Bangalore

I took my scooty out yesterday for the first time since the year began, after letting her slowly gather dust for a month. The last time I drove was just before we headed to Mussoorie at the end of December. When we left for the bus terminal, I could feel the heavy fog settling in, appearing thicker than usual. In the darkness and fog, it was difficult to see the murky brownness of the pollution that was a defining characteristic of the Delhi sky. The fog wrapped around everything, floating very dramatically against the yellow glow from the windows of the moving metro trains. It felt like we were already in a hill station. ...

Once I got comfortable with the courses and the campus, I expected life at IISc to be calm and wholly academic – and it was that, but also so much more. As I write to you now from a wholly different city, I wonder how so much could have happened in the span of 18 months, and how you can change this much as a person while being the same in many ways that count. ...