Have you ever started a search for ‘how to make Dosa’ and ended up booking tickets to your hometown’? My blog posts are somewhat a reflection of that – starting with a simple prompt but venturing off on unexpected tangents and quirky connections. Maybe it’s ADHD. Just look at how we started talking about writing and somehow morphed into mathematics, and now it reached ADHD.

“Swirl” is not a negative aspect, but rather a symbolic representation of my continuous learning and growth. I’m continuously evolving. I’m learning new things, and my thoughts reflect on the new nature of learned things. So my contents today might conflict with my thoughts of tomorrow. Naalakshram isn’t your typical blog with a set theme or a rigid structure, it’s Varathan’s view of the world. Here, thoughts flow freely, ideas swirl, and perspectives sometimes clash.

My writing is like a meandering conversation, exploring ideas wherever they take me. Always on the move, just like I got to move away.

For everyone who was redirected to this site, this will be the new home for my mind. Some old posts will be migrated eventually. One day, I’ll be explaining why the move. Who am I kidding, I know my only constant reader is my DDOS’er.

In the meantime, this blog will be free of ads from my end, although Automattic might insert ads in exchange for this free hosting. Again, if you see ads, it’s because you forgot the first rule of the internet, ad-blocker you know what to do! 

There is no particular structure to the contents published here. No definite themes or order. It’s a dumping ground for all the random & silly things that pop into my head.

Not everything you read here is necessarily true and not facts. Some are hearsay. Some are my observations. Very few are fiction, after all, I’m a fiction aficionado. Just remember, from here nothing should ever be taken too seriously.

Naalaksharam is Varathan’s view of the world, reminiscing about the minor things around me, among us.

Layoffs aren’t about robots taking our jobs. Companies use them to make their financials look green and futuristic. Yeah, companies love saving money on labour costs. When a whole industry starts laying people off, it creates a temporary buyer’s market for talent.

With unemployment on the rise in India, people get desperate. Especially when you’ve got a house loan hanging over your head, a family depending on you, bills piling up…etc.
The company will start to rehire, eventually, but hey let’s make more money for the shareholders. Companies use this desperation to lowball offers. There are a thousand other folks out there willing to take a pay cut just to get back on their feet.

Kind of depressing, right? It’s like eventually, you get laid off from your job, only to be rehired for less. But hey, that’s the corporate world for you

Well, those of you who despite the fiction, be prepared to be hoisted by your own petard! Wingardium Leviosa… Pagina Portus! Those who mock the power of fiction will find themselves lifted high, not by magic wands, but by the very words they disdain! Let’s see them escape the clutches of a world born from their own dismissal of stories!

I’m an introvert. I’m more than happy to waste a few hours creating a world and characters in my head, rather than spending 2 minutes in talks. But reading fiction is more than that. It helps in developing one’s creative brain. I started enjoying creative writing once I started reading fiction.

Fiction is a great way for someone to start reading as a habit. Getting hooked on a character, even having empathy for a character, is a great opportunity for personal growth. Now that isn’t to say non-fiction is bad, I do enjoy reading those too.

Reading fiction is like your imagination and thoughts go vivid. You become a NPC character within, without even knowing. On top of everything it provides enjoyment. If you tend to spend time on your phone before bed, try to read a bit.

Here’s the current list that steals my sleep away, not you Netflix.

I guess it’s time to end this rant. Just in case anyone tells you reading fiction is a waste of time, cast a spell on them!

Now, excuse me, I got to get those lost souls back from the portal of pages