Reminiscing our GIZ days
It has been over 12 years since I moved to Delhi to join GIZ’s Renewable Energy team. Leaving IFMR in Chennai for a short-term project at GIZ—one that was set to end in just eight months—was a significant decision. I took the leap with the hope that a second phase of the project would extend our time at GIZ, and fortunately, I ended up working there for nearly three years. It turned out to be a professionally enriching and transformative experience.
Today, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with some old colleagues and meeting new ones who are now part of the same programs we once worked on. The best part of our GIZ journey is that all of us continue to contribute to energy transition and climate solutions in different capacities. No matter where we are, our paths keep crossing, reinforcing the strong professional network we built during our time at GIZ.
Transforming Agriculture in the Global South – The South-South Agriculture Alliance
I strongly believe that innovative AgTechs can address some of the most pressing problems of the smallholder farmers and small producers. India has been a hub of AgTech innovation and several solutions that have proven themselves in India are now looking to take their solutions to other global south countries.
As part of South South Agriculture Alliance (SSAGA) we are working on innovation and technology transfer across the global south with aim to transform agriculture for the small producers and small farmers. The first cohort of our SSAGA entrepreneurs are already forging their partnership in the Africa region.
It is a pleasure to work with these exciting companies and host them at Sankalp Forum at Nairobi. Watch out for these firms..
WRMS – Innovative insurance products for climate risk facded by the smallholder farmers.
WhrrL – A wharehouse receipt based loan for smallholder farmers that is leveraging blockchain to for building trust and transparency for the lenders
SatSure – Crop yield-management, monitoring and agriculture advisory to farmers using deep-tech (satellite remote sensing, machine learning and AI)
ScaNxt – Affordable soil-testing and other solutions for smallholder farmers
Prompt Innovations – Affordable and sustainable milk chilling solutions for small milk producers.
A Visit to Kigali Genocide Memorial
As I walked out of the Kigali Genocide Memorial, after a harrowing half-hour inside, there was only one thought in my mind: How could anyone be so callous, savage, and brutal? Is it even possible for a human being to reach such depths of cruelty?
Before my first trip to Kigali, I had read about the genocide online and was familiar with it in an academic sense. It was another genocide among the many caused by the greed for power, money, or the vanity of racial supremacy. But I never anticipated that visiting the memorial would be so shocking and devastating to my sanity. I also saw something that warned me that genocides are not a thing of the past.
Genocides are an abominable manifestation of the extreme forms of our prejudices and discriminations. We all have our preferences, affiliations, and stereotypes, on which we build our “us vs. them” model. But when these prejudices and discriminations distort our thinking and erode our humane values to the point where we start dehumanizing others, we become genocidal. There is no other explanation for a friend killing another childhood friend with a machete in the most brutal way, without any remorse. Humans are biologically wired to empathize with babies and children, even strangers and animals. Yet, in a genocide, they decide to kill these small children, ignoring their pleas and pain. Hands that once held these children in their laps were slashing their throats in front of their helpless parents.
The most devastating part was walking into the Children’s Room’ – a room dedicated to the children who were killed in the genocide. The room was filled with photos of happy children’s faces, given by their surviving relatives (in most cases, few remained). Details written below each photograph told us about their likes and dislikes and what their lives were like before they became victims of the genocide. I had braced myself to enter the room, despite my fear of not being able to cope with what I would find there. But I think it was impossible for any father in that room not to be engulfed by emotional turmoil.
Inside the memorial, photography and videography were not allowed. However, there were some truly educational and thought-provoking infographics and posters. I asked permission, my voice betraying the emotional turmoil of a father emerging from the Children’s Room, and captured this picture.
The graphic educates us about the typical playbook or stages of genocide. Sadly the graphic did suggest that we are not far from another genocide unless we start appreciating diversity and fight the propaganda .(Later, I researched the different factors leading to a genocide and found this article by Gregory Stanton to be a great resource).
Apart from being a memorial for the unfortunate victims of the genocide, this memorial has another purpose: educating the public so that there are no more genocides. I think it surely contributes significantly to this goal. Most people who visit the memorial leave shaken, and I believe, more humane than they were before.
Afsanah Guest House, Auroville
The more I speak to the young students I strongly believe that their understanding of climate change is not where it should be. And, most importantly they are not sure of what role they can play. They surely need to think beyond going plastic free and adopting electric bikes.
Currently reading: Living Democracy by Tim Hollo 📚
Finished reading: The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates 📚
Finished reading: Invisible Helix by Keigo Higashino 📚
One of the cleanest cities in Africa: Kigali
Got a domain for my micro.blog. “ireflect.in”
What I read in 2024
My reading goals used to be overly ambitious, leaving me frustrated at year’s end. I’d inevitably read less than I planned. But this year, I focusse more on engaged and slow reading than meeting my quantiative reading goals. I engaged more deeply with my books, becoming more selective, particularly with non-fiction. The books I chose lingered long after the final page, largely because they addressed questions that have become increasingly pressing as I navigate the, shall we say, defining stage of mid-life. These questions have shaken me up, prompting a re-evaluation of my priorities and preferences.
