📚 Buffett’s 2025 letter, Desperately seeking Shah Rukh, Teaching card games to kids, Developer philosophy, Sport stacking, An open letter to my dog
Samarth Bansal & Truth be told, Chalk-board drawings, Decisive moments
Hello, this is post #201.
Last week was hectic but interesting. I was in Mumbai for a work event that turned out to be an eye-opener. It helped me rethink a lot of assumptions about our users and team. I also got to attend a meeting with a veteran from the TV & OTT world—hearing how reality TV shows are designed to bend our reality was mind-blowing!
That said, I didn’t enjoy the travel part. Swanky airports aside, flights and overall operations have gone downhill over the past few years. The Indian aviation sector could really use more competition and some serious disruption.
Back in Bangalore, my schedule was packed, but I also got in some deep thinking. One good conversation can bring so much clarity—I was lucky to have a couple of those this week.
The weekend was the usual whirlwind—meeting friends, birthday party, and running around with my interior designer for material selection.
Between the heat and the packed schedule, I’m feeling drained. I need a serious energy boost—let’s see where I can find it!
For now, let’s take a quick look at today’s curation:
A lot of cover today, let’s get to it right away…
📝 Warren Buffett’s 2025 Letter to Shareholders
If you haven’t read Warren Buffett’s 2025 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, you should. It’s a masterclass in writing and storytelling. He seamlessly blends personal stories, anecdotes from his business, and philosophical insights into a compelling take on one of the world’s most influential companies. It feels personal – like it was written just for you, to make you more aware and better informed. Here’re some of my favorite snippets.
Some management wisdom:
When discussing problems at specific subsidiaries, we do, however, try to follow the advice Tom Murphy gave to me 60 years ago: “praise by name, criticize by category.”
But I’ve also had many pleasant surprises in both the potential of the business as well as the ability and fidelity of the manager. And our experience is that a single winning decision can make a breathtaking difference over time. (Think GEICO as a business decision, Ajit Jain as a managerial decision and my luck in finding Charlie Munger as a one-of-a-kind partner, personal advisor and steadfast friend.) Mistakes fade away; winners can forever blossom.
Storytelling:
Huge numbers can be hard to visualize. Let me recast the $26.8 billion that we paid last year. If Berkshire had sent the Treasury a $1 million check every 20 minutes throughout all of 2024 – visualize 366 days and nights because 2024 was a leap year – we still would have owed the federal government a significant sum at yearend. Indeed, it would be well into January before the Treasury would tell us that we could take a short breather, get some sleep, and prepare for our 2025 tax payments.
Wit & making it personal:
My wise and good-looking sister, Bertie, of whom I wrote last year, will be attending the meeting along with two of her daughters, both good-looking as well. Observers all agree that the genes producing this dazzling result flow down only the female side of the family. (Sob.)
Bertie is now 91 and we talk regularly on Sundays using old-fashion telephones for communications. We cover the joys of old age and discuss such exciting topics as the relative merits of our canes. In my case, the utility is limited to the avoidance of falling flat on my face.
If you liked this, I had covered some more of his writing in the past: On succession planning, 2023 letter and 2022 letter
🫂 Keep Coming Back
shares a formula for getting more people in your life. This snippet captures the essence of her idea. Her examples will make it more relatable. From church to trivia nights there are many simple and accessible ways to meet people regularly and build your village. Here take a look:
Rosie shared another gem at the start of her post.
A funny thing happens when you start writing about a particular theme or topic: People expect that you are an expert on it. It’s usually the opposite. I frequently start writing about things because I don’t know anything about them, or it’s a concept or question that I need to figure out for myself.
A powerful message for anyone diving deep into a theme. I’m truly grateful for how she articulated it.
📚 Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh
I finally finished Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh. Sharanya Bhattacharya weaves together the stories of India's lonely young women and their search for intimacy and independence, with Shah Rukh Khan as the thread connecting them all. It’s a compelling read that explores two key themes—the struggles of Indian women and the role of films and actors (SRK, in this case) in shaping society.
I picked up this book after hearing Sharanya on Mukesh Bansal’s podcast, and I knew I had to give it a try. It has its moments, offering deep insights into the thoughts and lives of the women she profiled. Some sections felt dragged or overemphasized, but nothing that took away from the experience. I give this a 4/5.
Her take on SRK isn’t a revelation—he has carefully built his persona over decades. What stands out is how she picks up on the subtle clues and ties them back to the women’s lives.
Over 15 years ago, in my first blog, I wrote a multi-part series on SRK’s life and career moves. Looking back, it’s satisfying to know that I was noticing and analyzing those moments in a way that still holds true today.
🃏 Teaching Card Games to 6yo
Last week,
shared his experiment of teaching and playing card games with his 5-year-old daughter. They started with Blackjack, moved through a baby version of Rummy and Poker, and finally landed on Donkey.Sounds wild? Not to me. I’ve had my own rounds of teaching Rummy to my 6-year-old—who now plays like a pro and beats me with ruthless determination. I’m not a Poker or Blackjack player, so she’ll have to wait to try those.
