AAYANSH DEV

27TH OF NOVEMBER, 2025

Just as we thought we had finally found our rhythm as parents, out pops our second son in magnificent array to test our limits! Hehe… True to his name however, Aayansh is a new deific ray of light in the tapestry of our lives when nearly everything else around us seems to have hit a rock bottom. Up front though, major props to my in-laws for sticking by our side on occasions even more challenging than the first time around... We may not always look eye to eye, but my wife and I have always stood up for those who would do the same for us, and who do not tuck tail and run at the slightest hint of inconvenience.

Now, I have often wondered if there was one lesson above all else that I could pass on to my children growing up, what would it be? To answer that, let’s follow a simple algorithm… Firstly, what is the most desirable state of being? Undoubtedly, one that has peace at its core, where we can be controlled neither by expectation nor by hopelessness… Then secondly, how do we achieve it? I’d say by simply living outside the systems designed to place limiters on us, and not with our best interest at heart! When we are pinned against a wall, sometimes it’s easier to break through the wall rather than the pinning force... We are hardwired to think traditionally, but we must train ourselves to extract the most out of any given system rather than the other way around, and when such systems are rendered unnavigable, one unapologetically owes oneself an exit plan. Taking an example from the world of sport, most MMA athletes often nag about their renumeration not matching the amount of physicality entailed in their job, while some simply switch to boxing, offering not only better pay but also a lighter schedule, using only a subset of their existing skill repertoire.

Robert Kiyosaki in his bestselling work ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ talks about "minding one’s own business", which lays the blueprint for what I’m trying to convey here. When we are born, we are full of endless possibilities, but the world around us puts up a clinic pumping us brim-full of negativity, with our forerunners listlessly passing on the same down the line as well… But it ends here and now! There shall be no more coercing of children in our family into set standards, but only guidance to set the bar higher than we ever could, so that they won’t ever have to make their parents proud but only themselves.

Be mindful that as long as you tie your self-worth down to a particular system, your peace will always be dependent on it too. Just like back in my IIT days, where I may not have had the best grades but sure as hell got the highest package offered during our on-campus placements in our immediate batch, more often than not the same system offers different opportunities to different individuals, which may not always be to scale and best treated simply as a means to an end. So let us resolve to imbibe such a rugged ideology in our day-to-day lives, rising above the characteristic middle-class rat race mentality and reserving our true focus only for that which is of paramount importance – raising our future generation!

WELCOME INTO THE WORLD AAYANSH 👶

Not even a day old but already getting wheeled around fondly by big bro! Priceless XD