I started typing this note on a flight back to New Delhi from BLR. My 53rd for the year. Oh god does travelling tire me out, but it somehow is something I still so look forward to. Maybe it’s the privilege of getting to meet some wonderful folks across cities, getting to know parts of my own country better, maybe the chance to always discover new things to eat! As I flew out of a city with 30 AQI to one that is a smoke chamber, it really got me thinking again about the cost of policy choices (and failures), reasons why we choose to call a particular city home, tradeoffs we make on health for careers and so much more. There’ll probably never be a single right answer here. Ever.
Hi there - Happy New Year! Wish you 12 months filled with good health, and all happiness there is :) It’s 2024 already? Wasn't it 2019 like a month back? Or maybe the mental clock for a lot of us is only now starting to shrug past the pandemic, and time trap it left us in.
Nonetheless, firstly - thank you for sparing a few minutes for reading. Means a ton! Why am I starting with Pulse Point? Not much actually - I look at it simply as a structured way to share notes, thoughts, and perspectives on a whole lot of subjects - from policy choices and how they affect us daily, to how we can meaningfully engage with governments and ‘system’ to mould them to our liking, to the occasional struggles of adulting as a 26-year old. Expect a ton of ideas (presented as they are), typos and under-polished but engaging updates coming your way!
Now, sprinting back into time to take stock of the year the just went by. I’ll go ahead and say it - think I’m a very different person now than who I used to be at the start of 2023. Just someone who now wants and needs a lot less. Stupid example but I used to be someone with like 8 credit cards, some 6 email IDs, 10’s of pairs of clothing, signed up to every newsletter imaginable etc. Took me a couple of months but have ruthlessly cleared out everything, down to the bare minimum and essentials. One card, bank account, email ID, gave away some 75% of the physical stuff I owned while shifting apartments in September, unsubscribed from nearly 90% of newsletters /channels I used to follow or keep track of on social media so on and so forth.
Essentially, very intentional living - very intentional about everything that I let into my life, be it in the form of thoughts (content), people (turning down almost all meeting invites + near zero social events attendance now), things (if I get a new physical product in my apartment, one old item has to go out) etc. Been such a major, but critical change - just dramatically reduces the surface area of things I’ve to worry about or care for. And that is rather peaceful. Never going back to the clutter. That what we own, ends up owning us.
On the work front - Honestly, these were 12 months full of extreme confusion. I’m super sure about just the one broader goal in life that I really care about i.e. accelerating the growing prosperity of India and all Indians. As someone who’s risen up the socio-economic hierarchy from very humble means, policy is personal and policy choices will always matter to me, as they determine the socio-economic prospects for a billion Indians still living at the margins.
But, I’m not sure at this stage of my life what’s the best use of my time. Options are galore, from going back to school, doubling down on entrepreneurship or going back to the roles I was working in around end of 2022 at Twitter i.e. something around Public Affairs. For now, I know that running a firm (and managing people in particular) is not something I find any joy in. In fact, it takes away from opportunities for me to do pure policy work and thrust me deep into the admin end of things instead. Hence going back to an organisation, to a job is something I look forward go while running PPI alongside, as has been the case for the past 4 years.
The only filter I’d have going ahead is that I’d look for a career, and not just a job instead. Someplace I can be at for years to come. Will complete 5 years of working full- time this March, and have tried out like 5 different things all this while. Glad for the hustle and all the hours I’ve put in, taught me a ton. But certainly looking for something far more slow-paced and in a sense, boring for this upcoming chapter.
On the other hand, I’m eternally grateful for the privilege of being invited to a new campus and city almost every week or so to conduct workshops, seminars and sessions around Policy and careers by schools, universities and other institutions. I clearly love the teaching, knowledge sharing and engagement end of the stick, not sure if one can make a living doing this. We’ll see how this unfolds.
This was a far better year (as compared to 2022) on the health front. I picked back up on tennis, the one sport I love the most and grew up playing. The fact that I get to practice and play thrice a week with my best friend, couldn’t possibly want much more. Keeps me healthy, happy and sane. Haven’t had to take steroids in the past 6 months (I live with an autoimmune condition) out of inflammation and that’s a big W.
This was also a year I in a sense rediscovered religion, have become more of a believer and am grateful for it. Got a kindle yet failed to pick back on reading. Did my first (two!) trips abroad - am flying to Malaysia in a couple of weeks for the third! Wrote for a few publications as well including The Indian Express, Hindustan Times etc. and hope to grow on this in the year to come. Shifted to Gangtok for a month (view from my hostel above!). Oh and YES - started grinding and brewing my own coffee. Everyday!!!
On relationships, I’m reminded of this quote I had read somewhere long back - “To be friends with someone for long, is to attend a thousand funerals of the person they used to be.” I think with time, people change (and for the better, hopefully) and relationships find a new keel to rest on. Had a close friend get married this year, saw most of my friends (we’re a group of 6 from college, whom I’ve known for 8 years now) a lot more often. Parents and sibling spent most of this year healthy and happy. Nothing more I could’ve asked for.
I’ll plagiarise from my own review post a year back, for the concluding bit. Yes, it’s a reminder that for all goal-setting, time flew by in tending to the ‘urgent’ and not ‘important’ for much of this year.
Hoping to get to do meaningful work in the year to come, meet many more individuals and learn from their journeys, contribute to the development and growth of the broader policy space in India, travel a lot, stay healthy, meet my parents more often, run a marathon, play a lot more tennis, and finally get to see the Northern goddamn Lights, a childhood dream (still have the cutout from class 4th geography textbook when I saw them for the 1st time)! Oh, and also find someone to share my Ice cream with, walk around endlessly and flood with new playlists everyday ❤️
Love and Light, always
Yash
Loved this, Yash! Really resonate with the idea and (rather difficult) practice of intentional living. Looking forward to reading more from you! :)
Of all the things you've put down here, the only thing that got my attention and the one that matters most is that you and your family have been healthy. I have faced loss and have been terribly unfortunate the last year. So I can tell you quite confidently, health is everything. Happy New Year! Here's to another year of good health and happiness!