Karthik was inspired by a conversation with Montessori educator Rahul (RG), who has used card games to introduce kids to data science. His post took me down memory lane, recalling the card games we played as kids, but what really caught my attention was the podcast episode he mentioned.
I’m so glad I checked it out. Rahul is a teacher at heart, but his approach is unlike most educators I’ve come across. He breaks down the Montessori method and explains why it builds a stronger foundation for a child’s learning journey.
Sonam & I had debated Montessori for our kids but ultimately chose the usual ICSE route. Listening to this podcast, I wish we had met Rahul earlier—our decision might have been different.
And lastly, his ideas on introducing advanced topics like data science to kids are fascinating. A few of his math-based exercises could be a fun way to explore learning from a fresh perspective.
I highly recommend this one! Karthik and Rahul geek out over their love for data while slipping in some great parenting and teaching insights along the way. Kudos, guys!
💡 Wisdom from Developer Philosophy
Engineers create some of the most compelling and concise documents. Qntm’s Developer philosophy is one such piece for me. It’s a short but valuable read—even for non-tech folks.
Here are some snippets I’m saving for reference:
(via sidebar)
✍️ Samarth Bansal & Truth Be Told
A couple of months ago, a longform essay caught my attention: India built a perfect system to ignore its deadly air. (It's working.) The topic was unusual, the publication new. It was bold, deeply researched, yet easy to grasp. Then I came across another intriguing piece: Bollywood's fantasy of control is failing everyone. A completely different theme, but the same commitment to depth and thoughtful analysis, free from clickbait.
Now, I’m sold on The Plank. Samarth Bansal is building a platform driven by sharp observations, meaningful questions, and in-depth coverage on topics that truly matter.
But this post isn’t about those essays (though you should definitely check them out). It’s about the writer and creator behind them – Samarth Bansal. A few clicks and a quick read reveal that he also played a key role in shaping the Truth Be Told blog and the content strategy for The Whole Truth brand.
In “Truth Be Told: How I ended up at The Whole Truth,” Samarth shares his journey of building two distinct yet deeply connected spaces for storytelling. I’ve always believed that storytelling and culture-building need a passionate, opinionated anchor — someone who stays the course despite challenges. Samarth’s story reinforces that belief.
What I do know is that the situation I’ve described was not an accident. It’s consciously constructed. For me, it’s like participating in an n-of-1 career experiment to imagine new ways to think about work. Not just any form of work that gets cash in your bank—I mean work you truly care about, which reflects your values, and allows you to chase seemingly impossible missions.
After the obligatory bangs-his-head-on-the-wall and screams-with-the-face-stuffed-inside-the-pillow, we calm down, start observing, start asking questions, and start writing. And write I did. Not as much as I’d have liked to, but I did.
A brilliant essay—I highly recommend it to anyone chasing their passion. Samarth doesn’t sugarcoat the struggle or offer quick fixes, but he does provide hope by showing one possible path forward—perhaps the most fulfilling one.
The Plank has been outstanding so far, and I hope it continues to thrive. If you’re looking for meaningful content that matters for India and Indians, give them a read and a follow.
🏆 Fascinating World of Sport Stacking
For the past six months, I’ve been grappling with the distinction between a game and a sport. Some activities transition from one to the other, but pinpointing the exact moment of change isn’t easy. Some start as simple activities, evolve into games, then become sports—and sometimes even spectator sports.
Here’s one fascinating example: If you ever stacked cups in gym class, blame my dad! A fun story about the origins and rising popularity of ‘sport stacking’.
"When you are doing anything kind of competitive, it seems like it's much better when you are doing it with people. I really loved the aspect of kids commenting on my videos, saying they started stacking because of me. What greater pleasure can you get than inspiring other people to do what you love the most?”
I haven’t played this game myself, but a quick dive into YouTube makes it clear why it’s exciting—both to play and watch.
(via Now I Know)
✨ Everything else
Hamacream is a high school teacher from Japan and creates a different kind of magic on her blackboards. You’ve to see it to experience it. Simply stunning work! (via DenseDiscovery)
Henri Cartier-Bresson captures the decisive moments. These are fleeting, unstaged, and impossible to plan. His magic is in being ready, framing them beautifully, and mastering the art of noticing. Pure joy in the smallest moments. (via Storythings)
And finally, here’s a great piece to tickle your funny bones: An open letter to my dog who, if i'm being completely honest, lowkey kinda sucks. Father Karine kills it with her witty writing and touching observations.
ICYMI…
Last week, I took a quick look back and shared the best from my last 200 posts—a curation of a curation. It’s a snapshot of how my curiosity and interests have evolved over the years.
You can read it here.
That's all for this week, folks!
I hope I've earned the privilege of your time.
If you liked this post, please hit the ❤️ below and leave a comment to tell me more. Forward it to a friend who will find it useful, there is no better way to make this world more curious!
I read and enjoyed desperately seeking shahrukh. Thanks for sharing the podcast link, will check it out as well
Buffet's letter was a great read, especially the part about owning mistakes. It's surprisingly hard to find this culture in most companies. Amazon was particularly good at it (even internally). I particularly liked the phrasing used for being vocally self-critical in amazon LP:
"Leaders.....are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best."
Visceral and on point.