While there is no one right way to journal, this practice can be beneficial for educators, as it is meditative, cathartic, and can also provide a record of events. For Triveni Nagaraj, journaling was a way of life even before…
First published in The Hindu, 30 Nov 2025 Even before digital devices fragmented attention spans, teachers exhorted students to “Pay attention.” When I was in school, in the seventies and eighties, teachers would use this phrase, sometimes banging on a…
Nowadays, a plethora of apps purport to promote mindfulness and meditation. its ironic that the very devices that are fragmenting out attention are also being used to foster focus and calm. However, long before mindfulness and meditation become buzzwords, sages…
First published in The Hindu, 1 Nov 2025 You finally feel you’ve found your tribe in college. Whereas you always felt shy and awkward in school, you are glad that you aren’t the loner who eats lunch by herself in…
As I transitioned from kindergarten to first grade, I remember being very excited by my Hindi textbook at the end of the summer vacation as my mother covered each book with brown paper. Though I could not decipher a single…
First published in The Hindu, 7 Oct 2025 Ironically, as I type these words on writer’s block, I hem and haw. Will I be able to write on this topic? Will it be interesting? Should I pick another theme? As…
Playing a sport in childhood has umpteen benefits. Besides stretching and strengthening your muscles, sport also nurtures perseverance and focus and builds resilience and teamwork. In fact, continuing to play a sport through adulthood may be a good idea as…
First published in The Hindu, 31 Aug 2025 Many of us grow up feeling we’re lacking in one or more ways. Our sense of inadequacy may stem from multiple sources. We may not be smart enough, fit enough, fast enough, funny enough, rich enough, popular enough or…
Vinod is organised and attentive to detail. Every evening, he makes a to-do list for the next day that includes both personal and professional tasks. Being punctual, he estimates how much time various jobs may take and schedules some buffer…
First published in The Hindu, 2 August 2025 In an earlier piece in this column, I had discussed the pleasures and benefits of rereading a book. While it’s fairly easy to decide whether you want to revisit a book, a…
