Skip to main content

A walk down memory lane - celebrating the 150th blog post

I began blogging in January 2010. I do not recall how exactly I started, but I remember that my parents were the reason. They prompted me to start blogging after I showed an interest in writing and web design (although admittedly, blogging involves minimal amounts of design skills). Over the last 10 years, I have been writing on and off, with my longest break lasting over a year. I have been quite regular over the last 3-4 years, and have been writing with an increased frequency in the last month because of the ongoing Coronavirus lockdown.

This post is special because it is the 150th post to be published on my blog, so I decided to explain how and why I started, and what the course of the blog has been.

For the first 6-7 years, I called myself 'Little Mairpady', because I despised the fact that my parents had omitted the ever-so-cool name 'Mairpady' from my surname (my Dad's full name is Rakesh Rao Mairpady Chandrashekhar). It was my way of expressing my identity - Sanjith Rao MAIRPADY. However, that phase did not last too long, and I am now content with the name that was given to me at birth.

In 2016 or 2017, I decided to rename my blog to 'Reviews with Rao', as the 'Mairpady' phase had long disappeared, and I was no longer 'Little'. In 2018, I decided to purchase my blog's domain name and the URL to my website changed from https://littlemairpady.blogspot.com to just https://sanjithrao.com.
Frequent visitors to my blog are aware of its contents - I am politically active but do not limit myself to it. I write a fair bit about my life, investments, technology, and various other things I find interesting. I do not know how many of my readers today were also keeping up with my blog back in 2010 and in the subsequent years, so I decided to pick some of my favourite articles from the last 10 years and provide links to them for you to enjoy and celebrate the 150th!


1. Microlight - November 2011

A day I remember and speak about to this day. The first time I sat in a two-seater plane and got an aerial-view of Bangalore, listen in on ATC conversations and also co-pilot a plane!

2. IMS (Inventory Management System) - July 2012

An article on a program my Dad wrote for me to maintain an inventory of the books we had by giving each book a code that would let us know about the quality of the book, whether it was with us or lent (to a friend) etc.

3. My Favourite Restaurant - Habanero - Review - August, 2013

It used to be my favourite restaurant until they sadly closed a few years ago. My love for food has always existed!

4. Build a Toilet Project - February 2015

A project for which I raised funds via door-to-door campaigns to address the hygiene issue created by the lack of toilets in slum-dwellings, mainly in the outskirts of Bangalore.

5. Why shows like Shark Tank are extremely misleading - December 2017

An article about Shark Tank, a popular show in which entrepreneurs make a funding-pitch to investors, and how it misleads a majority of their viewers - the young, innocent and naive!

6. Unsettling Signs of Fascism - India - October 2018

An article that initially drew a lot of flak, even from people I knew personally, but something that many people agree with today, not even 2 years on.

7. The Death Penalty in the 21st Century - March 2020

An article that attracted double the page views, and thrice the engagement I usually get after publishing is my personal favourite of 2020. It was published immediately after the hanging of the Nirbhaya convicts in which I provided an argument for and against the death penalty but concluded by saying that it should not exist.

BONUS: One (out of 3) of the times I got covered in the press - an article about me in  the Times of India.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Rakesh Rao25 April 2020 at 08:49

    Very nicely written summary capturing the key moments (and the posts) in your blog.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Great Omani Coastal Route

Route 15 : Muscat-Nizwa The parents, seemingly forever, had been planning a trip to Oman. Why Oman? Well, that’s a question I asked myself too. My dad, in the 90s, spent close to a decade in the UAE but barring a work trip, had never visited Oman. Fast forward to the 21 st   century, countless Oman Air flights from India to Europe later, he found himself stranded in Muscat. A ‘technical difficulty’ they said. He visited the Sultan Qaboos Mosque but didn’t get to see much more – it was only a 24-hour layover. However, the constant propaganda he was subjected to via the in-flight entertainment, and the cabin crew he made conversation with, convinced him that the country has a lot to offer. A friend from the UAE, who spoke highly of Oman, apparently also played a role.     The parents had their mind set on Oman. The stars aligned and clubbing together a bunch of bank holidays in India, they decided on visiting in April. Unfortunately, or fortunately (the jury is still out), ...
1 comment
Read more

