Teega

Your time is scarce and precious. So shorter posts.  Sharper focus.  Click for Audio & Video versions    👉 Podcasts       👉 Videos   I have a good home, a loving family, and friends around me.  Yet sometimes life feels flat and empty.  Why? It's loneliness.  I can be in a crowded room and still feel invisible.  Being alone is a choice – like enjoying a quiet cup of tea or a casual walk.  But loneliness is different.  It's that ache of feeling alone even with people around. Is it my fault?  No.  Loneliness often comes from inside, fed by high expectations and never-ending goals.  The good news?  If it grew inside you, you can change it too. How do I start? Try gentle detachment.  Enjoy your relationships without demands.  Remember, no partner or friend can fix everything.  They're human, just like you. What changes? Begin to see loneliness as a passing phase, not a dead e...

This is a reflection on my earlier piece: " Blockbuster Wedding or Busted Marriage? " "Familiarity breeds contempt!" But is that truly the root cause of divorces? In reality, most cracks in relationships stem from deep emotional fatigue. I recall a couple who separated after 33 years. Surprised, I asked why. They both gave similar answers: "We realized, maybe a bit late, that we needed our own space, time, and freedom. Why keep hurting each other in silence?" Their voices carried weariness, not anger. An architect friend once surprised me when I asked what he'd prioritize while designing a house for my wife and me. "The bathroom!" Seeing my confusion, he explained: "A quiet, well-ventilated space where your wife can be alone. Even in the deepest love, constant closeness can sometimes feel suffocating." Click👇 for video & podcast versions in English & Malayalam ...

Just before my first meeting with the company chairman, his secretary leaned in and whispered, "A word of advice. If he smiles, you are in trouble." Fifteen minutes later, I walked out.  The secretary looked at me with a question in her eyes.  I said, “No. He didn’t smile. But why that warning?”   She explained, ““His smile is proportional to the nonsense you speak, and rarely ends well.”  I nodded, realizing a strange truth: not every smile is friendly.   Around the same time, I saw something very different.  During my morning walk, a group of people in the park were standing in a circle, laughing loudly, waving their arms and shaking their bodies.  It looked funny at first.  Then someone invited me to join their "laughter club." Click👇 for video & podcast versions in English & Malayalam  It was a delightful counterpoint.  If you can’t laugh for real, fake it till you make it.  'Pretend laughter', many say, can l...

A friend recently shared the details of his daughter’s upcoming wedding.  I was taken aback by the budget.  Three days filled with lavish feasts, choreographed dances, drone photography, designer outfits, and jewelry that could fund a middle-class family's dreams.  It felt less like a wedding and more like a movie premiere on steroids. Weddings, once quiet and sacred, have transformed into extravagant competitions.  Some resemble five-day Test matches, while elite celebrations unfold in palaces, yachts, or private islands, often featuring celebrities paid to perform.  Meanwhile, regular guests line up to bless the couple, and to squeeze themselves in a two-second clip that no one watches again. Much of this madness stems from a toxic question: “What will others think?”  Families break fixed deposits and mortgage their peace of mind to avoid appearing small.  In today’s world, hosting a simple wedding requires more courage than throwing an extravagant o...

People measure intelligence by the questions we ask.  Yet questions often make people squirm.  Think of those speakers who say, "Hold your questions until the end."   Sorry, they need to know, curiosity doesn't work on a timetable.  It pops up right in the middle of the talk!  Holding it back often robs the question of its spark. Enter Socrates, the barefoot granddad of Athens who turned "I don't know" into a superpower.  His famous line, "I know that I know nothing", wasn't giving up.  It was the starting point for real learning.  He believed the moment you think you're an expert, you stop growing.  Socrates's method was simple.  Keep asking "why?" like a stubborn five-year-old.  He never lectured; he peeled assumptions layer by layer with gentle questions until people realized their own beliefs couldn't stand up to scrutiny.  Some got so irritated, they made him drink poison. Click below for podcast & video versions...

I still remember my first big moment on stage.  Seventh grade; a poem recitation.  My palms were sweaty, head strangely light, and every line I'd memorized had vanished into thin air.  That was my dramatic introduction to stage fright - that shaky, stomach-churning feeling most us call nervousness.  Later, I learned, almost everyone goes through it. Why Does It Happen? Nervousness is your body's built-in alarm system.  It gets triggered whenever you enter a new or important situation.  Your mind starts whispering, "This matters, stay sharp."  The trouble is, the alarm can’t differentiate between a school presentation and a real threat.  So it reacts to both with equal intensity. A Different Way to See It Physiologically, nervousness and excitement are nearly identical.  The only difference is the label you slap on it.  Tell yourself “I’m excited” instead of “I’m scared,” and feel it flipping from being an enemy to ally.  Sounds sim...

Ever told a lie, and felt that little flutter inside?  Don't worry.  You're in good company.  Almost everyone on this planet has done it at least once.  Lying is as old as language itself: Habitual, impulsive, convenient, or just reluctant. Remember school days?  You went to a wedding, but told the teacher, "Ma'am, I had fever."  The plot doesn't change much.  Years later, while sharing beer with friends, you get a call from your spouse.  Without hesitation you say: "stuck in a meeting!" I once had a colleague who rushed in late for a major presentation.  His excuse?  "My car's carburetor broke. Had to call a mechanic."  Only one issue.  His car was diesel.  Diesel engines don't have carburetors.  We tried hard not to laugh.   Lesson: if you're going to lie, at least Google it first! Click below for podcast & video versions of this post. Most times, we lie to escape embarrassment or avoid trouble.  ...

