Sandipan
@sandypuns_
Followers
2K
Following
11K
Media
490
Statuses
2K
the days are long, decades are short
Bengaluru, India
Joined July 2021
I’ve been to Switzerland, and I can say that Kashmir has so much more natural beauty to offer - the last week of travel has just made me feel so much more at peace. Jotting my itinerary down, as a memoir to self, but also to nudge folks to explore the pretty hills up there :)
137
535
6K
Maturity is when you do not hate your younger self for the decisions they took. Your younger self took a decision based on the best possible information they had, and they always wanted the best for your future self. Don’t look back at them in anger.
25
2K
6K
What I hate about BLR is everyone trying to do the same thing. Same cafés, same roles, same fits, same weekend activities, same ‘ol pickleball/run clubs. Unlike other metros (MUM, DEL, KOL) where there’s varied set of folks doing different things. Just a personal perspective.
207
184
4K
I am pushing 30, my friends are having babies, and I’m just getting excited because I fulfilled my childhood dream of joining a cricket coaching - which my parents never let me as a kid. Now I finally get to add some mileage on this bat from my 8th grade.
89
93
3K
Being in corporate is pretty much living from weekend to weekend, doing countdowns to your next week-long trip that’d last a sum total of 5 seconds, and existing in the space-time continuum meeting arbitrary deadlines through our screens the rest of the time.
22
439
3K
I can’t explain but this is what peak happiness looks like. July rains, an open ground, just you with your boys playing cricket amidst it - screams peak 90s.
23
150
3K
Tickets worth 3k are already re-selling for 75k (????). I might rather use that to fly down to Seoul, watch them there, travel across South Korea, and be back after 5 days.
BMS to hag hi raha hai, uske beech me Chrome ko abhi ye update karna hai
33
130
2K
A few firsts today in BLR - . - Uber driver calls proactively 5 mins before, asking me not to cancel. - Shows up in a really new, good smelling car. - Asks me if I need the A/C turned on (???????). - Plays Punjabi bangers instead of being on a call. Seems like a good day already!
26
15
1K
Reason I shouldn’t be trusted with adult money because why did me, a grown ass man, buy this off my wishlist because it was on sale with zero regrets. I love sale season.
120
36
1K
I understand they’re an influencer but for anyone wanting to travel and having to travel on a protein lassi diet - I pity. Please enjoy where you travel, have fun with the cuisine, and let yourself loose a little. Life is too short to diet on a trip, and not have fun travelling.
50
56
1K
We are entering an era now that this will be normalised. Unpaid internships are already prevalent, we will now have translated it to full-time roles. Increases difficulty for the unprivileged to stand out. You need to be born really privileged to compete.
26
76
897
Was told “You look cute, are you single?” at a wedding. Safe to say, I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.
32
12
813
The closer I inch to 30s, the faster I am coming to terms with being okay with not achieving everything that I aspired to be as a kid. We all have our "Things to do before 30" lists, but as I stand at 29, I realise I have so much energy and drive to do more - I can take my time.
14
38
622
Folks, if you can, do your ZNMD trip. It’s pricey, but memories for a lifetime. You’d earn every penny back, but you won’t be 27, immature, clueless and still all the more excited about driving across Europe through unchartered territories. cc: @mredulsarda123 @artim_otpidus
21
22
574
My dad worked at BHEL, had been an engineer for all his life, and he says they needed a McK project to just convince the board on a decision that the engineers were pushing to convince for ages. It indeed is insurance for the board/leadership against a risky decision.
Consulting fees are insurance payments to protect against the ramifications of bad decisions.
8
39
517
It’s incredibly attractive when someone says -“I read this from. ”. The fact you read, register what you read, and pull it out just at the right time and context is really attractive.
10
44
495
Feels like we just took for granted our time in college where we had a month or two long semester breaks. Like two months, of absolute nothingness, to do whatever you want to, every single year, for four years straight.
