Wonderful essay, Utsav. Such lucid writing with so many insights. Loved the way you used the Mobius Strip to explain your thesis. And the sketches are simply brilliant! Superb.
Thank you, Rohan! Pleased that the Mobius strip example worked for you, it was probably the first time I have attempted writing like that. The sketches will continue, that you can be assured of :)
Thank you for taking the time to read Chetna. I am glad that you came across this piece at the time you needed it. Hope it helps you think / feel better!
Thank you for being a constant supporter Anand! I am glad you loved the sketches again (the sketch artist in me is not as confident as the writer in me), so all the validation does help keep me going :)
Each word, each line, and each paragraph kept me seated not allowing my body to get up, or my hand to even pick up an important call… I couldn’t keep reading it to finish it fast, my brain was stopping me and I was having the joy of reflecting on every point and pleasure of smiling with the reflection.
Thank you, thank you so much Utsav for giving me one of the best pieces to read.😊
You are so kind with your words Jeet. I am so thrilled to hear that the piece had your full attention because it is hard to win a reader's attention for as long as 20+ minutes. You calling it one of the best pieces is a phrase which I will savour for a long time.
Easily one of the best things I've on Substack by far. This was so powerful and easy to read with your sketches and graphics in the middle - loved it thoroughly Utsav! Thank you for writing this :)
Thank you so much Abhishek for taking the time to read this long piece. I am so glad it resonated with you, and as I said in the piece, I hope it gave you ideas and thoughts about dealing with grief, regret and guilt.
This is so lovely Utsav. So many takeaways. Will need to bookmark for future reference. The sketches explain things so well and so aptly. The Bolt and Kipchoge reference was my life 🫣. I will make a wins folder. And will read this again later, I am sure I can get more out of this. And a fantastic example of our never ending flyover. I had written about it in Citizen Matters a few years ago 😅.
I learnt the Bolt and Kipchoge lesson by living my life that way, ultimately realising it is unsustainable. I am thrilled that you have decided to make a 'Wins' folder, and I hope you will return to it timely reminding yourself that you are so much more than your outcomes. Thank you so much for reading and bookmarking Rakhi!
Great writing. Great story telling. It was show not tell all the way.
Some random thoughts.
Change of seasons – in cities where you do see all seasons, perhaps Bangalore – is also a way of noticing how time is a cycle/circle and not linear. In Delhi – we see some spring, summer, autumn and winter. The trees, their leaves, flowers – everything with the changing season registers my belief – every time - in that everything is for a season. I guess it’s about taking the time to notice.
Black kites –they are big birds of the raptor family – but predominantly they are scavengers and not hunters. I take interest birding (bird watching not photographing) and it surprises me every time that nature made these birds so big and strong, yet they don’t do any skilled hunting and are only scavengers. Perhaps result of evolution.
Thank you Renu for taking the time to read, I am glad you chose this piece to return to long-form reading.
I agree with you that noticing the seasons is possible in cities. In Bangalore, too, the city gets excited when the Tabebuia Avellaneda tree, also known as the pink trumpet tree, is in full bloom. But as you pointed out, we are too busy to notice the change since so much of our lives are lived in controlled conditions—either at work or at home. We do need to pause and take notice.
I never thought about the correlation between size and hunting capability this way! You have given me a question to think about. Thank you for that :)
Wonderful essay, Utsav. Such lucid writing with so many insights. Loved the way you used the Mobius Strip to explain your thesis. And the sketches are simply brilliant! Superb.
Thank you, Rohan! Pleased that the Mobius strip example worked for you, it was probably the first time I have attempted writing like that. The sketches will continue, that you can be assured of :)
Read it again, Utsav. Very well articulated! And that boat which has sailed and yet not sailed, trying to find the balance mid-waters is beautiful!
Thank you for taking the time to read again! So glad it resonated with you, especially the sketch :)
Enjoyed every bit of this. Thanks, Utsav
Thank you again Yash, for taking the time to read. Glad you enjoyed it!
