Karina Pandya

  Growing up always felt like we were moving toward a destination. From the time we were young, we attached timelines to our dreams —   by 20 this will happen, by 30 that will fall into place.   We believed life would “arrive” at some specific milestone. But now, as I turn 40, I realize something different. This isn’t about arriving at a destination. It isn’t about reaching a place. It’s about arriving at myself. Turning 40 feels less like crossing a finish line and more like stepping into clarity — a maturity of understanding who I am, what I stand for, and where I am intentionally choosing to go. They say 40 is a landmark year, and yes, I believe that wholeheartedly. Not because of the number alone, but because of the years behind it — the two decades of experience, mistakes, lessons, risks, reinventions, quiet growth, and resilience that have shaped me. This is not an ending. This is a beginning — the beginning of my most intentional decade yet. The 40s are not heavy, ...

  Recently, on 19th February 2026 — exactly one week before I turn forty — I had the opportunity to share my journey and insights about pursuing a career in writing with undergraduate literature students at the prestigious IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The topic was deeply personal to me:  The Realities of Building a Career in Writing. Scheduled for a one-hour afternoon session, I arrived prepared with carefully designed PowerPoint presentations, thoughtfully drafted handouts, and a sincere intention to ensure the students left  with something meaningful. I didn’t want it to be just another lecture. I wanted it to be a conversation that lingered on in their minds. That was meaningful. As I entered the room, I was greeted by around thirty bright, eager faces,  young minds filled with curiosity, ambition, and perhaps a little uncertainty. Their energy was infectious. In that moment, I knew this wasn’t about impressing them. It was about being honest w...

It’s easy to fall in love. What’s hard is finding someone who will truly catch you. We grow up hearing that love is destiny, that it arrives unexpectedly, that we cannot control it, that we are at its mercy. And in many ways, that’s true. We cannot decide to fall in love on command, nor can we force someone to love us back. There is no fixed formula, no guaranteed recipe. But there is one love we cannot escape: the love we have for ourselves. For years, we have been told that finding true love means finding another person. Yet what if the most important love has been present all along? What if true love begins the moment we decide to love ourselves properly? By midlife — around 40 for many — this realisation becomes urgent. Healing past wounds, breaking repeated patterns, and recognising what is toxic for our system is no longer optional. It is necessary. We can no longer afford to ignore red flags, suppress our emotions, or tolerate dynamics that diminish us. The right relationship wi...

Music that feels soulful, intimate, and deeply heartfelt is almost synonymous with  Anuv Jain . Currently on his most ambitious 23-city global journey, the  Dastakhat India Tour   (2026–2027) , he is travelling across cities such as New Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Indore, Jaipur, and Bengaluru. The tour began in January 2026 and celebrates everything listeners love about his music — simplicity, vulnerability, and truth. The  Dastakhat World Tour  (2026–2027) will include  international cities across Australia, North America, the UK, Europe and the Middle East. One of the most loved indie-pop artists today, Anuv’s sound is built on gentle acoustic textures of guitar and ukulele. His songs explore love, heartbreak, longing, and self-discovery — themes so personal yet so universally relatable. He captures raw feelings and turns them into journeys that resonate with millions. On none other than Valentine’s Day, fan...

Every one of us faces incidents that shake our world—job loss, rejection, financial pressure, drops in confidence, or the end of a friendship or relationship. Yet what can feel most threatened is something that takes years to build: our dignity. Self-dignity is how you treat yourself when the world isn't clapping. It is the ability to see that you still have worth in your own eyes, even when circumstances try to convince you otherwise. It is the recognition that you deserve respect, that you are more than your current problem, and that your value does not disappear because you are struggling. Dignity is calm, steady, and often private. You do not need an audience to be worthy of respect. When hard times come, they often bring criticism, comparison, ridicule, mistakes, and slower progress. In such moments, you may begin to doubt your worth. But none of us was designed to be perfect. Self-dignity is how you treat yourself when nobody is applauding. It is the quiet decision to remain ...

It’s two weeks before I turn forty, and I woke before the sun’s rays lit the surrounding world. Something in me was restless, not in the usual way. My soul was awakening, and I could feel it. I made my tea and sat on my bed, swallowing all the emotions that had been moving through my heart and soul from the night before into this new morning. Forty. In fourteen days, I would turn forty. The number felt heavy when I heard it, like a suitcase packed for someone else. Inside were old birthdays, long-lost loves and friends, and the jobs I had performed over the past twenty years. Where was I now, and what was the future holding? So many doors had closed softly while others had slammed shut. I had imagined turning forty very differently. I thought it was the age when you were finished, when old age began to settle in. But now I felt the opposite. It felt like a beginning, a reawakening, when I finally started to understand things about myself and about life. I was free from robotic conditio...

