Satyajit Ray's eyes searched for grace and the eloquence of silence in the ordinary. He framed truth with compassion, letting light fall gently on human frailty. Mrinal Sen’s gaze was fire. His eyes saw the tremor beneath the pavement. He showed raw and restless truth. His mind, always questioning. Ray described his workplace: “The studios show their hallowed past in every crevice on the wall, in every tatter of the canvas that covers the ceiling… The floor is pitted, the c

The butterfly sways because nature has gifted it wings light enough to flirt with every breeze. Its path is a zigzag of joy, uncertainty, and elegance. It moves as if direction is secondary. A butterfly’s flight is freedom expressed in motion. Johnnie Walker - a few sips, and the world begins to tilt, steps lose their gravity. The body insists on straight lines, but perception rebels. Here, freedom is a surrender to indulgence. Both cannot walk straight; one is uplifted by

Don’t reveal your age when you enter your second childhood. At that stage of life, the calendar becomes irrelevant. What matters is small pleasures. The generation gap exists only when curiosity dies. When we stop engaging with the world of those younger or older than us, the distance appears. When the mind remains open, the gap dissolves. Second childhood is to rediscover the wisdom of eating well, sleeping well, and living lightly. We begin to smile once again when we enter

Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods." "The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook." "Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride." "How can you govern a country

Living is not a theory to be solved. It is an experience to be lived. Life is not a project. Be with someone you love and enjoy their company. You are not a seeker; you are already here. Speak—not to manage the listener’s attention, but to share what moves within you. There is no real promotion unless you feel promoted. There is nothing called “purpose” or “expected outcome.” You don’t need to be complete. Write simply for the joy of writing. If you like what you write, you a

About Satyajit Ray, so much has already been written, yet I must write about him to pay my respect to the greatest filmmaker of our time. I have known him through his films. Let me confine myself here to the Apu Trilogy — Pather Panchali, Aparajito, and Apur Sansar. The Story of Apu Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s Apu is so simple yet so honest. It is the story of a quintessential Bengali. At Nischindipur, on the Ichamati River, lived Harihar and Sarbojaya with daughter Durga,

Close to my 80th milestone, I am still learning. Often I do not know what I want to know. Most of the time, I want to know what is already known. I think of my school days. I think of the rainy days I looked forward to, because rainy days were undeclared holidays. I think of the mats on which we sat in front of a wooden desk. I think of Varma Ji, who treated us like his own children. I think of the half-hour laiyya-chana break. I think of the playgrounds with no paraphernalia

When we grow together, no one grows. We remain fixed to those beautiful days. The world moves on, but we keep returning to the same moments, the laughter that once echoed, the walks that never felt long, the silences that spoke more than words. Time tries to pull us forward, yet our hearts linger in the warmth of shared memories. Growing old together is not about moving ahead; it is about holding on to the time that made us who we are.

Khadi today stands at the intersection of heritage and innovation. As consumer expectations are evolving more than ever before, quality and cost assumes greater significance. In the present scenario, Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers an opportunity to enhance the competitiveness of khadi products without compromising their soul. AI can help in multiple dimensions. In design innovation, machine learning tools can analyze textile trends across cultures and time, generating p

When I wrote my first book, I did not know what I wanted to know. I had a rough, frail hand for writing. I still don’t have a manicured hand. I borrowed Mehendi to make it beautiful. My reading has increased. I have written a few books to understand life from a wider perspective. My library offers space, relationships, trust, understanding, and opportunity. It speaks to the whole person, not just the intellect. A library is a place where nothing is surplus. A place where need

Life moves like a sine curve, rising and falling. Its crests are not permanent, nor are its troughs endless. Each peak carries the seed of descent, and each fall prepares the ground for another rise. The movement is neither entirely joyous nor wholly sorrowful, but oscillating between the two. The wisdom lies in flowing with its rhythm, knowing that life’s symmetry is hidden in its waves.

As I reach a milestone, I realize all the walking I did belong to all those who carried the umbrella when it rained, the microscope when details mattered, and the telescope when the distant had to be seen. It is a journey made possible by the kindness, patience, and companionship of many.

I have been a research scientist. In research papers, every sentence demands a reference — as if an idea belongs to only one or a few. In doing so, we unknowingly ignore many who contributed in silence. Those we ignore never complain. Now, when I write for general readers, I prefer to use as few references as possible. It is not to diminish anyone’s contribution, nor to elevate another. It is simply to reduce complexity, to let thought flow freely, unburdened by citation, so

When I am enjoying my work, I have no problem if I have no time for myself. Joy fills the gaps. But when I am not enjoying my work and still have no time for myself, problem arises. Work without joy drains the self and creates silent wounds. Perhaps the solution lies in learning to reclaim small moments of self. For only when work and self nourish each other can time truly feel lived. I always found time for myself, even while fulfilling my responsibilities. I do not remember

To be unseen when one is away reveals how fragile one’s presence is. We often believe our work and sincerity will continue to speak for us. True pain arises not from being forgotten, but from realizing how easily one can be. Perhaps this is life’s way of teaching us the quiet art of working without the need to be remembered. I have come to understand one of my problems. I care for recognition. It is not fame that I seek, but acknowledgment that what I did mattered. When recog

The art of extricating oneself from a maze of webs is not a skill of escape, but of awareness. Are these webs threads of attachment, fear, and expectation? The maze is not outside but within, designed by one’s own thoughts and desires. One must learn which threads to untie and which to let be. In that understanding, the webs dissolve, and one finds not a way out, but a way through. The first time I experienced mental pain was when my father fell on a familiar street and was b

Once upon a time, I was a teacher. My job was very simple, to manage a class of forty students, who were, and still are, my friends. If a student was an A-grader, she or he was my friend; if a C-grader, I had no problem. Grades never defined my relationship with them. I always believed that each would do well, in their own way and time, irrespective of being A or C. Teaching, I later realised, was not about producing achievers, but about nurturing confidence, curiosity, and k

विज्ञान जीवन के उद्गम, उसके क्रियातंत्र और उसके विकास की खोज है। कला भावों को आकार देती है, क्षणों को अर्थ देती है, और अपूर्णताओं में सौंदर्य खोजती है। विज्ञान की सूक्ष्मता और कला की सहजता के बीच की संभावना को हम “सौंदर्य” कहते हैं। हर जैविक प्रक्रिया, अपने भीतर एक लय और विन्यास रखती है। जब हम इन्हें केवल कार्य के रूप में नहीं, बल्कि जीवन की कल्पनाशील अभिव्यक्तियों के रूप में देखते हैं, तो विज्ञान में भी एक कलात्मक आभा झिलमिलाने लगती है। मैंने यह कला विज्ञान का अभ्यास करते-कर

Many years ago, when I was a research fellow pursuing my PhD, I went through a phase of self-doubt. After two years of struggle, I began to believe I wasn’t fit for research. I decided to quit midway. Through a relative, I managed to get an interview with the Managing Director of a reputed pharmaceutical company. He spoke to me for nearly half an hour, listened carefully, and then said something unexpected: “You are not fit for this job. You are meant for far better things. G

"The man who likes chess sufficiently to look forward throughout his working day to the game that he will play in the evening is fortunate, but the man who gives up work in order to play chess all day has lost the virtue of moderation.” "One man, in the course of a long train journey, will fail entirely to observe any of his fellow travellers while another will have summed them all up, analysed their characters, made a shrewd guess at their circumstances, and perhaps even as