This is from the smokingbalconey at River HQ, looking out into the SAP parking lot. I’d hang out in the passive-smoke cloud to look at this beauty allover March. Almost all pink flowers have fallen leaving the violet ones in the air. (The image will take longer than usual to load because I haven’t compressed the living daylight out of the colours. Joke, laughs at own, etcetera.)

Shot this one with the kit 16–50 mm (with an effing hyphen on the lens) and ‘Auto’ corrected in Camera Raw.

I am riding way more than I did in ’24. Commuting almost religiously by bike, thanks in no parts to certain rings that need closure. (More on that later. I wasn’t too wrong to wait till Series 10; I was wrong to not look into the ecosystem benefits earlier.) In trying to pack light (or none at all) I am relying more than ever on cloud storage and subscription fees. Interesting how lightening some loads always end up adding some somewhere else. I am stopping less often yet smelling more roses on the way. In true JustRide spirit, packing a raincoat instead of excuses. The mudguards are back on, with some less-than-aesthetic fasteners this time. Feels nice that I don’t seem to care anymore. Signs of wisdom—or just age.

The Brookefield roads are potholy but not with a set-dosa sort of frequency. The traffic is bearable enough (way better than the private bus hell that is Kozhikode) and geography is apologetic enough not to leave me a sweaty mess at 8 AM 9AM 10AM.

We got some Chandigarh-adjacent chairs almost too late and have lovelier longer conversations over food. Next time we do this, the first investments in a new place will be comfortable chairs and dinnerware. The cost to benefit ratio needs no second thoughts.