Visiting the Kasturinagar (KA-03) RTO - a tumultuous but manageable experience to get a Learner's/ Driver's License without an agent/ driving school

Ask anyone, and I can guarantee that they will have a story (and in most cases, many stories) about their trip, or rather, numerous trips to the RTO for something as simple as getting a Learner's License (LL) or a Driver's License (DL). In this blog, I hope to make your life a tad bit easier by guiding you through the entire process, which may seem easy at first but is full of (overcome able) challenges if you know what you are doing. I turned 18 in January this year, and besides cutting a cake, I worked on my LL application online. I challenged myself to complete the entire LL to DL process by myself and without the help of an agent or a driving school, unlike what the majority do. The lengthy application process and multiple visits to the RTO, impressed upon me why most people decided to pay a little extra to get an agent to do it for them. Still, I was determined not to pay a single rupee more than the official cost. I succeeded.  Do note that this answer is concerning the K...
15 comments
Read more

Beating the winter blues - Morocco

  After having spent just over two months in England, with short trips to America’s east coast on work and Paris for Diwali, I was itching to travel somewhere new – somewhere I hadn’t been before.     I found myself in one of the study rooms at university, unable to focus on my readings. Winter was setting in. The days were getting shorter, London was getting greyer, and the sun had gone into hibernation. An important question was running in my mind – one that would determine how I would overcome the impending winter blues – what will I do during the Christmas break? A typical international student’s response would be simple – book a return ticket to your home country. However, as a seasoned international student, my response had to be different, right? With a not-so-powerful passport in hand, I grappled with my options. Limited by choices of visa-regime friendly choices, I first laid out a bunch of criteria for an anti-winter blues holiday of choice. I wanted three thing...
1 comment
Read more

Sachin Tendulkar 100th Century

On 16th of March 2012, Sachin Tendulkar became the first person to make 100 International Centuries. He made his 100th Century against Bangladesh. After Gautam Gambhir got out very early in the match, it was Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli who played well till the 35th over. During the 35th over, Virat Kohli too got out. After a few more overs, Tendulkar reached his 100th Century. Nasir Hoosain of Bangladesh said, "Don Bradman was great, but Sachin is greater". Later in the innings, Tendulkar got out for 108. About Sachin Tendulkar Full name- Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar Born- 24th April 1973 Born in- Mumbai, Maharashtra Nicknames- Little Master, Tendlya Height- 5ft, 5 in Batting Style- Right Bowling Style- Right Hand Medium, Leg Break, Off break Role- Batsman Test Debut- 15th November 1989 Vs Pakistan ODi Debut- 18 December 1989 vs Pakistan ODI Shirt Number- 10 For more information click here .
3 comments
Read more

FUD! - RBI's Decision Sends Worldwide Crypto Markets into a Tizzy - What is the actual scenario like?

India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India on 5th April, 2018 announced that all regulated entities such as banks will not be allowed to deal with cryptocurrencies (Virtual Currencies as they call them). Banks have been told to wind up all transactions with cryptocurrency exchanges within three months. Within minutes of this announcement, Bitcoin slumped 27%. Global markets attributed the fall in price to RBI's decision as India has a pretty large cryptocurrency investor market. However, RBI's decision is outdated and virtually has no effect on investors and exchanges. Source A few months ago, couple of banks like HDFC bank had voluntarily  withdrawn from dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges. I know this as a fact as when I started investing, I initially tried to deposit money on a cryptocurrency exchange using HDFC bank as I generally used their services, but due to them pulling out, I was forced to look at other options. This was around September, 2017. Duri...
3 comments
Read more

My New Cycle Horn

I have got a new cycle horn that makes a very loud sound. It scares people on the road and they move. I put it on my cycle because people in my apartment don’t move when cycles come. So I got this idea. People love my horn and everybody touches it. It makes and pom-pom sound. Here is a picture of the horn:  
4 comments
Read more