Reflections on two deaths, one conversation in the Delhi Metro, and a profound lesson from people who have lived on the margins. Yesterday's Indian Express carried two heartbreaking news reports. One described the death of a young IIT Bombay student who was found hanging in his hostel room. Another reported the death of an Assistant Professor at IIT Kharagpur, with police investigating it as a possible suicide. These were not stories of academic failure. They were reminders that achievement, intelligence, and professional success do not necessarily protect us from emotional suffering. They compel us to ask a deeper question: What happens when people stop feeling seen? A Conversation that Stayed with Me Earlier this week, while travelling in the Delhi NCR Metro, I met an MBA graduate working in the technology sector. Our conversation began with a viral social media post about an MBA graduate who had become a beggar but still spoke fluent English. Instead of judging the man,...
Addiction Begins Before the Drug: Exploring Recovery Through the Family Context What if addiction does not begin with the drug? What if the drug arrives later? Human beings are creatures of habit. Much of what we call learning is the repeated formation of patterns that make life easier. A child learns to walk. A student learns to write. A driver learns to operate a vehicle. A worker learns a routine. At first these actions require effort, attention, and conscious thought. With repetition they become automatic. The brain rewards efficiency. Habits save energy and create predictability. Society itself depends upon habits. We reward consistency. We reward productivity. We reward repetition. We reward people who reliably produce desired outcomes. In many ways, habit is one of humanity's greatest strengths. Yet habit has another side. Over time, what once served us can begin to control us. We become attached to routines, roles, relationships, beliefs, identities, and ways of coping. We...