Have you ever considered that when you are chosen by someone, bonded, or feel emotionally safe with another person, your brain knows it? It truly does. Shifts in neurochemistry are part of the evidence. The brain registers connection as security. But when romantic love is absent, the mind doesn’t simply shrug it off and move on. Humans are, by nature, a bonding species. We are wired for attachment. When a romantic connection is present, neurotransmitters such as dopamine, oxytocin, and vasopressin increase. These chemicals reinforce pleasure, trust, motivation, and pair-bonding. Love, in many ways, is a neurological priority. It is woven into the brain’s survival design. If there is no partner, however, the attachment system does not power down. Instead, it can heighten sensitivity, increase rumination, amplify longing, and trigger stress responses. The brain may interpret disconnection as a threat, activating some of the same neural pathways involved in physical pain or danger. Yet at...

  Every February, Colaba turns into a vibrant buzz of activity. What once began as a modest arts gathering near the iconic bronze black horse has grown into something far larger, spilling across streets, galleries, and historic institutions. The festival map now extends toward landmarks such as the  David Sassoon Library , transforming familiar neighbourhoods into unexpected stages, exhibition walls, and conversation hubs. For nine days, the city rearranges itself around just creativity. A Festival You Walk Into Music drifts from one lane. A theatre performance unfolds around a traffic island. Children sit cross-legged at workshops while parents hover with cameras and coffee. Somewhere, a poet gathers a quiet crowd. The festival embraces music, theatre, dance, literature, cinema, food, craft, and an enormous range of programming for young audiences. Lakhs of visitors arrive from across Mumbai, many returning year after year with the comforting certainty that art is y...

  No one wakes up on their fortieth birthday with everything figured out, do they? There’s no sudden wisdom download. No magical disappearance of fear or insecurity, is there? It all yet exists. What really changes is your ability to manage them better. There’s no immunity to heartbreak. No special spectacles that suddenly make you choose perfectly in love. But somewhere along the road to forty, something does shift. Your tolerance and maturity change. Anxiety is no longer mistaken for excitement. Curiosity is no longer confused with alignment. What begins to matter is what settles your soul — not what temporarily stimulates it. You start noticing who truly shows up in your life and who doesn’t. Where your energy returns to you and where it quietly drains away. This is when you raise your standards. Not because you’re snobbish. Not because you think you’re above anyone. But because you finally understand what works for you. By now, you’ve seen enough beginnings to know they don’t m...

Cats and ridiculous tales are, in fact, two very serious ideas when it comes to doing their job of entertaining people. Readers want to be charmed and allured by words and scenarios—but how exactly do you do that? Ridiculous tales only work when rules are followed, and these are not your everyday rules. When I was writing the short stories for  Purrfectly Ridiculous Tales , I learned that even absurdity requires boundaries. If a cat could speak, yes, that was fine. If a teacup had opinions—and excellent ones at that—and if gravity simply forgot its job, then it was even better. However, once the nonsense was established, there was no going back. There was no need to apologise or panic that something had gone wrong. These 25 stories shouted at the top of their lungs by treating the impossible as mundane and letting the reader do the job of catching up! Maybe you could call it  selective seriousness  being just as committed to how ridiculous something happens as to what hap...

  Living with dignity means being valued, respected, and accepted for who you are—not defined or limited by a medical condition. For people living with epilepsy, dignity often becomes something they must actively fight for. Epilepsy is not just a medical challenge; it is frequently accompanied by social misunderstanding, fear, and stigma. These societal barriers can deeply affect a person’s confidence, opportunities, and sense of self-worth. This is where the slogan   “Jio Samman Se” – Live with Dignity   becomes profoundly meaningful and necessary. For many individuals with epilepsy, the idea of dignity is challenged every day—at school, in the workplace, within communities, and sometimes even within their own families. Myths and misconceptions surrounding epilepsy often give rise to fear, discrimination, and social exclusion. A lack of awareness can lead people to judge or underestimate those living with the condition, rather than understand and support them.   Jio...