Reading & Writing

Reading life in a nutshell

1. Go to a book club meet 2. Gain inspiration and insight 3. Add good reads to your list 4. Realize you can’t read most of them, ever 5. It then sinks in that it’s an amplifying loop 6. Feel unproductive despite growth

Essays & Musings

Plunge, hope, and rise—poetic perspectives

I recently read lyrical poems by Aurobindo, an Indian freedom fighter, philosopher, and writer. Some of his verses capture deep views on life, and you can almost live through the emotional cycle of progress. The fall But suddenly there soared a dateless cry, Deep as Night, imperishable as Time; It

Reading & Writing

Places I’ve published Moon Monday editions from

* Airports * Trains * Cafés * Amid conferences * Hostels and Hotels * Recently from a beach * Weddings * When traveling in Europe and China * A hospital How? Since the day is etched in the name, Moon Monday, I plan every week around it. Someday I’d love to publish a Moon Monday from the Moon.

Essays & Musings

Responding is better than replying

The other day I posed a question on the Web that has (gladly) initiated a string of responses from people. And by that I do not mean comments on social media but entire blog posts. Before sharing a few thoughts on that and making it all meta (the good kind)

Reading & Writing

The story of my blogs

I’m the latest guest on the “People and Blogs” series by Manu. Hearing from people in this series has been a great way for me to meet some of their blogs over coffee. And now some of you web humans reading this might like the story of my blogs

Reading & Writing

The media and arbitrary ethics

Someone from a legacy Indian media outlet called me recently to ask me to write an article on Indian space within five days, and for free. They expected me to agree to commit to it then and there itself. I said I’d have considered contributing but the timeline is

Reading & Writing

Poem: For every child

Here’s a little poem I wrote for one of my close friends a few years ago when he had embarked upon a new journey in his teaching ambitions. For every child that dares to dream and every spark of curiosity within For their bold endeavors in jest and that

Essays & Musings

Common writing mistakes to avoid

As I grew in my professional writing journey, I realized some writing mistakes I had been making for years. And they seem to be common among aspiring writers I keep coming across. So I’m sharing simple not-to-do tips here along with explanations. Don't add any images to

Essays & Musings

Science writing tip: Unlearn academic verbiage

Scientists and engineers tend to write posts on the Web filled with jargon and dry, passive sentences, things common in research papers. Their academic training makes them write not just complex sentences but also deters them from reaching the “period” soon enough. If you’re a scientist, engineer or anyone

Reading & Writing

How I organize notes for writing an article

Here’s a sneak peek at how I gather and structure notes for writing each of my professional space exploration articles. The tool you see in action is the wonderful Workflowy, which allows you to structure thoughts to multiple levels of depth, and get in and out of each thought

Reading & Writing

Talk: How to become a science writer

In this video, I breakdown the skills required to become a science writer, and how to convince an Editor of a publication to commission an article to you. These insights are based on my learnings as a professional writer on space exploration. From my talk to physics graduate students at

Reading & Writing

Talk: Career options in science writing and communication in India

Here are some good career opportunities you have in India if you want to write or communicate science to the masses. From my talk to physics graduate students at the University of Mumbai.