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15th August 2020 , on the auspicious and proud Independence Day of India,  M ahendra  S ingh  D honi announced his retirement from international Cricket. No farewell match, no press conference, the man said two lines in an Instagram post to bid farewell to a game which will miss his presence forever.  10th July 2019, India played against New Zealand in the Semi-Final of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup and needed to score 240 runs to reach the Final. The stage was set… 25 runs from 10 balls… MS Dhoni was once again on the verge of rescuing India… and the very next ball, an entire nation's hopes were crushed when MSD failed to cross the finish line after Martin Guptill's only significant contribution in the World Cup The fans were disappointed, and the wounds were bleeding for days. It was a unanimous echoing sentiment, but the feeling that irked me more or rather emoted me more was the notion that I had probably seen the last of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Indian colors. Ironically,

Something has happened that has made me despondent, and I am not talking about the deadly Coronavirus. I can't say that I am directly related to the tragedy, yet there is a part of me that feels lost. I can't say that I could have done something, yet there is a part of me that is feeling guilty. I can't say that I understand the reality around me, yet there is a part of me that is in shock and pushing me to come out of a dreadful dream. This month's post comes at a very unusual time. It involves the sudden demise of the Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Yes, you read it right, and the circumstances around the death have opened a Pandora's box of mysteries. This post of mine is neither to decode the reasons behind Sushant's suicide nor to speculate over the various reasons which are circling social media. This post is just a simple tribute to a talented, hardworking actor who left us too soon. It mentions a few of his notable works as an actor, which were bot

Well, before you take a quick pass at this post as just another COVID-19 myth, measure or misinformation, let me be crystal clear. I am not here to spread any new information, or to start a rumor but to share how my family and I are dealing with the daily news about COVID-19, and how we are making our self-isolation fun. A lot of us are going through a similar phase, and a big challenge stands in front of humanity. Up until now, the world has seen two gruesome World Wars, and today it sees yet another one. We all have a common enemy, and together, we have to unite and fight COVID-19; and one of the simplest ways is self-isolation. We are a family of three, which includes my wife, my 18-month old son, and myself, and we live in Bothell, Washington, USA. Now before you start Googling ‘Bothell, Washington, USA,’ let me save you some time by enlightening you that we live very close to what you would call ‘Ground Zero’ for COVID-19 in the USA. The  first report of COVID-19 in the

It's February, and time for yet another blog to fulfill the 2020's resolution of 'one blog a month'. This time around, I have decided to share a personal experience, something which I endearingly miss whenever I reflect on cherishing the moments. Last year, in early 2019, I took my 12 weeks paternity leave to take care of my five-month-old son. My wife was going back to work after her maternity leave, and my mother was going back to India after helping us out in the initial parenting months. All this meant that I would be all alone at home with my son, to take care of him, play with him, and, more importantly, bond with him. So why the best February ever? As part of the twelve weeks paternity leave, I had three weeks in January, four each in February and March, and one in April. Due to a significant snowstorm, my wife worked from home for a few weeks, and my mother was coming back for a second-visit in mid-March. Between both these events, I was left with the wh