From the desk in Dehradun

Things worth
reading slowly.

Not a blog. Not content. Essays written when something is worth saying — on leadership, intentional living, FIRE, and the questions nobody asks out loud.

01
Leadership & Work

He Knew What to Do. He Got Another Job Instead.

In twenty-two years of HR, the fear of leaving corporate job was not something people named. They called it prudence. Responsibility. Bad timing. This is what it actually…

7 min read  ·  Jun 2026
02
Life Design

The Move to Dehradun Was My Answer. It Is Not the Answer.

A year of intentional living in Dehradun began in a house built in 1945. No AC. No geyser. Immersion rods for hot water. Workers who leave the mess…

8 min read  ·  Jun 2026
03
FIRE & Intentional Living

He Has More Than He Will Ever Need. He Is Still Running.

How much is enough in India is a question that gets asked constantly in financial planning conversations. What almost nobody asks is the version that actually matters: enough…

10 min read  ·  Jun 2026
04
FIRE & Intentional Living

He Lost His Wife During Covid. Then He Built This.

What I did not know, joining those Sunday morning treks, is that I would find in Dehradun the most honest answer I have seen to a question I…

12 min read  ·  Jun 2026
05
Leadership & Work

What I Saw in 22 Years of HR That I Never Said Aloud

22 years. Four organizations. Cognizant, Wipro, Synechron, and Intelliswift, where I served as CHRO. Hundreds of exit interviews. Thousands of appraisal conversations. Performance reviews, restructurings, hiring decisions, and…

10 min read  ·  May 2026
06
FIRE & Intentional Living

The Escape Economy: Why We Keep Buying the Feeling of the Life We Want

Most intentional living in India content will tell you to slow down, spend less, and choose experiences over things. A wedding photographer’s post last week showed me how…

9 min read  ·  May 2026
07
Personal · Proof

Two People Who Had Quit. How They Found Each Other.

Slow living in India is not just about pace—it is about who you end up sharing that slower life with. The first Cuppa Convos was a big hit.…

7 min read  ·  May 2026
08
Leadership & Work

He Spent 20 Years Helping Others Figure It Out. Then It Was His Turn.

Career transition after 40 in India is one of the most searched and least honestly answered questions I encounter in my coaching work. AA called me because of…

8 min read  ·  May 2026
09
FIRE & Intentional Living

She Had Already FIREd. Nobody Had Told Her.

“My financial advisor gave me a FIRE number of ₹8 crore,” AG told me. “The moment I heard it, my happiness turned into worry. Will I ever get…

9 min read  ·  May 2026
10
FIRE & Intentional Living

I found out I had FIREd on Reddit. Here Is Everything That Happened Before That.

The FIRE movement India has 65,000 members on Reddit asking the same question. I was not one of them—until I realized I had already answered it. I joined…

9 min read  ·  May 2026
11
FIRE & Intentional Living

He Knew Exactly Why He Wanted to Move. That Wasn't the Problem.

Living in Dehradun is a dream many Delhi professionals carry quietly. Most never act on it. This is the story of one who almost didn’t—and why the reason…

8 min read  ·  May 2026
12
Leadership & Work

Are You Looking for an Answer or a Validation?

“What would your career advice be?” He asked it directly, which I appreciated. No preamble, no softening. Just the question. His name was S. Engineer, from a good…

8 min read  ·  May 2026
13
FIRE & Intentional Living

He Had Enough to FIRE. So Why Couldn't He Stop?

Most people chasing financial independence in India are also, without realizing it, building the structures that make it impossible. Not because they are bad at math. Not because…

9 min read  ·  May 2026
14
Leadership & Work

The Participant Who Almost Didn't Come

Viram is a four-day executive retreat in India for senior professionals who have been carrying a question they haven’t had space to ask. I want to tell you…

8 min read  ·  Apr 2026
15
Leadership & Work

The Sunday Evening That Told the Truth

The Sunday Scaries is what most people call it. But that phrase flattens something that deserves more precision. Sunday evening has a particular quality that no other time…

7 min read  ·  Apr 2026
16
The Inner Road

What 48 Hours in Silence Taught Me That 22 Years in Boardrooms Didn't

I want to tell you about a weekend in Rishikesh. And what the two days I spent in silence for clarity revealed to me, that twenty-two years in…

8 min read  ·  Apr 2026
17
FIRE & Intentional Living

How I FIREd at 45. The Honest Numbers

Most people who write about FIRE don’t tell you their actual number. They tell you principles. Frameworks. Multipliers. They tell you to save 25 times your annual expenses,…

9 min read  ·  Apr 2026
18
Personal · Proof

What the First Year After Corporate Actually Looked Like

Leaving corporate job after twenty-two years is not what the clean version of the story suggests. I have told the story of leaving corporate many times now. The…

9 min read  ·  Apr 2026
19
Leadership & Work

What 200 Resignations Taught Me That No Leadership Book Will

Why good employees leave is one of the most expensive questions organizations consistently fail to answer honestly. In twenty-two years of HR leadership, I sat across from roughly…

8 min read  ·  Apr 2026
20
The Hollow Feeling

The Promotion You Worked Three Years For. And the Monday After.

The hollow feeling after success is one of the most common and least talked-about experiences among high-performing professionals I want to tell you about a Monday morning. Not…

7 min read  ·  Apr 2026
21
The Inner Road

Steve Jobs Came to Kainchi Dham. What Did He Really Find?

In 1974, Steve Jobs was 19 years old, had recently dropped out of Reed College, and was looking for something he couldn’t name. He traveled to India. Not…

9 min read  ·  Apr 2026
22
Retreat & Coaching

What Happens in the First 72 Hours of Viram

A leadership retreat in Dehradun is not what most people expect when they arrive. I am going to tell you what actually happens at Viram. Not the brochure…

8 min read  ·  Apr 2026
23
Leadership & Work

Why I Now Disagree With My Own Book

The best career advice for senior professionals helps them climb faster. My 2020 book was built on exactly that premise. I now disagree with it.” It is a…

7 min read  ·  Mar 2026
24
FIRE & Intentional Living

The FIRE Number That Keeps Moving

A friend of mine (let’s call him Maddy) hit his FIRE number four years ago. His number was ₹5 Cr. in liquid assets. He had decided on this…

7 min read  ·  Mar 2026
25
Personal · Proof

I Painted My Future in 2013. Here's the Honest Truth.

In 2013, I painted my future. A lousy picture, actually. I am not an artist. But that picture changed my life more than any degree, any promotion, or…

8 min read  ·  Mar 2026