ST

My thatha, in his late 20s saw a photograph of Thirumangai Azhwar once, in someone’s house, and could not get past it. So he went to Thirunagari — Thiruvali-Thirunagari, the Azhwar’s own town. There was a girl there. Twenty-one, carrying water back from the temple well or the nearby pond. He asked her the only thing he could think to ask. “Whose house are you from?” And she said, “உமக்கென்ன?” What’s it to you? That was my paati. Oh, this thudukku — that untranslatable Tamil word for spirited…

In 2009, my father was diagnosed with kidney disease. He had to stop working. For the next ten years, we lived off his savings and some smart financial manoeuvring. I don’t think I fully understood the weight of that until I started earning. I joined Sprinklr on June 3, 2019. The first few years taught me something basic but important — sincerity matters. Showing up, taking ownership, finishing what you start. It sounds obvious. But I’ve seen enough people coast to know it isn’t common.…

Edappadi Palaniswami does not look like a master politician. He speaks in a flat, unhurried cadence, gives no memorable speeches, inspires no great passion. For years, people have underestimated him for exactly these reasons — and they have been wrong. He survived Sasikala. He survived OPS. He held 66 seats in 2021. And then, after the 2024 wipeout, when commentators were writing AIADMK’s obituary, he did not panic or make dramatic statements. He just started going to villages. From July 2025...

Every morning and evening, I recite these two verses from Ramanujar’s Sharanagathi Gadyam asking for forgiveness.