11
25
460
Quora-fication of LinkedIn is so evident. Every single post is now a spam of their selfie on some motivational twaddle, and LinkedIn still believes it’s a good idea to boost these. Guess a life goal now is to reach a stage in my career where I’d never have to use LinkedIn again.
22
24
383
That video by Bumble's founder just makes it all the more obvious on how we love complicating basic human relationships. Everyone now has a paradox of choice. It's already a situation where you meet someone being fully aware you are a variable in their long list of "matches".
6
17
335
A lot of commentary around already, but all I want to say is that during my summers at IIMA, all I wanted was to convert an interview with a top consultant. When McKinsey rejected me after the final round. I was heartbroken for months, so much that I though I wasn’t good enough.
7
10
331
We men have it very easy with shopping. I look at prices women pay for sarees, dresses, boots, and go jeez - how are you throwing numbers like 20-30k so easily? . That’s almost my two months of rent. Add on top of that expenses for skin care. It’s actually tough being a woman.
39
6
299
Attended the GFF, no one asked but here’s my unhinged takeways -. 1. Anything you innovate, NPCI will do and mandate it. Period. Look at the crowd at NPCI. 2. The bigger the spokesperson, the more generic-ass the gyan. 3. Networking is hard, how do you VC/sales folks do it (wow?)
7
2
306
Your partner has to be someone with whom you can enjoy doing something, whatever that thing is, for the rest of your life.
7
11
292
Went to a fintech mixer in BLR wearing a shirt tucked in, trousers, and formal shoes. And I was apparently the most dressed guy (?) - what is happening.
15
5
295
You are very priviliged if life has never made you run around courts, hospitals, or any other Government establishment.
7
21
272
You’re no longer a human voicing thoughts, you’re just a training dataset for someone’s LLM.
1
31
258
No dig but if I’m going to a beach, my laptop stays shut. I want to feel the breeze, give it the undivided attention it needs instead of being marred with Slack/Teams notifs. A week of uninterrupted vacation does more good than a month of remote work. Also, better productivity.
4
6
253
There’s so much to love about BLR - if only folks chose to do stuff instead of the FOMO-fication of having to live out of the same influencer’s checklist. So many sports, cuisines, activities, gigs to do - don’t need to run behind the glorified ones. //end of rant.
4
4
243
@pranavmanie The fact that BSNL has 132 Cr to spend for a BCG presentation that goes “increase revenue, decrease costs” over actually fixing things is hilarious.
7
9
223
📍Srinagar . Start from here, is also a base for other places. Great start to acclimatise to the climate, culture, and checking out the pretty gardens + Dal Lake. We found the Tulip season during late Mar-Apr, but even during winters it’d be super pretty.
2
9
220
Coming back home to see how proudly my parents flaunt this - makes all the rough days worth it.
4
2
211
One week into my parents convincing me and going into the arranged marriage search - they are already asking me to go out more often and meet more people, so I can find someone myself.
10
7
200
Tech eco-chambers will keep dissing an MBA on how they don't create/add value, while the MBA grad, fully aware of their strengths and shortcomings, will keep hustling over the risk-free route. I repeat - I met the smartest folks in IIT, while the most disciplined folks at IIM.
I was talking to someone with an MBA from a top college when he nonchalantly remarked, "I'm always surprised how none of you techies know what true luxury and actual wealth is!". I've witnessed similar conversations unfold countless times around me. Perhaps we never really grasp.
5
5
167
Europeans have to be unhinged AF. No way an Indian would say they’re off because they can’t miss a mate’s summer party.
16
2
161
IAS is still the peak Indian middle-class dream. Post my IIT/IIM stint, my parents still slyly nudge me with the - “what if you at least had an attempt?”. UPSC isn’t a dream anymore, it’s a lottery. It crushes the best of us, and I’m so rooting for this country to grow over it.
I know a guy who used to be good at academics. Got a bachelors in tech from a decent public university and a good SDE job. But his father had the FOMO of his life when he heard about some relative who "cracked" IAS. So, the father made him quit his job and prepare for IAS. Now.
