Author: vinodnarayan
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A look at books in 2024 and for 2025
As always this year I took a note of the books I have consumed. I say consumed because books are not just read anymore, they are listened to as well. It came to 36. 16 read and 20 listened. As the year is ending, the last book of the year is Hope for Cynics –…
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The kid who just wanted to participate
“I was a kid who just wanted to participate” This is not about us, but someone I have enjoyed over the years. More in the recent years than ever before. But it also about every one of us. I was watching Shahrukh Khan’s interview at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland where he received the…
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When it gets tough — Be Vulnerably Honest
Sometimes we know it is going to be tough. We know we have a lack of knowledge. We know we have less time. We know the expectations are high. The stakes are high. What do we do ? We can do a lot of things. But that is not the point. what would be the best…
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The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt | Book Positive
How is technology and our online interactions impacting us? The even more important question is “how is it impacting the younger people”. I can attest that it has significantly impacted me at this age and when I took a 90 day detox it made me realize how much my online persona had eaten into the…
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A Work week coming to an end
Sometimes a whole week of work with all its turbulence, confusions, learnings and self reflections finally boils down to a few minutes talk on a Friday and you say “that was a worthwhile week… Not perfect but productive”. And yes you say a Thank You! a big Thank You ! This ‘Thank You’ can be to…
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The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon
Sharon McMahon‘s ’The Small and the Mighty‘ tells you the story of 12 Americans who changed the course of history. School Teachers, a telephone operator, a poet on a train, a young boy detained in a Japanese concentration camp (We still call it internment camp when it was really a form of incarceration) and others.…
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The importance of Questions
Answers are important, don’t get me wrong. But we live in a time when questions have gained more significance. Finding answers or finding a better answer is also our journey. Even if we have a question in front of us, reframing the question becomes an important activity. The challenge with some of us (at least…
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Remembering Mahatma Gandhi in the context of my work and career
I wrote this piece on the birthday of the “Father of Nation” in India early this year. I want to take some of his quotes and share a thought about life and work. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong”.We know what Gandhi might have meant it in his spiritual…
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Thanksgiving to New Year!
I have lived in United States for close to 25 years and Thanksgiving has been a tradition I came to know after coming here. Infact Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Halloween were all alien to me till I came here. I had some sense of Valentine’s Day but not at the scale as it is…
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Adieu Friend !
Today I woke up with a message that a dear friend who had not been keeping well is no more. He had lost his battle with ‘The Big C’ I had met him much late in life, in 2020 and we had only met twice in person. Both times we had spend over 3 hours…
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