Really enjoyed reading this post Utsav! Excellent examples chosen for concepts. Especially, mobius strip.
Thank you for taking the time to read Aishwarya. I am so glad you enjoyed it :)
Thanks Utsav, a reminder I needed so badly
Thank you for taking the time to read Chetna. I am glad that you came across this piece at the time you needed it. Hope it helps you think / feel better!
Loved how you connected time to Mobius strip to experiencing and remembering self. Everything came together so well! And again, loved the sketches!
Thank you for being a constant supporter Anand! I am glad you loved the sketches again (the sketch artist in me is not as confident as the writer in me), so all the validation does help keep me going :)
Each word, each line, and each paragraph kept me seated not allowing my body to get up, or my hand to even pick up an important call… I couldn’t keep reading it to finish it fast, my brain was stopping me and I was having the joy of reflecting on every point and pleasure of smiling with the reflection.
Thank you, thank you so much Utsav for giving me one of the best pieces to read.😊
You are so kind with your words Jeet. I am so thrilled to hear that the piece had your full attention because it is hard to win a reader's attention for as long as 20+ minutes. You calling it one of the best pieces is a phrase which I will savour for a long time.
Easily one of the best things I've on Substack by far. This was so powerful and easy to read with your sketches and graphics in the middle - loved it thoroughly Utsav! Thank you for writing this :)
Thank you so much Abhishek for taking the time to read this long piece. I am so glad it resonated with you, and as I said in the piece, I hope it gave you ideas and thoughts about dealing with grief, regret and guilt.
This is so lovely Utsav. So many takeaways. Will need to bookmark for future reference. The sketches explain things so well and so aptly. The Bolt and Kipchoge reference was my life 🫣. I will make a wins folder. And will read this again later, I am sure I can get more out of this. And a fantastic example of our never ending flyover. I had written about it in Citizen Matters a few years ago 😅.
I learnt the Bolt and Kipchoge lesson by living my life that way, ultimately realising it is unsustainable. I am thrilled that you have decided to make a 'Wins' folder, and I hope you will return to it timely reminding yourself that you are so much more than your outcomes. Thank you so much for reading and bookmarking Rakhi!
I shared this with so many people. Hope they take time to read. With short attention spans it is difficult to get anyone to read anything these days.
I read the full post, this long, in a long time.
Great writing. Great story telling. It was show not tell all the way.
Some random thoughts.
Change of seasons – in cities where you do see all seasons, perhaps Bangalore – is also a way of noticing how time is a cycle/circle and not linear. In Delhi – we see some spring, summer, autumn and winter. The trees, their leaves, flowers – everything with the changing season registers my belief – every time - in that everything is for a season. I guess it’s about taking the time to notice.
Black kites –they are big birds of the raptor family – but predominantly they are scavengers and not hunters. I take interest birding (bird watching not photographing) and it surprises me every time that nature made these birds so big and strong, yet they don’t do any skilled hunting and are only scavengers. Perhaps result of evolution.
Thank you Renu for taking the time to read, I am glad you chose this piece to return to long-form reading.
I agree with you that noticing the seasons is possible in cities. In Bangalore, too, the city gets excited when the Tabebuia Avellaneda tree, also known as the pink trumpet tree, is in full bloom. But as you pointed out, we are too busy to notice the change since so much of our lives are lived in controlled conditions—either at work or at home. We do need to pause and take notice.
I never thought about the correlation between size and hunting capability this way! You have given me a question to think about. Thank you for that :)
Wonderfully written!
Thank you for taking the time to read this Dhanraj. Happy that you liked it!
Saving this piece because I’m going to keep coming back to it. This is beautiful, Utsav!
Thank you for taking the time to read Kanchan! So glad you found it worthy of returning to :)
Beautiful and moving, as always. Thank you so much for writing this, Utsav!
Thank you Nirupama for reading this; I am pleased it moved you!