My Favorite Substack Writers Answer A Few Questions

A new chapter of writing

Dear friends,

When I started this newsletter, I thought of it as a self-exploration. It was a solo trip to my soul.

It took me three years to realize that I was wrong.

I could’ve never thought of the possibility of meeting all of you here. You are part of the force that has changed the course of this journey. I was not alone.

I want to tell you that your presence matters to me.

Even when you are unaware of it, even when we are thousands of miles apart, even in this hyper-connected world that could sometimes feel lonely, I want to tell you it’s a miracle that we crossed paths. I want to tell you that you are not just a reader. You are my friend.

The writing I have done in the past was pretty selfish. I was going deep into my heart. I was writing the things that I wanted to read.

That’s enough.

It’s time to climb out of the rabbit hole. I want to take a different path. I want to go into your heart.

I know why I keep coming back to Substack instead of other places online. It is because of you. I’ve met some incredible people I might never meet elsewhere. You make me feel connected in ways I’ve never experienced anywhere else.

And I thought, why not ask them a few questions and see how it goes? It is the magic of this community. I picked five of them and all said yes. These are the writers who have touched my heart with their work. They are more than generous with their time to give me the most thoughtful answers to these rather personal questions.

I am grateful for their kindness, enthusiasm, and friendship.

Here is a quick rundown of who they are. I will publish one conversation each week starting next Friday, then we will return to the biweekly cadence.

I am gathering more stories from other writers too. Stay tuned!

Linart is the first writer I have connected with on Substack. Considered a Math wizard, he keeps reinventing himself and pushing the limit of what it means to live a meaningful life. Things have been tough for him in the past few months. This series wouldn’t be complete without him.

“Is this really the kind of life I want to live? What’s the price I’m paying for by staying in the path I’m currently taking?”

kev is my source of inspiration whenever I am feeling strained. He has perfected the skills in synthesizing information, skateboarding, reimagining consumerism, and taking care of his kids while moving from Lyon to San Francisco. I love his reading habit:

There is no secret. I make time for reading on an everyday basis. It's usually the last thing I do before going to bed. I don't read in bed though. I read in our living room - often with a hot tea - until I feel my body just wants to go to sleep. I usually read for an hour. Sometimes way less, sometimes more. I don't put any pressure on myself. The goal here is just to relax, and read. Across the day, I look forward to that moment.

Rish opens my eyes to the world of immigrants, the children of outsiders, and those of us who feel out of place in our hometowns. He has the magic to turn a seemingly trivial conversation with an Uber driver into something extraordinary.

I've come to realize that when I'm in the US, I'm Indian. But when I come to India, I'm an American. It's a silly little paradox but its the result of having grown up in America with American friends and traditions and norms and whatnot. I say whatnot, I'm pretty damn American. But then again, I grew up with English as my second language, an alter of 20+ gods in the "office room," and bi-annual trips to the birthland. So I'm pretty damn Indian too.

Harrison empowers me to think in ways I could’ve never thought about on my own. He is the one who shows me it’s possible to work towards the goal of becoming a full-time writer. It’s possible to work on projects of my own. It’s possible to make your dream come true. I am thankful to have met him.

We can't have equal measures of commitment and non-commitment. But what we can do is commit for a while and then relax that commitment later.

We can't be equally free and constrained at exactly the same time. But we can be free one moment and constrained the next.

So, when it comes to life's great polarities, instead of sticking doggedly to one pole, or trying to root ourselves to the dead centre of a spectrum, we must try to move along it from left to right and back again. We must spend some time choosing one thing and then choosing its opposite.

Elle and her husband are backpacking around the world. While keeping everything on the Kindle and Feedly apps, she is carrying a hard copy of the work of Tao Yuanming. This hits me hard because this is precisely what my schoolmates and I would try to forget as soon as we walked out of our Chinese Language class in Hong Kong. My wife and I did a round-the-world trip back in 2016-17. Elle reminds me of all those moments that are close to our hearts.

I have plans to study a self-governing forest in Germany, a waste-free village in Japan, a cooperative in Spain, a solarpunk garden in the UK, a self-governing city in Italy, and autonomous cities in China. I’m excited to meet people and communities around the world who are creating prototypes for the rest of us and to write about how they might contribute to a better future.

The quality of our lives depends on the quality of our relationships.

I hope this is a step forward in the right direction to where I want my relationships to be.

See you next week with my conversation with Linart.