Life Stories

There are some people who leave an impression on your life without ever becoming a part of it. I've always been someone who enjoys talking to people. Conversations come naturally to me, and over the years I've met countless individuals through work. There was a phase in my career when I was interviewing for different internal projects. Most of those interactions were transactional—an interview, a discussion, and then everyone moved on. Except one. We never became friends. We never worked on the same project. In fact, after that interview, we barely spoke. He eventually settled in Toronto while our lives continued on different paths. A few years later, my first international work trip was finalized—and my destination was Toronto. Like anyone travelling abroad for the first time, I was excited, nervous, and filled with questions. I reached out to people I knew there, trying to understand the city, transportation, weather, and everyday life. In the middle of all those conver...

Guru Arjan Devji was the 5th sikh Guru. On their shaheedi diwas( Martyr's Day) which was observed on 18th June 2026 this year, the Sikh community sets up chabeels at various locations. A public place distributing free water/sweet drinks to the passers by as a sewa is called a chabeel. I recently interacted with a Sikh colleague and had our contacts exchanged. They put up a WhatsApp status for the chabeel and I happened to notice it. I checked with them and was warmly onboarded. I wanted to contribute and was also invited to join the sewa. Considering various factors I confirmed to join. Having been born and raised in northern part of India, this was a part of the memories while growing up. However, since I moved to Pune, had missed these events. When I saw this opportunity, I wanted to grab it with both my hands   I reached the location of the chabeel in the morning, the sewa was already on. I joined the group. The chabeel was at a round about with an auto riksha stand, a bus ...