7
8
153
The one thing that’s always been a mystery to me was folks finding love in a university. Like what kinda life hack did they have? All I did was study, get grades, play sports, make friends, and be broke. Just this and I’d have no time till 2-3 AM.
14
3
149
📍Sonmarg. North of Srinagar and a day trip to see pretty snow, and mustard meadows along the way. Take a sledge to see the glaciers, and ofc play a bit with the snow after a day of seeing the flowers. Can take a stop to see Sind River along the way, while having Kashmiri Kahwa.
3
9
133
PS: We went as a family, and while you can pick you can do the locations separately, recommended is to going via a local agent, who’d book your hotels, and give you a car to explore around at your ease. Total cost - ~1.3L for family of 4 for 6D (excluding flights).
6
3
131
All of my year was spent just running around trying to find the next high, and never really reflecting on how grateful I am to come so far. Life has given me a lot, and it’s a gift that keeps giving, but I don’t think I’ve appreciated it enough.
7
2
122
Someday it will make sense - the hustle, days you held back tears, and still chose to push yourself. It’s not easy this life, was never meant to be. You’re not God’s favorite soldier but days like these, when you’re your only cheerleader, will make your future self so so proud!.
3
9
124
Meeting expectations is not easy, and I can only imagine the battles that they fought in their head. Easy to comment from the outset, so difficult to live it. Sending hope to anyone feeling down because they couldn’t meet societal standards - there’s pride in beating the norm.
2
2
119
4. Every other stall is a variant of lending. Lending still the king. 5. Bombay will be more well dressed than BLR will ever be. 6. You’ll never crib about traffic once you experience peak BKC traffic. 7. Post-event mixers are only for free drinks. Nothing tangible. //end of rant.
4
1
117
Agree. Reeks of privilege but some of the best and reputed manufacturing/R&D roles for Mech Engineering at IIT Bombay during my time had a CTC of 8L/year. India needs to step up its manufacturing, because there are a lot of engineers wanting to make a difference here over tech.
If Tech companies don't hire, it's really hard for any batch to be fully placed. India doesn't manufacture anything of note, at scale that is capable of absorbing so many civil, mechanical, aerospace, material science etc graduates every year.
5
9
109
As Indians hate that we normalise getting late. A culture that runs deep across events (parties/dates/family events), and age groups. For someone who usually tries to show up +/- 10 mins, the fact we take pride in showing up late, is so disrespectful to everyone involved.
8
8
110
Don’t think I ever regretted working hard. Results suck, feeling underconfident because I went in underprepared sucked, but working hard did not. And still we (and me) all go through cycles of explaining each other if the effort is worth it. Guess the answer is, it always is.
1
5
108
Peak performance starts from 30s. I’m physically fitter, mentally more resilient, and faster at decision making now than I was mid-20s, and something tells me it’ll only get better with age. I’m for the long haul, always.
You've been lied to. The 30s and 40s are your prime years. If you do it right you will be way further in your career, better off financially, and hotter than ever. Your brain fully develops and life gets way more fulfilling.
0
6
105
I adult pretty low-key - show up to work, clean your home, cook, try to eat clean, sleep on time, repeat. And at times, things get lonely, even if from the outset everything feels chirpy. So I’m glad to always find solace in journaling to keep me sane.
14
2
100
Two things that worked the most for me has been gratitude and embracing your spiritual side (however it is). For me its believing there is a superpower out there in the universe that is helping you figure the "how" to your "why" with you - and just sort of surrendering to it.
2
5
103
Anyway, hello London 🇬🇧
I will be miserably annoying once I start travelling.
4
0
101
I will NOT take anyone who defends Shantanu Deshpande seriously. That man has lost it.
Tell me you don’t have women in your marketing team without telling me you don’t have women in your marketing team -
5
1
101
Realising it’s been 5 years since you’ve graduated feels surreal. Even more when you’re welcomed back. Not the best timing, but still glad to see everyone who build and break businesses now, back to the classroom and discuss cases. Reunions are fun - 100% worth going back.
