happen, I didn’t get that, that did not remain!) Old age is a time where the pressures are off us. To look a certain way, to dress a certain way, to march to a time table in a certain way. Beautiful young people are an accident of nature but beautiful old people are a work of art! - Eleanor Roosevelt Be that artist who creates her most fantastic work in the second half of life for a memorable concert is a slow build up to a grand finale that will leave the audience thirsting for more!

@iramsubramanian Andh Bhakti is actually a psychological disorder of lack of empathy masquerading as nationalism.

What has pissed me off the most; the consecutive massive mandates that people of this country gave Mr. Narendra Modi, he could have done something massive, something spectacular for people, instead, he squandered it by chasing personal glory, regressive garbage sub-ideologies, making his 'friends' happy and now, he has destroyed our economy. There was a time when India, irrespective of what economical upheavals ravaged the outside world, was safe. Our people were growing at a steady, organic rate; that cushioning has been wiped out now. I am quite confident that the last two days of fear-mongering will turn around and bite Modi Government where it hurts them the most... electoral losses. People will remember this. They defenitely will. I am betting on it.

@JhaSanjay Andh Bhakti is actually a psychological disorder of lack of empathy masquerading as nationalism.

They mocked Dr Manmohan Singh when the USD/INR was Rs 58. Today it is Rs 95.60. Dr Singh battled a world that lived with high oil prices, sometimes reaching close to USD 150 per barrel. You can’t run a country on speeches off a teleprompter. #NoTelePrompter

@Geeky_Foodie @rohnambiar Beautiful remembrance

Received an author’s copy from husband’s friend and ex colleague @rohnambiar of his book called The Simplicity Trap. Overwhelmed to see Yuv’s name feature in the dedication and aptly so. I always find so much peace, comfort and pride in the fact that in his 40 years of life he lived more than most people would live in 80 years. Looking forward… to reading this book and of course to living each day to the fullest!

@Sanginamby As society we are brainwashed by this regime. There is no hope

Only andhbhakts will believe that two car cavalcade stunt. The knee jerk response to to all the flak he got over his hypocrisy. It’s beyond embarrassing how foolish some sections of the Indian public is.

“My world, my Earth is a ruin. A planet spoiled by the human species. We multiplied and fought and gobbled until there was nothing left, and then we died. We controlled neither appetite nor violence; we did not adapt. We destroyed ourselves. But we destroyed the world first.” — Ursula K. Le Guin @imacuriosguy @SumanaSiliguri

Dear Sumana, This is brilliant news — and such a wonderful move. You have come a remarkably long way from your first path-breaking, genre-bending book, which went on to be translated into several European languages, to now having three books published by Yale University Press, along with essays and articles appearing in so many respected journals. What is especially admirable is the seriousness, originality, and intellectual integrity you have brought to your work over the years. In a time increasingly driven by noise and speed, your scholarship has depth, courage, and a distinctive voice of its own. I feel genuinely proud of your work and achievements, and even more delighted to see your journey continue to unfold so beautifully. Warmest wishes and love

A Suitable Agency is delighted announce that we are representing @SumanaSiliguri's 'The Man Who Made Plants Write', a luminous translation of the eminent scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose's seminal essays on plants and their ability to feel and respond to stimuli.

What makes it feel especially corrosive is that the loudest voices increasingly shape the emotional and moral climate of society. Wealth, visibility, controversy, and spectacle are mistaken for wisdom, character, or contribution. The algorithm rewards outrage, vanity, and instant gratification — not depth, restraint, or quiet integrity. Much of mainstream media today is not really designed to inform or elevate; it is engineered to capture attention, prolong engagement, and maximize profit. Fear, conflict, celebrity excess, and performative lifestyles simply sell better than nuance, reflection, or substance. And when media ecosystems are owned or influenced by powerful commercial interests, public discourse itself slowly becomes commodified. But the deeper malaise , as you pointed out, is cultural — not technological. A society ultimately becomes what it collectively admires. When celebrities, influencers, and billionaires become our primary moral reference points, then conspicuous consumption starts replacing values like scholarship, craftsmanship, wisdom, humility, or public service. The obsession with visibility creates a culture where being seen becomes more important than being meaningful. Ironically, despite unprecedented “connectivity,” many people feel intellectually exhausted, emotionally anxious, and spiritually empty. Constant exposure to curated lifestyles produces comparison, insecurity, and a perpetual sense of inadequacy. The result is a strange mix of hyper-consumerism and emotional fragility.

