"Too young to worry, Too old to smile"

I am the father of Avu, a remarkable boy who has taught me more about patience, resilience, and love than I ever thought possible. Avu is autistic, non-communicative yet verbal, and his world is shaped by patterns, rhythms, and the things that bring him comfort—like feeling the wind on his face during bike rides or spinning his chewy to self-regulate. His journey has been anything but typical. Born as the younger of two non-identical twins, we started noticing early on that his development was different from his brother’s. This led us down a path of countless therapies, sleepless nights, and a constant search for the right support system that could help him navigate the world in his own way. Our days have been filled with challenges—whether it was helping him walk, finding ways to ease his distress during haircuts, or simply ensuring he could communicate his needs. Yet, through it all, Avu has shown incredible strength. He has overcome physical hurdles, developed ways to express himse...

What is Autism? Autism is a condition where individuals experience and respond to the world differently from neurotypical people. It falls under neurodivergence, which includes autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and more. Unlike certain conditions such as Down’s syndrome, autism doesn’t have distinct physical features. Autism exists on a spectrum. At one end, an autistic individual might excel academically, be musically gifted, or a chess champion, yet struggle with sensory sensitivities like loud sounds or sticky textures. At the other end, there are children like my son, Avnit. He is non-verbal, joyful, loves food, but faces unique challenges, including: 👉Aversion to wearing helmets, caps, or gloves—even in freezing weather. He resists change and reacts intensely if others wear these around him. 👉 A strong need for sensory input, like spinning in circles or enjoying the wind on his face. 👉Discomfort in closed spaces and difficulty with fine motor skills, making tasks like picking up s...

It all started with the urge to attend a winter wedding at Delhi. And Su made that happen for us without trying too much. With some amount of winter wear packed and all 6 of us friends on the same flight, we hit the airport with sleepy eyes and a shot of espresso. The 3 hour long flight saw some of us snoring, others gossiping and a few eating their way into winters. Top of all, we seem to have forgotten that Su is getting married! Land at Delhi and step out of the airport by noon to feel the nip in the air at 12 degrees. Our 30 min drive to the hotel saw some dense fog and boy, this was the much awaited Delhi winter we were looking forward to. As we checked in to the rooms and tried to make ourselves comfortable, we realised the real reason why people love Bangalore. The chill was getting to us and we quickly had to layer up before we headed out for lunch at the Groom’s house. A short walk from our hotel and we were at the lunch-for-family get together. The sight of hot a...

Island of Murano He said, "We don't have any women masters in Murano and that's because, a woman cannot blow glass and talk at the same time"... Well what can I say, the problem is universal! Jokes apart, the masters subtle rotation of the rod, with a blob of glass hot out of the furnace at one end, and gravity doing its part in pulling the blob off the rod, to form weird shapes, is nothing but sheer magic. A gentle blow from the other end and a few strokes of the rod and voila, a vase comes to life. If you thought this was sheer brilliance one must admire the pulling technique with awe. Clearly, working on glass with the pulling technique is like sculpting castles of the sand. The imaginative parlance of the 'Master' is far beyond any viewer in the room. A couple of gentle pulls using tongs clubbed with gravity doing a tad of its part and the end result can be anything but your imagination! Apart from farming, I cannot imagine another practi...

Piazza Navona - Rome Art stops time, and I experienced it as well. Staying fixated at a painting full of exuberant colors is not something new and one must surely have done it at least once in life. Someone once told me that it would takes months just to explore Rome and half of it would surely be spent standing in from of a 3x4. You never quite understand that till you stumble upon Rome's cobbled-stone Piazza's, especially the most famous of all, Piazza Navona. This square  is enlivened every day by many artists who with their art succeed in capturing the features and the typical expressions of those being depicted.  Be it a ballerina in red with her back facing us or the carpet of poppy laid out for you along the rolling hills of Tuscany, each artist brings his inspiration to life with so much care and concern.  It is easy for an untrained eye to get mixed up with the work of a real artist pitted against a counterfeit one. Today their is more of chaos and cl...

If one sleeps well, he eats well... and if he eats well, he is surely in for a gastronomic orgasm in everything he tastes! As you wake up, the thought of that first cup of coffee and something to nibble along lingers  vaguely in your mind. On a chill spring morning in Italy, after a lazy morning shower, you would hurriedly get dressed to find the nearest coffee bar. And that’s what I did every day. The robotic arms of a tender working his way on the equally fast, yet complex espresso machine, does catch your entry from the corner of his eye. A short and brisk “Buon Giorno” and he is back to his love of his life, making the best ristretti one would ever imagine. A ristretti is no humble coffee for the common coffee drinker. It is pure liquid adrenaline and has a tendency to keep the tourist on his feet all day. The warm smell of cornetti freshly being lined up for the customers’ tingles a very soft corner of your palate. Be it the residents or the tourists, the quintesse...

Ooty, what can I say... heard so much about it, lived so close to it for years, thought it to be overly commercialized, hence never visited it! Never realized till my recent visit that the "Queen of hill Stations", as it is fondly called, would leave so many lasting memories with me that I would be visiting again... and again... and again!   The monsoon of July was threatening to keep us indoors when we started the trip on a Sunday morning. We had heard that the incessant drizzle in Ooty gets really annoying to most and we were mentally prepared to relax, stay indoors and enjoy tea beside a fire-place. With such minimal expectations and an open mind to explore what is there to offer, we set sail early from Bangalore and reached Udhagai at around an hour past noon. The 6 hours drive, with a breakfast break, was adorned by lovely weather, smooth roads, minimal traffic, bright green forests and inviting calls from the wild.    The Town below The first view...