Many of us straddle the culture and history of India and our adopted homelands. America's 250th I-Day is a big milestone. Curious to see what it means to you and how your family is celebrating!

Many of us straddle the culture and history of India and our adopted homelands. America's 250th I-Day is a big milestone. Curious to see what it means to you and how your family is celebrating!

I have posted about my family's long drawn legal saga a while ago - link

During the hearing for Contempt of Court, the state's Attorney General agreed that the Khata (revenue record) will be updated in my name on production of affidavit from family members. This is clearly mentioned in the CCC order too (copy in X)

Two months after I submitted the document copies, they are dragging their feet and trying to find a frivolous excuse that my late father's will was not 'Registered' ... My lawyer met with the officials yesterday and they gave the same frivolous reason - that the "New IT System" needs some "registered" document in order to do a revenue mutation.

I am saddened to think this is simply an excuse to extract some money despite an HC court order. What are my options?

After the tech downturn started in 2025, I decided to liquidate my tech heavy MF in tranches. I was glad to avoid a dip of 25-30%. However, this has left me with LTGC of more than ₹20 L. I can’t roll it over or do some ‘tax harvesting’  and will end up paying ₹6-7 L in Income Tax

In the meantime my friends who invested in flats and property instead of MF are rolling in rupees thanks to “black” sales beyond the reach of Taxwallah!

Edit: I meant "more than ₹20 L" for MF LTGC... and add other income, dividend on top of it

Love this candid R2I request from former bollywood star Meenakshi Seshadri

>"I want to share that after my relocation to INDIA I have been working towards more opportunities in the entertainment industry. While there have been offers, they were either not exciting enough or just didn’t work out. I’m seeking the good wishes and blessings of all you wonderful fans who knows किसकी दुआ से मुझे अच्छा मौका मिले।"

It is not just working techies, but superstars who wonder: what will I do when I return back to India?

Love this candid R2I request from former bollywood star Meenakshi Seshadri

>"I want to share that after my relocation to INDIA I have been working towards more opportunities in the entertainment industry. While there have been offers, they were either not exciting enough or just didn’t work out. I’m seeking the good wishes and blessings of all you wonderful fans who knows किसकी दुआ से मुझे अच्छा मौका मिले।"

It is not just working techies, but superstars who wonder: what will I do when I return back to India?

I lost my mother when I was very young and have been religiously performing her annual thithi for these years. Bless her soul; she also passed away a Sumangali in her early thirties. Dad lived to 82 and passed away a few years ago while living with us.

I continued to perform “Hiranya Shrardham” during the time I lived in the US and Canada, where I would go to the local Hindu temples. The only caveat was that some of the Brahmin priests were from the north or other parts of the country, and the mantras would differ. I am also glad to have a beautiful wife who supports me in the rituals.

Now, back in Bengaluru, I continue to go to Kanchi Shankar Mutt in Malleshwaram to perform the annual ritual.

I admit that the memory of my mother has receded over the years, though I retained a few black-and-white photographs from that pre–social-media, pre–digital-camera era. So, the memories are just what they are, though my rituals continue.

A while ago, I worked for a large transaction processing company where we evaluated and designed processes to automate functions around ATS including screening tools that used voice activated UI. I recently went back to enable their ongoing transformation of recruitment and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and I recently reviewed Agentic AI interviewers.

I volunteered to be a guinea pig candidate while evaluating the systems and opted for two roles -  a Technical Design Lead and an Application Architect. After attending these interviews, I came away shaking my head over how far we have come! Enabled by LLMs and voice recognition systems these platforms may be just about ready to replace human recruiters and SMEs for candidate interviewing and screening.

A couple of questions jumped out:

• Are you seeing a similar trend in your organizations too?
• How would you feel if you are interviewed and screened by a bot for the next entry/mid/senior level job you are applying for?

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Given the uncertainties of work in tech-life, many of us talk about “life outside technology” or longer term goals e.g “What do Indian techies aspire to do after retiring?”

So, I wanted to share a story that’s been on my mind and the reminder it gives about why many of us in tech need passions outside the desk. Arun Kumar Tiwari, a Hyderabad-based Senior IT Director and hobbyist mountaineer recently made headlines after passing away on Mount Everest. After a lot of soul-searching, his family has opted that his body remain on the mountain, a decision tied to his deep spiritual bond with the Himalayas and his mountaineering life.

I don’t want to retell the stories already in the media but instead, here are a few thoughts about what Arun’s story tells those of us who spend long hours in front of screens

• Arun wasn’t just “a climber” in IT though he had roots in the tech world and balanced that with an extreme, demanding hobby. That dual life is familiar to a lot of people here: code by day, climbing/photography/running/painting or lurking on reddit by night and weekend.
• His family’s choice to leave his body on Everest reflects how some passions become core to identity. For many of us, a hobby isn’t an escape; it’s a place where we feel most alive and ourselves.

What serious hobbies give us

• Purpose beyond KPIs: Some Hobbies like hiking, mountaineering, ultrarunning, adventure biking may give a sense of achievement outside performance reviews and sprint burndowns.
• Mental reset and resilience: Facing physical challenges trains patience, focus, and calm under pressure and these qualities may translate back to technical problem-solving and leadership.
• Community and mentorship: Climbers, athletes, artists give a sense of belonging and friendships made there become extended families. They teach collaboration in different, often humbling ways.

Practical tips for techies who want to make hobbies sustainable

• Block calendar time: Block regular, non-negotiable slots for practice, training, or creative work.
• Share personal goals with teammates: Let people know when you’re offline for training or events; most teams respect consistent boundaries.
• Start small, train consistently: Big goals (e.g Everest-level?) begin with steady habit-building.
• Build layered safety nets: physical training, proper gear, mentors, and insurance. You can’t simply walk into high-risk hobbies.

Reading about Arun made me think about why I push for my own hobbies like writing, vlogging and walking my dog or spending time with family. Work is important, but being alive for more than a quarterly goal matters too. Whatever your outlet , be it climbing, music, a dojo, or an open-mic, treat it like a core part of your life, not an add-on.

Om Shanti Arun Kumar Tiwari 🙏

My Khata Mutation (update of revenue records) has been pending for years. I met officials of Yelahanka Tahisildar. They are refusing to act per Karnataka High Court Contempt of Court order 1058 of 2025 giving the runaround - asking me to meet Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner

What is my recourse - go back to court?

Of course, going back to court entails more legal fee etc (Alternative is *wink wink* to an official/tout that I have been avoiding by going to HC)