Before He Left: Conversations with My Tatayya

I originally wrote this September 4, prior to coming to India. I should have posted this a few weeks ago on the occasion of what would have been my grandfather’s 100th birthday, September 20. I hope you enjoy this belated posting, which benefits from pictures taken during our trip, as I near the end of…

Hyderabad under zoom

As I start writing, it’s about 5:20 a.m. local time Tuesday morning. A few minutes ago the muezzin recited the first azan of day at HMT Nagar mosque. You see that little map above? I’m sitting near the top corner of that blue rectangle, in my grandfather’s old house, and the mosque is the green triangle. The…

#HotSportsTakes on the Bee

I competed in the National Spelling Bee three times, I placed 3rd twice, I love the Bee, and I appreciate the kinds of skills it gave me. I also love the high profile it has gotten in the last decade and the spotlight these amazing kids have been given. I saw just now a post by Nate…

I Remember

I was first overcome by nostalgia when I was 8 years old, oddly. It was a deep nostalgia, the nostalgia of a much older person. Not the kind that idealizes the past, but one that still mourns its loss. We were moving, from the house we'd lived in my whole (8 years of ) life…

The Real MVPs

In my almost 34 years I've heard mothers referred to as "the real MVPs" countless times, but it's never been delivered with more truth than Kevin Durant did a few days ago. Watch the whole speech to grasp its full power, but he addresses his mother directly starting at the 23:00 mark. For my mom, for…

Random Roundball: On heartbreak, basketball, and a city divided (from 2008)

This is a piece I wrote  (as a Facebook note, incredibly enough) April 8, 2008, in the hours after the Memphis Tigers lost the national title game in overtime to the Kansas Jayhawks. A lot of this piece's references may be outdated, but I think the point never is. So as a proper Internet denizen,…

My Life in Threes

I've been planning to write this for a few days now, forming bits and pieces in my head. As always, life makes your plans for you. 2003 I don't remember exactly how the script goes, but it's something like this: "Srinivas Ayyagari receives the A.B. with a concentration in Biochemical Sciences. He plans to..." That was ten…