Santhosh's ramblings

As I travelled through a bustling city, I couldn’t help but feel a little down seeing all the posters and adverts promising never-ending youth and glamour. Huge billboards showed off products and services that claimed to keep you looking and feeling young. Among them were ads for big hospitals offering total health and everlasting youth! But is any of this actually true? Or is it just a story made up for business, something many of us end up chasing? It’s as if we’re told that growing old doesn’t have to happen, at least for a while, and we all get swept up in make-believe. We ignore the reality of mortality for this dream of staying young.    Oddly enough, I was on my way to a classmate’s funeral - a friend my own age who passed away suddenly. At the same time, I was also keeping in touch with someone younger than me, who had suffered an unexpected heart event in a faraway place, helping them decide what to do next. It made me stop and think—what’s really true for me right no...

A warning – this blog is primarily for people of my age. Others can read it but I will not be responsible for any consequences thereof.   I spent much of my time reading about leadership (in years gone by). A good book I read was by Bobby Clinton on leadership (The Making of a Leader by Robert Clinton). He talks about the six stages of a leader’s life, and the last stage is afterglow. I am still trying to understand how the afterglow glows. I am still revising my foundations.    And if we look around at global and national leadership, we find many who think they are still glowing, though observed evidence says otherwise. Remember the emperor’s clothes story? https://americanliterature.com/author/hans-christian-andersen/short-story/the-emperors-new-clothes   More on this later. But then reading an incident in the good book today raised a bit of confusion in my mind – nothing new about confusion – that is why I ramble.   “The camp had finally grown quiet after yea...

Staying at a friend’s place in Delhi, last night and early this morning I woke up three times to the sound of rain falling outside. I remember vividly, at 1.30 AM, 4.30 AM and 5.30 AM, hearing the sound and seeing water trickling down the windowsill. (Before anyone starts wondering why I am waking up so often – please read this for further information  https://santhoshsramblings.blogspot.com/2025/10/i-do-not-sleep-well.html  )   The previous evening was hot, and the taxi driver had told me about the increasing heat and hoped that it would rain. But then, at 6.30 AM, I got up and looked outside, and there was no evidence of any rain at all during the night.  The question I ended up asking myself was – was it a dream? But then, I saw the time, saw the window, and heard the sound. I realised that the sound might have come from the fan, which was on full speed, and I mistook it for the sound of water falling. But where did what I saw come from? Was my mind a  Meande...

There’s a funny little pattern I’ve spotted on my blog: the more weighty or serious the topic, the fewer people seem to read it. Oddly enough, it’s the most light-hearted, downright silly posts that get all the attention. Unless it is an emotionally moving one, which I very rarely write. Perhaps the world is such a tangled mess these days that we all just crave a bit of fun escapism now and then - a chance to unwind.   Now, if there are any psychologists out there reading this (and if so - hello!), they’re probably thinking, “This one’s hooked on feedback.” And, well, guilty as charged! I used to be much worse, obsessively checking how many people had read my posts. It is not my fault – I blame it on my brain and social media. With apps like Facebook and Instagram, your brain gets a little dopamine reward every time someone hits “like” – and my brain is still craving! I’m still working on breaking that habit, but old routines die hard.   But here I am, writing serious stuff ag...

The "gods" of Our World  -  Understanding the Ultimate Realities We Worship Today   When discussing "gods" (with a small 'g'), the term can ignite controversy. People may quickly label me as a fanatic, a liberal, or as someone following a particular religion. However, this isn't about God in the traditional sense - rather, it's about the various "ultimate realities" that we cling to, which often replace God in our lives.   According to psychological definitions, "gods" point to an ultimate reality, yet the nature of that reality differs greatly from person to person. These so-called ultimate realities are what we hold onto and allow to take the place of God.   What Are These Modern "gods"? That I too unknowingly have enthroned in my life.   One - Me, Mine, and My Own    Many people (including me a times) view themselves, their family, community, or their nation as the absolute reality. The idea is: "I am my own god....

I’m a recovering caffeine addict. Not just any coffee, mind you, but proper filter coffee brewed to perfection. I’ve managed to cut back to two cups a day, but if I can’t get the coffee I fancy, I’ll go out of my way to find it. Yesterday was one of those days - I told my wife we will just walk 600 metres (thanks, Google) but somehow ended up walking about 2 km just to get my two shots (not just one). Luckily, I’ve got a partner in crime - my wife also loves coffee, but she’s never been hooked. It’s a well-known fact in our family. So, this is a known known.  And I do not think this is a fault of mine. Coffee can never be a fault! I’m using Donald Rumsfeld’s framework to examine my little “addictions” and “holisms”. “There are known knowns, things we know that we know; and there are known unknowns, things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns, things we do not know we don't know.”   Then there’s the “known unknown”. Apparently, everyone else knew I wa...