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What's in my Bag?

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Imagine that every human being is given a bag at birth. We spend our life filling it. Some things we put into it are beautiful: love, compassion, wisdom, generosity, devotion, selfless service. But we also put other things into it: anger, greed, jealousy, fear, resentment, possessiveness, unfulfilled desires, attachments and the memories and impressions created by all these experiences. And according to the wisdom of the Gita and the Upanishads, death does not necessarily mean that the journey ends. The body is left behind. But the subtle baggage associated with the jiva continues. What exactly travels? The Bhagavad Gita says: मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ।
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛtisthāni karṣati
“The embodied self draws to itself the mind and the five senses.”
— Bhagavad Gita 15.7 Then Krishna gives a striking image: शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः ।
गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ॥ “When the embodied self obtains a body, and when it le...
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The Photographs My Camera Took and the Ones My Soul Clicked

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Sometimes, we set out to photograph the world, only to discover that the real journey was taking place within. There is something beautiful about setting out with a camera. You leave home with a purpose. Perhaps you want to photograph a waterfall, capture the first light on a mountain, discover the hidden details of a flower or bring home the colours of a city you have never seen before. You pack your lenses, check your batteries, clean your filters and step out into the world with the excitement of a new discovery. For me, over the last few months, this has meant moving out on photography trips, photography tours and workshops. My primary aim was photography, of course. To learn, to improve, to understand light, composition, perspective and the extraordinary possibilities hidden in ordinary things. But something else was happening. Something I had not quite understood when I first began travelling. Photography, I now realise, was only th...
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Krishna: The Darkness Behind the Light

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            My Painting - Janamashtami 2026 Every year, on Janmashtami, millions celebrate the birth of  Krishna. There are songs, temples, midnight prayers, decorated cradles, butter, flowers, lamps and the familiar image of a beautiful blue child with a flute. We know Krishna as the mischievous child of Gokul, the lover of Radha, the friend of Arjuna and the teacher of the Bhagavad Gita. But what if Krishna is not merely seen as a person who was  born in history? What if the symbolism of Krishna’s name itself points towards something far more fundamental about existence? The Sanskrit word Krishna is traditionally associated with  darkness, blackness or that which is dark in colour. The word Shyam or Shyama also evokes a dark, deep, blue- black appearance. At first, this seems strange. Why would the divine be represented as dark? Our minds have been conditioned to associate light with goodness and darkness with ignorance. Ligh...
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Mapping the Miraculous Journey of a Seed

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Every meal is a quiet miracle. For me, sitting before a full plate of food is not merely a daily routine; it is an invitation to enter a state of deep consciousness. When I pause to trace how that food arrived on my  table, an automatic door to gratitude opens.   Often I share this simple process with my kids and wife and remind them of how we must be in awe and gratitude. It is a simple process but develops a beautiful relationship with food and universe.  We quickly realise we are not in control. We are simply a single peg in a vast, interconnected chain of life. To practice this "Yoga of Gratitude," we must follow the long, beautiful journey of a single seed from its humble beginnings in the soil to its final destination on the dining plate. 1. The Genesis: Soil, Science and Human Hands The journey begins long before a plant ever breaks through the earth. It starts with preparation, selection and the physical labour of human hands matching the rhythm ...
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Creative Yoga in the Kitchen

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Retirement is often seen as a phase of slowing down. For me, it became an invitation to rediscover, recreate and reinvent myself. Creativity has always been a form of expression, but I discovered that it does not always need a canvas, a camera, or a notebook. Sometimes, it can emerge from a kitchen counter, a frying pan, a cup of coffee, or the aroma of freshly baked cake. My journey into cooking, baking and blending started as a simple experiment. Making a humble plate of Poha, shaping a Paratha, creating a Cappuccino, experimenting with Cold Coffee with Cream, baking Cakes, or blending Assorted Teas slowly became more than just culinary activities. They became quiet moments with myself. Every process demanded attention. The chopping, mixing, measuring, kneading and decorating required presence. A small variation in ingredients changed the final outcome. How wonderful that was. A small change in habits can actually change the outcome. The kitchen became my laboratory of cr...
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Monkey Deals & Tricks

Darwin said we descended from apes. Scientists say chimpanzees share nearly 80% of our DNA. Fair enough. India, of course, looked at this theory and said, “Cute. But let us upgrade the script a little.” We gave the world the Ramayana. Lord Rama. Hanuman. An entire monkey army that crossed oceans, burned Lanka and took down Ravana. Since then, our relationship with monkeys has remained beautifully complicated — part devotion, part negotiation, part armed conflict. Even the Discovery Channel once did a full documentary on India’s monkeys. Frankly, they deserved a sequel after meeting the Vrindavan gang. Here’s my classified field report. Last Holi, end of February, I landed in Vrindavan for a photography walk. Our team leader gathered us like a commando unit before insertion into hostile territory. “Seal your cameras.” “Waterproof your gear.” “And for God’s sake… protect your spectacles.” Then came the final briefing. “The monkeys here are professionals. They steal goggles, glasses, came...
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Shanghumakam Beach

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  There are some places that do not merely exist on a map but they quietly become a part of your inner landscape. For me, this lonely stretch of Shanghumakam beach in  Thiruvananthapuram was one such place. While the city still slept under the weight of unfinished dreams, I would wake before dawn, pick up my camera gear, slide quietly into my VW Vento car and drive through the silent roads toward the sea. There was something sacred about those drives. No honking. No rush. No noise of ambition. Just empty roads, moist air, sleepy coconut trees and the faint promise of light waiting somewhere beyond the horizon. People often chase sunrises in Kerala, but being on India’s west coast, sunsets are where the real poetry unfolds. And this frame, this particular photograph was taken during one such evening when the sky decided to perform Mozart. I had my usual ritual. Tripod. Camera. A burger packed casually on the passenger seat. And patience. I w...
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