Vani Kola

The smell of the first rain after a long summer. Watching the sky turn orange during a sunset. The comfort of warm hands on a cold evening. A familiar song that instantly takes you back to another ...

𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫? History often reminds us that disasters are never too far away. In our lifetime, we’ve read about cyclones, tsunamis, wildfires, unprecedented floods...

“दुख में सुमिरन सब करे, सुख में करे न कोय.” - 𝘒𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘳 In difficult moments, surrender comes easily. We fold our hands faster when life feels fragile. But rarely pause in prayer when things are goi...

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸. 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺𝘀. In the film, Mr Keating(Robin Williams) encourages the young men, his students, to think and explore who they are and who they ...

𝐀 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 ₹60. 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 ₹2,500. 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. I was on a weekend holiday in Kannur, celebrating a friend's 60th birthday. When you travel i...

It was 1999. Outside the hospital walls, India was in the thick of the Kargil War, and her husband was on the front lines. Inside a sterile room, Deepa Malik was fighting a war of her own - a recur...

𝗔 𝘀𝗸𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. It led me into a story about the Dutch spice trade, a teenage bride, and a forgotten grave. Kannur was never on my bucket...

Over the past few days, I was at the Indiaspora Forum in Bengaluru. What stood out was the energy in the room, people from across the world coming together to engage deeply on one question: what d...

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡. 𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. In 1965, Warren Buffett took Berkshire Hathaway. He didn't invent technology or trade aggressively. He simply bou...

Energized just listening to Smriti Irani ji at the vibrant Indiaspora event. Her big vision, her commitment to enable other women, her advice to be unapologetic yourself, be financially independent...

Innovations become quiet disruptors when they change our behaviours. All tech advancements start as convenience and boom, once we adopt them enough, they become a habit. 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰...

4.06 billion. That’s the number of women in the world today. Only 83 have ever been to space. Roughly 1 in 49 million. Which is why Kalpana Chawla matters. A name that inspires millions of people....

I have known Kanwal since the early 90’s. He mentored a lot of aspiring Indian entrepreneurs including me. Back then, there were very few successful founders of Indian origin. The role models were ...

Music is physics. But also chemistry, circuitry, and mathematics. Sound is simply pressure waves travelling through air. Our body is a bag of fluids, membranes, bones, and electrical impulses. ...

Ugadi, which marks the beginning of a new year, is always a reminder of fresh starts. At home, it has always been about simple traditions, rangoli at the doorstep, festive meals, and the familiar ...

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵? India's literacy jumped from 20% at Independence to 75% today. That didn't happen by accident. But the question we rarely ask is this: 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 ...

It has been 20 years of backing founders, and I have been reflecting on entrepreneurs building products that change how Indians live and work. And one thing that I keep coming back to is that there...

“Patience is not weakness. It is the silent strength of those who trust time.” - Sarojini Naidu She was a woman of indomitable spirit. As we celebrate Women's day in month of March, my mind travel...

Going to Japan to experience Cherry Blossoms is a thing. 63 million approximately annually. But did you know, every spring, Bengaluru quietly turns pink. For a few brief days, entire streets bloo...

One of the world’s most famous math holidays exists because of a pun. 𝐏𝐢 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞. Every year on March 14 (3.14), curious minds celebrate π (pi) day — the constant that begins with 3.14159...