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I'm in a traffic jam in the middle of a frigging river. But hey, at least the signboards are in Kannada.

My grandmother buying a saree

This is a pooja room in Bangalore, a bar/DJ corner in Delhi and a living room in Mumbai

What nobody tells you about growing old is that it's not a gradual decline. You expect your physical and mental abilities to degrade slowly - to grow less strong, less fast, less sharp every year. But that's not how it works. Instead you encounter a bump and never recover from it. You fall awkwardly on your shoulder and your arm never goes above your head again. You twist an ankle and that's the end of your tennis playing days. You get sick and the brain fog never clears. Aging is experienced mostly as a failure of recovery and repair. And the suddenness is its cruelest part.

The reason that cop shut down Ed Sheeran wasn't to prevent pandemonium on church street or maintain order on a busy sunday or anything. It's the same reason we can't read in cubbon park or visit any public park outside of morning walk hours or hold hands anywhere. Because we live in an uncleocracy. And there's nothing uncles love more than to stop young people from having fun.

Guy jumping the queue at Delhi airport: I need to go first. My flight is boarding! Me: Sir there's a line. My flight is also boarding. Guy: What are you waiting for then? Come with me!

My favourite wtf story in Indian retail is Jockey. At some point they decided that the best way to sell their product is through thousands of exclusive brand stores. Because, you know, people enjoy going underwear-shopping. And when they do, they will be fine with a single brand of underwear. And there is enough demand everywhere to have 2-3 dedicated Jockey stores on every high street. And somehow this crazy scheme will make money for the franchisee. Any fresh MBA could tell you this distribution can never work. Yet it not only does, there's mad demand to be a Jockey franchisee. Because this is India, and we make our own rulebook thank you.

When I was 18, I lost my entire month's income in 10 minutes of gambling. It was totally worth it. <story>

It was a day from hell. My bag was stolen in Boston, with my passport, phone, wallet and all IDs inside it. The thief was using my cards and ID to make large purchases. I had been up all night cancelling my cards, arranging for cash, buying a new phone and filing a police report. Had to take the morning train to new york because a flight would require ID i didn't have. It was around this moment, once i had settled in my train seat with nothing further to do, that i realised how much i was loved. My family, friends and colleagues were up in various parts of the world - helping with logistics, connecting me to people who could help, and most importantly comforting me with their company. This picture is a reminder to me that you're never alone in the world. That love shines the brightest in the darkest moments.

Anybody: mentions Doordash My brain:

I don't know if this is engagement bait, but I'll bite. Zomato has around half a _million_ delivery partners in 800 cities. Each of them has to deliver orders within a defined SLA (say 20 minutes on average?). Try getting just 10 people in a single city to deliver to such strict expectations, day after day after day. Most Indian businesses can't even manage that. Now multiply by fifty thousand and add 799 cities. That's the moat.

I'm in a traffic jam in the middle of a frigging river. But hey, at least the signboards are in Kannada.

What nobody tells you about growing old is that it's not a gradual decline. You expect your physical and mental abilities to degrade slowly - to grow less strong, less fast, less sharp every year. But that's not how it works. Instead you encounter a bump and never recover from it. You fall awkwardly on your shoulder and your arm never goes above your head again. You twist an ankle and that's the end of your tennis playing days. You get sick and the brain fog never clears. Aging is experienced mostly as a failure of recovery and repair. And the suddenness is its cruelest part.

My grandmother buying a saree

The reason that cop shut down Ed Sheeran wasn't to prevent pandemonium on church street or maintain order on a busy sunday or anything. It's the same reason we can't read in cubbon park or visit any public park outside of morning walk hours or hold hands anywhere. Because we live in an uncleocracy. And there's nothing uncles love more than to stop young people from having fun.

Guy jumping the queue at Delhi airport: I need to go first. My flight is boarding! Me: Sir there's a line. My flight is also boarding. Guy: What are you waiting for then? Come with me!

My favourite wtf story in Indian retail is Jockey. At some point they decided that the best way to sell their product is through thousands of exclusive brand stores. Because, you know, people enjoy going underwear-shopping. And when they do, they will be fine with a single brand of underwear. And there is enough demand everywhere to have 2-3 dedicated Jockey stores on every high street. And somehow this crazy scheme will make money for the franchisee. Any fresh MBA could tell you this distribution can never work. Yet it not only does, there's mad demand to be a Jockey franchisee. Because this is India, and we make our own rulebook thank you.

This is a pooja room in Bangalore, a bar/DJ corner in Delhi and a living room in Mumbai

I don't know if this is engagement bait, but I'll bite. Zomato has around half a _million_ delivery partners in 800 cities. Each of them has to deliver orders within a defined SLA (say 20 minutes on average?). Try getting just 10 people in a single city to deliver to such strict expectations, day after day after day. Most Indian businesses can't even manage that. Now multiply by fifty thousand and add 799 cities. That's the moat.

So I've offered to take a friend on a "techbro tour of Bangalore". What are the must-dos (I have Araku and Rameshwaram on my list already)? Where do the APMs at Cred hang out? Where is the startup bubble so watertight that Bangalore has no chance of sneaking in? TIA

The public transport hill I will die on. Buses have failed to reduce traffic congestion in India because of state governments' insistence on seeing them solely as "aam aadmi transport". Everything that will make buses an attractive alternative for car owners - air conditioning, higher ticket prices to avoid overcrowding, no standing passengers, direct routes to/from affluent areas - are seen as anti-poor and never implemented. This is why first-world solutions like BRTS, congestion charges, punitive registration and parking fees etc. don't work in Indian cities. Because they (correctly) increase the cost of driving but don't provide viable public transport alternatives. So people keep buying and driving cars despite the cost, the congestion and the inconvenience. Which is a pity because buses are a far faster and less expensive way to reduce congestion than metros, flyovers and tunnels.

TIL that EV chargers in India require a diesel generator backup because power fails so often. So while EV owners get to feel good about driving a zero-emission vehicle, the emission is happening right in the back of the premises. 🤦🏽‍♂️

Can some consultant-type explain Naru Noodle Bar's strategy to me? When demand outstrips supply by so much for so long, you'd expect them to raise prices (massively) or expand capacity or increase table turnover. Why would they leave so much money on the table (ha)?

Doing some diligence calls with people in small-town North India, and it's almost a shock to hear the literary Hindi. "Niji swarth ke liye hum charitra ko nahin tyag sakte" what?