6
2
99
📍Gulmarg. West of Srinagar, again up the hills, but a pretty one 10k ft above and can reach via a Gondola ride. Recommend to ski, and stay the night here to experience the serenity of the place. You’ll find apple gardens along the way, stop by for some of the freshest juice :)
1
3
101
I, a grown-ass adult, will now rely on a bunch of men in their shorts running behind a ball in Munich to decide my happiness for the next few months.
2
3
98
Every Delhi man looks like a version of Karan Aujla or Virat Kohli. Nothing in between.
5
1
97
I felt the only thing that mattered was to go through this set path- IIT, then IIM, then consult/IB, then ace at corporate, yada yada. Anything that didn’t fit this narrative, made me feel like a loser. Period. Years later, I have gotten over this, but it wasn’t a nice time.
2
1
92
The first time I landed in Ahmedabad in 2017, I was greeted throughout the city with banners that read "Your favorite Domino's Pizza is now pure veg". We can shit on this class divide, but the fact is, it is what end customer in this country wants. And companies are abiding to it.
To solve for their dietary preferences, we are today, launching a “Pure Veg Mode" along with a “Pure Veg Fleet” on Zomato, for customers who have a 100% vegetarian dietary preference.
9
3
93
📍Pahalgam. Long route from Gulmarg, and takes a day to travel. Use this to buy shawls, dry fruits/kesar, or a Kashmir willow bat along the way :). This place has pretty valleys reached via a horse ride - an experience in itself. Preferable to stay here for a village experience.
5
3
91
One main reason to show up to office every single day. It’s always the orange cat.
10
1
89
@praaatiiik Imagine you’re in a road lafda and you can’t escape because your scooter is updating.
2
3
89
Adulting and independence is fun uptill you fall sick and you need to drag your tired self to meetings at work, booking your own doc appointment, take meds on time, and be disciplined through being your own parent to your body.
1
3
81
Some FYI -. 1. We found Kashmir at a lovely time. Weather is unpredictable, so we experienced snow, sun, and rain all of it. 18 degrees in Srinagar, sub-10 everywhere else. 2. Kashmiri people love hosting, some of the sweetest people we met. Tipping goes a long way.
1
1
86
3. Aug-Sep would be the apple season, again a good time to visit with weather getting colder and trees looking prettier with apples on them. 4. Altitude, signal and infra issues barely exist. Places are well connected by road, and I found 5G at most places on postpaid signal.
1
1
86
Heartbreak is such a humbling human experience. You’d be flying, soaring high, and then something pulls you back to reality. The reality of what life is - the highs, lows, joys, and pain. Almost like life’s natural reminder to introspect on thoughts you’ve consciously avoided.
1
5
81
I always enjoy Damodaran’s classes. Reminds me of my B-school days of hustling to get my banking interviews with his lectures on the side. Absolute legend. In the era of Topmate, he shares all his classes and notes for free every single year.
I will be teaching my valuation and corporate finance classes at NYU's Stern School of Business in the spring, and as always, you are welcome to join. You can virtually take the class, access the material and even take the exams.
2
0
79
100% recommended - and not just the beaches, but also the city and their cafés. Gives a warm vibe with a touch of Lankan culture and colonial architecture coexisting. Makes me want to go there soon. Plus the general cleanliness and safety, as a traveler is super comforting.
4
1
77
No nazar but been little over a year now with the same fit and wraps - definitely think the journey was worth it :)
My best investments of the month are . 1. Boxing classes - What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger . 2. Electric toothbrush- Game changer for someone with perpetual gum bleeding woes. 3. Cheap bookshelf - Keeps your study desk neat and helps clear clutter.
7
0
75
A fortnight in workday fits - and the obvious perks of working in a startup
4
0
77
2
2
75
A lot of folks need this. You don’t get fitter/smarter/better at work in a month. And it’s ok to start without having it all figured out. Over-optimisation kills as much progress as inaction does.
1
5
73
📍Budgam. If you have an additional day, can quickly go across here for another valley experience. Not too far from Srinagar, can be done in half a day.