Crowdsourcing here. Who are the Indian Bollywood and sports celebrities who promote carcinogens like tobacco, alcohol, sugary drinks? I'm happy to launch a campaign (and if necessary, beg them to desist). Please reply or RT this so that we can reach the right folks

The Indian salaried class has been methodically stripped of every single inflation hedge available to it, one budget at a time. You tried crypto. They slapped a 30% flat tax on gains, allowed no set-off of losses, and added 1% TDS on transfers. You tried equities. Budget 2024 raised STCG from 15% to 20%, raised LTCG from 10% to 12.5%, increased STT on F&O, and also killed indexation for most other long-term capital gains. You thought fine, I’ll diversify some savings abroad through LRS. They put 20% TCS on remittances above 10 lakhs for investments abroad. You tried Sovereign Gold Bonds, because surely a government-issued, government-backed gold hedge would be the one clean instrument they would not mess with. Then Budget 2026 came along and removed the capital gains exemption for secondary market buyers. And now the final insult. The Prime Minister has publicly asked you to avoid buying physical gold for a year in the “national interest,” because gold imports use foreign exchange. So let me get this straight. A middle class wagie earning in depreciating rupees, watching FD rates hover around 6.5% while real life inflation keeps eating his purchasing power, has now been told: Crypto is taxed like a vice. Equities are more expensive to hold and exit. Foreign diversification gets hit with TCS. SGBs are being wound down and tax-narrowed. Buying physical gold is now unpatriotic. Basically, every single exit from rupee depreciation has been systematically curtailed. You are expected to hold your savings in instruments the government controls, at returns the government sets, for a currency the government is rapidly inflating away. Does this sound like Amrit Kaal to you?

Decided to be a good citizen. Inspired by PM’s call for austerity, left the car at home. Auto to the Metro station: ₹30. Metro ticket: ₹30. Feeder bus for the last stretch: ₹20. Total one way: ₹80. Return journey: another ₹80. Grand daily total: ₹160. My car gives 14 kilometres to a litre. Office is 7 kilometres from home. Roughly ₹100 a day, door to door, including the petrol and the quiet dignity of arriving without fuss. Public transport, in other words, costs me ₹60 more than driving myself. Per day. In a city with a functioning Metro. This is what we call last-mile connectivity gap — the small, unglamorous gap between the grand infrastructure and your actual front door. Austerity, apparently, is for the commuter alone. The PM travels by motorcade. The last I checked.

A4 paper isn't random btw, it's mathematically perfect. The ISO 216 ratio (1:√2) means when you fold it in half, you get the exact same proportions. Stack them, divide them, and they multiply infinitely. It's so elegant that 188 countries adopted it as the global standard. 📐 The practical elegance goes beyond folding. Photocopying between A-sizes is clean: scaling from A4 to A3 (or reverse) is always exactly 141% or 71%, because √2 and 1/√2 are reciprocals. This is why architects and engineers around the world can work across drawing scales without custom arithmetic. The American Letter size has no equivalent property. @imacuriosguy @Fintech03

@imacuriosguy @dmuthuk Vishwa Guru’s arrogance and supreme narcissistic self have managed to destroy not only economically but entire social fabric has become toxic

@dmuthuk I am sure. It will not. We are growing older at a much faster rate than getting developed or rich. The demographic dividend is fast waning.

I've lost interest. Earlier I was very confident that India would become a developed country. I'm no longer sure. Some of the states in India are doing very well. As a country, our growth is subpar. No where near to become a developed nation.

