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Writings

The Oak Desk, Writings

Lohri Celebrations

The air hung heavy with the anticipation of Lohri, the biting chill clinging to the bones. Yet, as dusk settled over Malibu Towne’s Central Park, a different kind of warmth began to radiate. It wasn’t from the sparse decorations or the absence of booming music, but from the glow of camaraderie that flickered amongst the faces of the community.

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The Oak Desk, Writings

The Upper Crust

The Upper Crust isn’t a physical place. It’s a feeling. It’s the warmth of a shared laugh with loved ones, the thrill of a new adventure, the quiet contentment of a job well done. It’s a sunrise that takes your breath away, a simple meal bursting with flavor. It’s a moment, a feeling, that settles in your heart, a permanent resident unaffected by the winds of change.

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The Oak Desk, Writings

Insecurity germinates ego

The 20s is an age of practical learning when we join the workforce after college. Everyone from colleagues to seniors seems to guide us, mentor us, give nuggets of wisdom from their experiences. In the sea of information, we do carry a significant amount of learnings as we grow older.

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The Oak Desk, Writings

An Odyssey of Language

The noun and definitive article were stuck when verb came for the rescue. They pulled it off quite well, until they ran out of breath. Full stop hurled a red flag to their odyssey. They started again, with preposition and ampersand as their new ally. Along came adjective to exaggerate each noun.

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Press, The Oak Desk, Writings

Brij Coffeetable Book

The solemn air still carries the sweet music that came from Lord Krishna’s flute, the chirping of birds is resonant of hymns from Sama Veda, the sand on the blissful ground bear the hues of love and peace, the meditating groves are abloom with spirituality, while reverent water bodies are brimming with nectar and lotuses. Truly, this could only be Lord Krishna’s abode.

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Press, The Oak Desk, Writings

Telangana Coffeetable Book

This coffee-table book is the first book on the newly formed state Telangana (India). It was unveiled by Telangana’s Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in 2017, and the first copy was presented to Late President of India Pranab Mukherjee. The book was later also gifted to Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi by Pranab Mukherjee. I have written all of the content for the book, that explores all the cultural places of Telangana.

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The Oak Desk, Writings

Artists

It’s sacrilege to call ourselves designers or writers. We are artists. There’s a larger role of artists in the society than a mere creative expression of their craft.

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Devour, Press, Writings

Katra Sattvik Food

To understand the food of Katra, one must understand the concept of Sattvik. We all know that Sattvik is pure vegetarian food, just as is Vaishnav food. But there is more to Sattvik than just the pleasant sounding name. It stems from Ayurdeva

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Image by Sahil Banga
The Oak Desk, Writings

An Everyday Saga

As the last ray of sun melts into the horizon, the sky changes colors like a chameleon. The clouds do try to bounce off a kaleidoscopic luminescence with joyous oranges, yellows and reds, but the light is short-lived.

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College Days Sahil Banga
The Oak Desk, Writings

Nostalgia: College Days

The corridors were abuzz with loud chatter, laughter marked by wild abandon, and talks that never had any end. The newfound voice that was accompanied by philosophies, ideologies and dreamy notions. A culture of nonconformity was conditioned in these years.

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Maid Article on The Indian Trumpet
Press, The Oak Desk, Writings

Watch it, Bai.

She sat hunched on her knees, eyes bereft of remorse yet welled up, occasional hiccups bringing a kind of comic relief in that tense moment. She was accused of theft, a grave offense given that maids are supposed to be loyal to the core.

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Maid Article on The Indian Trumpet
Press, The Oak Desk, Writings

Bai-God it’s true!

In India, a house is not ‘home’ until there is a Bai rustling up her magic broom there. She’s the harbinger of cleanliness, convenience and sanity, a God-sent figure who fights the rogues called dirt, teaches messiness a lesson and brings order in disorder.

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The Oak Desk, Writings

When smells become sweet memories

The smell of iron or metals in a train brings back memories of long train journeys. And the smell in the air! How do I elaborate on the smell of autumn, of the onset of winters and the way everything starts becoming romantic, eventually becoming quixotic in winters.

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Devour, The Oak Desk, Thoughts, Writings

Do the nutty stuff

Almonds. They remind me of an entire childhood ritual spent eating 5 peeled almonds daily in the morning that were soaked overnight. They remind me of my pet who I would pamper by feeding him 2-3 of them daily and he would gleefully chew on them as if they were made of rubber. Almonds also remind me of that Kashmiri vendor who would come to Delhi every winters to sell Cashmere shawls and bring me almonds

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