As a schoolkid, I often accompanied my family to temple festivals.  Evenings were dedicated to singers performing popular film songs.  The challenge before my family elders was to identify the raaga, each tune was based on.  Unlike many of today's keyboard composers, the music directors of that era were masters of improvisation, weaving unique melodies from classical roots.  Recognizing those ragas was our delightful puzzle. We always sat far from the loudspeaker horns tied high in the trees.  We knew it was the melody, not the noise, that truly brought joy to our ears and souls. Today, the soundscape has changed.  Volume is king.  Heavy beats overwhelm the tune.  In just a couple of decades, cacophony has taken over.  And this transformation in music reflects something deeper, a wider cultural shift away from subtlety toward excess. Click below for podcast & video versions of this post. Classical dance forms, which demand years of discip...

We’ve all seen it.  A friendly chat turning into a heated argument.  Voices rise, tempers flare, and the goal quietly shifts from sharing ideas to proving who’s “right.”  Nobody really wins, except maybe the popcorn guy watching from the sidelines! So why do we argue?: Most of the time, we want to be heard, respected or taken seriously.  That quick burst of “victory” feels good for a moment, until we realise we’ve scorched a perfectly good relationship, and gained nothing but hurt feelings. The better way: Shift from a fighting mood to a learning mindset.  Next time when the temperature rises, pause.  Take a beath.  Ask yourself: "Do I want to be right, or do I want to stay connected?"  Tone makes all the difference.  Soften it.  Choose gentler words.  Move from “I think you're wrong…” to “Tell me what you think…?”  Listen as if there’s a test later.  And a little warm, self-deprecating humour can work wonders; just keep i...

We've all felt it - that invisible force we call luck.   Easy questions in an exam? - Lucky break.   Fail anyway? - Bad luck.   A sudden accident? - Unlucky.   Walk away with just a scratch? - Miraculous luck. Luck is the name we give to random, unexplained events.  It tilts the scales, sometimes in our favor, sometimes against.  We notice it most in moments that don't make sense.  Why are we obsessed with luck?   Because luck gives hope without rules.  You don’t need talent, money, or lineage.  Just the right moment.  When efforts fail, luck keeps our dreams alive.  More than believe in it, we bargain with it.  We wear gemstones that “activate prosperity,” tie sacred threads, hang yantras on our walls.  We pay experts to “fix” our luck, redesign homes to appease Vastu, cancel meetings because the time isn’t auspicious.  A black cat crosses the road and we brake.  A hotel room ends i...

Thirty years ago at Osaka's Marubiru subway station, my friend tossed a cigarette pack onto the spotless platform.  A Japanese guy picked it up, and dropped it in the bin.  No anger, no lecture.  Just a bow, and smile.  Dignity in action.  That moment changed how I see the world. Civic sense isn't just following rules.  It's about creating an environment where everyone feels valued and respected.  Without it, we will see litter on streets, spitting in public, shouting in quiet zones, jumping queues.  These aren't just annoyances.  They're symptoms of a mindset that erodes the quality of life for everyone. Think of civic sense as your seventh sense.   It guides how you use your other six:  Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch, Taste, and Intuition.  It whispers: “We’re in this together.”  The simple idea that our convenience should not become someone else's inconvenience.  Click the buttons below for podcast & video A ...

“Doctors bury their mistakes, judges hang them,  and journalists print theirs on the front page.” This saying highlights the consequences of attention deficit that is plaguing our society.  It also underscores a deeper issue: In conversations, meetings, and even at home, we're physically present but mentally elsewhere.  We've mastered the art of being in two places at once – here, but not really here. This lapse in focus can lead to severe outcomes.  A doctor overlooks a symptom, and tragedy follows.  A driver checks his phone, and disaster strikes.  A customer service rep recites scripts without truly comprehending the issue.  The uncomfortable truth is:  they all think they're paying attention, but they aren't. Our world is designed to distract us.  Infinite scrolls, notifications every 40 seconds, and constant context-switching.  This must be actively corrected, if we want to reclaim our focus. The irony is that in trying to do more,...

How many times have you paused scrolling on your favorite social media feed, tempted by a post that promises the world?  “Invest ₹50,000 and earn ₹10,000 every month!” or “100% herbal cure for diabetes!” or “Brand-new AC for just ₹1,500!” or “Install this app and watch all the latest movies for free!” They look irresistible, but behind those shiny promises lurk digital traps waiting to steal your money or personal data.  And when we share them without checking, we help those scams travel further and faster. These posts feed on two of our biggest weaknesses: greed and gullibility.  Each click fuels a scammer’s earnings, or worse, exposes our email, bank, or identity details to criminals. The golden rule? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.   Pause before you click. Run a quick scan. Does the post feel genuine?  Is there fake urgency like “Offer ends in 24 hours”?  Are there spelling errors, awkward phrasing, or too many CAPITAL LETTERS screamin...