This new approach meant I was quick to abandon books that didn’t resonate. I think that 10-15 books were left unfinished after reading just a small portion of them. Some, mostly non-fiction, weren’t inherently bad in terms of content, but they felt better suited to a blog post or essay rather than a full-length book. A quick glance at the chapter titles and blurbs revealed the core message, and if the writing didn’t elevate that message, I saw no reason to continue when a bookshelf full of carefully chosen books awaited their turn.
The abandoned books weren’t necessarily poor reads; they simply failed to capture my attention. Some examples include:
- Same As Ever: A Guide To What Never Changes by Morgan Housel
- Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach To Success by Adam Grant
- Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant
- Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg
- Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
- Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
Interestingly, all these books are from authors whose previous work I’ve enjoyed, which is why they made it onto my list. They also fall, broadly speaking, into the self-help category, although Oliver Burkeman might object to this label. His book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking dissected popular self-help advice and challenged readers to think beyond conventional notions of success and achievement.
So, what kind of books did engage me this year? The books that forced me to pause, close the cover, and truly contemplate their message. These books provided new contexts for existing questions and raised new ones altogether. Travis Rieder’s Catastrophe Ethics: How To Choose Well in a World of Tough Choices felt like an internal dialogue, prompting me to revisit my lifestyle choices and my individual response to climate change. It was the slowest read of the year, as I frequently stopped to examine familiar questions articulated in new and challenging ways, unraveling and reweaving the threads of my understanding.
Another book that demanded careful perusal of each chapter was Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion. Haidt masterfully lays the groundwork, providing ample context before addressing the central question presented in the title. His approach is both edifying and illuminating. I was motivated to read it this year by the New York Times review of this book (I had a couple of other books with similar themes on my list), and I am glad that I did. Both Catastrophe Ethics and The Righteous Mind are now my go-to recommendations. The former provides guidance on individual action in the face of the climate crisis, while the latter tackles the billion-dollar question of why political and religious divides persist. In fact, every non-fiction book I finished this year is well worth your time.
While my fiction reading is typically dominated by crime fiction, this year I delved into more literary fiction and explored new authors. Two standouts were Sophie Ward’s Love and Other Thought Experiments and Durian Sukegawa’s Sweet Bean Paste. Though vastly different, both offered a delightful reading experience. The former is a philosophical exploration of “thought experiments” that transcends genre, while the latter is a poignant tale about the meaning of life and how to live it fully. The philosophy backgrounds of both authors shine through in their writing.
Non-fiction
- Wanting – The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis
- How Religion Evolved by Robin Dunbar
- How to Know a Person- The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks
- Catastrophe Ethics – How to Choose Well in a World of Tough Choices by Travis Rieder
- The Righteous Mind- Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt
Fiction
- Orbital by Samantha Harvey
- Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa
- Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
- Love and Other Thought Experiments by Sophie Ward
- Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz
- The Edge by David Baldacci
- The Secret by Lee Child
- The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz
- To Die For by David Baldacci
https://www.flickr.com/year-in-review/2024/ Some really interesting highlights from the photography world. Flickr is surely no longer what it used to be 15 years back but I am still there. for nostalgia and ease of your photos getting seamlessly backed up from any device to cloud.
Auroville truly showcases what we can achieve when we believe in the power of community, purposeful living, and harmony with nature. Our visit to the Auroville Botanical Garden was inspiring. Auroville community has restored a barren land into an absolutely mesmerizing landscape.
Staying present, watching the world around me!
Some flowers for Shri Ganesha, Auroville 2025
The Founder’s Grind: Why 70-Hour Weeks Don’t Work for Everyone
Recent statements by prominent business leaders about working 70-90 hours per week have sparked strong reactions. While I believe these founders and senior leaders genuinely see this workload as normal, they miss a crucial point: working for oneself and one’s dream is vastly different from working for someone else’s.
Founders and senior leaders reap the long-term rewards of their intense efforts. They own the business or have compensation packages that grant them a share of the value they create. This motivates them to go above and beyond.
However, most companies lack compensation structures that incentivize and reward employees for their long-term contributions. This misalignment is key. Junior colleagues simply don’t have the same ownership or financial upside. Asking them to consistently work 70-90 hours is unreasonable and unsustainable.
Interestingly, I’ve observed a shift when employees who once resisted long hours become founders or co-founders themselves. Suddenly, 80-90 hour weeks become the norm. Why? Because the game has changed. They now have a direct stake in the company’s success.
This highlights the need for companies to rethink their compensation models. By offering employees a greater share in the value they create – through equity, profit-sharing, or other long-term incentives – businesses can foster a culture of shared ownership and commitment.
The wordpress Twenty Twenty Five theme is first theme in many years that caters to the bloggers (who were the target audience when the wordpress was launched). With a little bit of tweaking it gave my blog a minimalistic look that I was lookin for and made it super snappy and fast.
Our usual gateway to escape from Delhi Pollution and allergies!