According to Carl Jung, the shadow never disappears simply because someone gains power. Power removes obstacles; it does not create character. Politicians eventually reveal what was hidden because the unconscious always seeks expression. The more a person builds a public mask, the stronger the pressure beneath it becomes. What is denied internally eventually leaks externally through corruption, domination, fear, vanity, or manipulation. We see real life examples all around us

@ActusDei Modi's speech is all about what citizens have to do. Not one word about what he and his govt. will do.

Spotted the contradiction? 1) PM on national television has asked people to avoid gold, foreign holidays etc. 2) Fund managers are saying don't invest outside. US is expensive & India is better. If India is better why is foreign capital not flooding in? Why is INR in crisis?

@vsvicky_ Mumbai quality of life is of Abuja Nigeria 🇳🇬

2 BHK in Mumbai: ₹3 Cr 2 BHK in New York: ₹4.75 Cr Mumbai: 15x salary (Needs 15 years to own) NYC: 5x salary (Needs just 5 years to own) This is how insanely broken real-estate is in India.

@volklub @ChitrakShivalik Nagpur is also nice but again terrible summer weather

@volklub @ChitrakShivalik Chandigarh, Kochi and to an extent Ahemdabad if one can cope with 4 months of furnace like summer

Which Indian city has the best quality of life on ₹25L per annum household income? One city. One reason. No "depends on lifestyle".

@imacuriosguy @nihardesai89 That’s why you are going to Norway 🇳🇴

@EntropyNotebook @nihardesai89 44 degrees today 🔥🔥🔥

Spring is here 😍🇨🇦

@ActusDei @DhavanGDesai Also we do not wish to pay for a sound advice from a good independent Financial Planner

@DhavanGDesai True

Last week I was on a panel at IIM Mumbai. My fellow panellist, Nitin Rao, CEO of Incred Wealth, was asked why wealth managers are even needed in the age of AI.His answer was one line. It annoyed me. Then it didn't. 🧵

India is on a new quest. And it feels like progress. The industrialist who once built something real, who actually understood risk and reward, has figured out a simpler way to exist. And grow. Bow early, smile at the right rallies, donate handsomely, show up when called, cheer for the visionary and your empire stays intact. Loans get cleared. Defaults are forgiven and forgotten. Rivals develop strange problems. It costs nothing except a small tradeoff of intelligence. The bureaucrat who once believed that merit was the only ladder has found a much faster one. You don't need to perform. You don't need to deliver. You take the fast elevator. Be available, aligned, and enthusiastic about the right things at the right time. For the right wing. The posting comes. The seniority follows. Hardly anyone makes a noise. All good. The young man who was promised jobs and received nothing has found that there is work after all. Break something for the right people and there will be no case against you. Do it with enough noise and there might even be a future in it. A party ticket - who knows. Vandalism has indeed become a career option for a generation that was given no other. The professor who spent a lifetime building arguments has learned that silence is the safer course. No controversy means no phone calls at night, no transfer orders, no sudden reviews of funding. The institution breathes easier. So does the pension and post retirement placements. The judge has learned that certain verdicts age better than others. Retirement is long and post retirement life can be very comfortable if you were quietly useful to the right people at the right moments. Nothing dramatic. Just a lean here, a delay there, a particular reading of a particular clause, a few biased verdicts. Everyone is running the same calculation. How much intelligence can I surrender and what exactly do I get for it. And the answer keeps coming back favourable. So the experiment continues, station by station, person by person, institution by institution. This is not decay in the way we usually mean it. Decay suggests something unintended, beyond control. This is more deliberate than that. Everyone chose this. Everyone is still choosing it every single morning. India is not falling. India is on a very specific journey, one where the destination is absolute idiocy and the remarkable thing is how many rewards there are along the way. At every stop someone gets something. A contract, a posting, a verdict, a tenure, a ticket, a bail, an RS seat, a possibility to enter the washing machine. And so nobody gets off. The journey continues. And the distance from intelligence keeps growing, and it feels, to most people who are watching from the sidelines, like progress.