2
2
74
BMS to hag hi raha hai, uske beech me Chrome ko abhi ye update karna hai
1
4
75
Can vouch for finance not being most sought after or taught well among Indian MBA. Unless you want a role in corp fin/IB/VC, general enthusiasm to go deep in absorbing finance concepts is low. Most look it as a means to an end - the end being the role they have to interview for.
It’s frankly concerning that a lot of folks who clear CFA L2 or are MBAs (including from top Unis) are unable to answer what ROE or Working Capital is, let alone capital structures or valuations during interviews.
3
2
75
There’s a subreddit around men’s watches where the major posts are around “my girlfriend/partner gifted me this, how’s this” or the women asking “how’s this watch as a gift for my partner”. And I find that pretty adorable!.
2
2
74
All in all, would love to do this again - truly a heaven on Earth this place.
8
1
73
Through out my career I’ve been sufficiently compensated monetarily and that only increased my desire to work, never has it been detrimental. Don’t think I as a business owner would be okay having my Chief of Staff pay to work for me. I’m no God, I will never be.
2
2
71
📍Back to Srinagar. Returning back for an evening in Dal Lake by the houseboats. While the houseboat is stationary, you can explore around the Dal Lake in shikaras.
2
2
69
@Rajjath24 When you’re paying all that much, might as well do it in a better organised/location with a better crowd.
1
0
68
Not a bad Saturday to win something for my fitness. From a fat boi that could not walk a couple of km to pushing my body limits - fun :)
10
0
67
Never realised I could decipher a sentence like -. "PFA the PRD, updated with the SME MoM, ARD, and CTR expectations. Pl assign a POC to provide POA for the respective KPIs along with their ETA by EOD".
6
1
65
monkey see watch, monkey collect. just completed this with a tiffany blue hmt tareeq, need to add more quality pieces.
8
0
64
Remembering the time I went to a friend’s place in Switzerland, and he decked up his place so neat. But more so, he had a wall where he clicks a Polaroid of every person that ever visited their place. So wholesome - I obliged holding a record that says “I f*ing love my life”
3
1
63
Anyway, here goes 3-day road-trip itinerary for Scotland 🏴. You can easily add more days, 3 days is by no means enough to explore the beauty that Scotland is, but given the ease of access, and serenity around it, pretty much a must-do if you can.
Should I post a long-drive itinerary for Scotland? . From an Indian’s perspective ofc.
1
2
63
Making my parents have a scoop of protein powder on a regular basis and they still have so much stigma around it only being tagged as something “bodybuilders” consume. Makes me realise how much protein taboo is still out there. Plus of course concerns on pricing for good protein.
11
0
61
Realise how privileged I am as I have deliveries in 10 mins, someone to fix my appliances via an app - while my dad back in the day, would fix the fridge/AC/TV, hop stores for all sorts of groceries, AND clean our car before it’s even noon on the solitary Sunday holiday he gets.
2
0
57
Can never ever go wrong with Ludovico Einaudi on winter nights. This one from the archives.
3
1
57
In the era of layoffs, its tough to find the right job. More often than not, you just take what you get. But if you have a choice, always go for the company that wants you. You can see it from their proactiveness and its easy to filter from ones that ghost you mid-process (1/3).
4
2
58
Folks be having fancy year-end plans while we be making dal-chicken-paranthe for weekend solace.
4
0
57
Remember the time I asked my friend a question on how to choose a partner and they helped me with a core framework for life. The foundation being the usual suspects, and the pillars on which a relationship stands. Chef’s kiss 🤌
5
1
55
Bangalore in its absolute beauty is really poetic. The skies, greens, and us existing amidst it.
4
0
52
Such is the timeline that a 17 year old streamer’s song is the best thing we could put out as this year’s anthem. Ngl, it bangs.
It’s THAT time again.
2
4
52
Race week, and brings back memories of the time I was walking these streets a year back. Not many cities have the capacity to make you feel absolutely poor, and also bling up in a way like no other. Better so on a race weekend. 📍 Monte Carlo, Monaco
4
0
54