7th Febraury, 2026

What am I working on?

Got a lot of moulding clay at home. I am making some pen stand out of it for the new desk I got.

What am I reading?

Read two books recently-

• The Many Deaths of Laila Starr - This was a brilliant, gripping read - reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. The premise is immediately engaging: the Goddess of Death is fired and forced to live as a mortal in Mumbai to stop the inventor of immortality.

• This One Summer - A beautifully illustrated. While the plot is a relatively straightforward coming-of-age story, I loved quite a few illustrations -  timestamped illustrations that captured the slow passage of a day, the rendering of natural elements—the sea, the rain, and the foliage. It did make me nostalgic of my summer vacation days.

What am I watching/watched recently?

No dialogues - not a single one. The film relies entirely on visual language to convey a profound human experience - being stranded all alone in an unknown island. Ghibli's first non-Japanese animation - The Red Turtle is unique to say the least.

Though directed by Dutch director Michael Dudok de Wit, the Ghibli DNA is unmissable. Sensitive storytelling, grounded imagination and the Ghiblisque pacing of scenes.

I was so blown away by the Wit's hand-drawn animation, I watched his Oscar winning short movie - Fathers and Daughters right after.

Beyond its survival plat, the movie got me thinking about companionship - What does a soul do in the solitude before finding a companion? How does one navigate the world when that companion is no more?

New thing I learnt lately?

In today's day and age, any publicity is considered to be good publicity. But, it depends on 3 things:

• Fame: how well is your brand known? Small - you will get eyeballs. Big - you risk losing more than gaining

• Blame: Where is this publicity coming from? Is it what you have done or someone says you have done

• Same: does it contradict your established brand position?