Manikgad had been on my radar for quite some time. That morning, I woke up and got ready as usual, planning to head out for the trek. My parents had already decided to join me. Later, my wife mentioned that my father and sister-in-law were also coming along. What started as a solo plan slowly…
So finally I completed Phase I that started on 23rd of October, 2025. It included 3 simple parts: 1. Workout 3 times a week 2. Trek once a week 3. No alcohol And I made it through. The most interesting one was ‘No alcohol’. I realised that the alcohol had a very specific job in…
My consistency eventually made my parents curious about trekking. Weekly treks became normal—so normal that they simply decided to join me. There was no need for convincing. They were happy to walk. My father had always wanted me to adopt healthier habits. For a very long time—almost 15 years—I tried to out-debate him. I thought I…
I was so mesmerised by Sondai that I went again.I mean—who wouldn’t? It’s quick to climb.Easy to finish.Delivers great photos. Why wouldn’t I return? This time, I wanted to share it.Krishna was ready to come along. For some reason, that morning I also decided to bring Amu, my Golden Retriever. I thought it would make for an interesting hike. Krishna…
On 22nd October, we were wrapping up Diwali celebrations.It was also exactly a month before my son’s second birthday. For some reason, it felt like I was on a mission to consume all the alcohol in the world. I drank a lot. Throughout Diwali, I was drinking.On the 22nd, I drank again.And the very next day,…
These are my colleagues—the ones who eventually became my close-knit friends. When I shared photos from my Karnala trek, they all asked the same question, almost in unison:“Why didn’t you tell us?” The honest answer was: Because I wasn’t even sure about myself. The obvious reply, of course, was:“We’ll do it again.” And that meant planning.…
On 5th October, 2025, I got my first real taste of trekking. I posted a few photos afterward, and the response surprised me. What I realised almost immediately was this:working silently, alone, in the darkness of loneliness doesn’t work for me. Everyone loves validation. There’s no virtue in pretending otherwise. The pictures from my first Karnala trek received…
On Sunday, 5th October, I decided to do this trek alone. At that point, I was still struggling with health issues and trying to discover a sustainable path to behavioural change. That date is firmly etched into my life—not because of the trek itself, but because it was the day I validated an idea. This entire exercise…