This is the fourth edition of my monthly review. April was the first month of Q2, and what a month it turned out to be. If Q1 was about laying foundations, April was about momentum. Some long-stuck threads finally moved, an eight-day trip to Bangalore reshaped the second half, and I came home feeling that the year is unfolding the way I want it to.

The month had two halves. The first three weeks were Delhi : routine, family, building, training. Then on April 20th I flew to Bangalore for what was supposed to be an office visit and quietly turned into one of the richest stretches of friendship I’ve had in a while. I came back on April 28th with a head full of conversations and a heart full of warmth. I always say that life has its own season. April turned to be season of going wide.

Family & Relationships

Ryan’s homeschooling officially started this month. The first structured month happened.

After months of planning with Misty, after taking the TC in March, this is now a real thing. We plan to homeschool him atleast for class 8th and then take it from there.

In terms of milestone, he prepared (with google gemini learning mode) and wrote German A2 level exam. Result in few weeks. But in today’s time, resources are unlimited, our constraint is only our own initiative.

He has also started to make progress in Maths Class 9th RD Sharma. If he was in regular school, he would be doing class 8th NCERT right now. That is the whole idea of homeschool - let him study what he is passionate about.

I’ve lot to say and share about this topic, will write a separate blog post on this journey.

Riya had her BITS exam mid-month. We drove to Noida together, her score came back the same day : 197/390. Not enough for a great seat. But the bigger news came soon after: she scored 98.6 percentile in JEE Main 2. That should be enough to get her into a good college. Years of preparation, exam after exam, and now a result that opens real doors. JEE Advanced is mid-May, BITS 2 is May 24th, and we’ll keep showing up. In the same day as the BITS exam, I took Ryan to Kidzania. Two kids, two needs, one day. Both got the time they needed :)

April is also Mom’s birthday month. We celebrated early at Cyber Hub. New iPhone, some clothes, the kids picked up a few things. Mom’s need are simple, she wants to be surrounded by her family. Watching her smile as we sat together, watching the kids fuss over her presents : these are the moments worth showing up for.

Friendships had a beautiful month. One evening was Movie with a friend at Vegas Mall with food and sangria and conversation that ran late. Another afternoon was easily one of my best outings of the year so far : lunch at Yeti, then walking through Khan Market, browsing through Fakirchand bookshop, and ending at Lodhi Garden. Just walking, talking, browsing. Pure presence.

But Bangalore was the friendship festival. Pradeep, Suresh, Kostubh, Mathur, Neeraj, Kamal , Anoop : caught up over weekend. Sunday started with Kamal coming to meet me for a heart-to-heart, then lunch and beer and great conversation with Protima and Sanket, then a long talk with Madhu, then evening with Anoop. Monday brought Meenu over breakfast. And then most special on Monday evening : sitting with a friend, deep conversations over beers. She said something that’s stayed with me ever since:

“We are all just walking each other home.”

So profound. So true.

Wellness & Fitness

The gym held. Even on the road, even with hotel beds and disrupted routines, I trained. That’s the headline of April’s fitness story. The strength habit is now structural, not aspirational.

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Hyrox training continued. On April 29th, I did 72 DB thrusters across 6 sets of 12 : pushed through pain, body responded.

The bigger story for me this month was physio. I finally went for my first proper physio session : after years of training, after Ironmans, marathons, swims, gym blocks, after carrying small aches that I’d quietly normalized. He looked at my body and pointed out an asymmetry I hadn’t fully seen: my right upper body is more developed than my left, probably from years of swim rotation, and that imbalance had been pulling on my hips. He worked on the release, and I walked out feeling better than I had in weeks. It made me wonder how much of “just how my body feels now” was actually solvable. I think this is the start of a longer relationship with physio : recovery as a discipline, not just a reaction to injury. I should have started this years ago.

The miss : Zone 2 and running. The target was 4 sessions a week, the reality was closer to zero in many weeks. Running is still the gap that decides Hyrox Delhi on July 24th. Which is why for May, I’m doing a 31-day run/walk challenge : every single day, at least 30 minutes, no exceptions. The body needs to move daily. The Zone 2 weekly target keeps slipping; a daily floor won’t.

Sleep took another hit during travel. Hotel beds, late conversations, irregular timings. It’s still the silent lever I haven’t pulled. May is the month I run a real experiment.

Finance & Investing

Two long-stuck threads finally moved.

I made my first US stock purchase on IndMoney after months of having the account ready and somehow never clicking through.

The other was the house. Multiple broker calls happened in April : real conversations after months of zero motion. May is the in-person phase : meeting people at the property, getting listing terms on paper. The honest pattern from Q1 was learning without execution; April broke that pattern in two places.

I also did written QLGP analyses on RAIN and IRCTC. Hidden Investment Treasures still isn’t finished, only one chapter read this month, but the daily 30-minute morning block is starting to take shape.

Learning & Writing

April’s article shipped : the Q1 review and March monthly post went up, ending the streak of “drafted but not published.” It feels right to finally have one piece live each month.

I read Meditation for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman cover to cover and took notes. Honestly, it’s the book of the month, and possibly something that’ll stay with me for a long time. There’s a passage in it about accepting overwhelm rather than fighting it, and on April 17th, sitting at my desk with too many threads in my head, I literally sat with my coffee, recalled passages from the book, and felt my cortisol drop. The book worked because I didn’t just read it : I held it close in a moment when I needed it.

Daily Athlete with Ryan kept progressing : workout creator framework being built. The two of us coding together is one of the simple joys of this season.

Mind & Meditation

I meditated for 24 days in April before the Bangalore trip broke the streak. That’s not nothing. But the habit is not yet travel-proof : as soon as the routine got disrupted, the practice fell off. May’s frame is different : not “rebuild the streak” but “make meditation portable.” If it survives travel, it survives life.

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The Mind Illuminated still hasn’t been opened. It’s been on every monthly plan since January. May, finally.

The thing I’m proud of : the mindfulness muscle worked when it mattered. April had moments where I was overwhelmed and managed to pause, breathe, recall, and move forward calmer. That’s the real return on the practice.

Joy

April was joyful in a quieter, more relational way. The big celebrations like Mom’s birthday at Cyber Hub. A movie evening with food and sangria. A long walk through Khan Market with old conversation. The ghazal session in Bangalore. The Sunday with old friends in Bangalore that left me dazed in the best way. Coding with Ryan late into the night.

The micro-adventure goal : pottery class, woodwork, coffee roasting, flying lesson : hasn’t happened since January’s Calum Scott concert. May is when I put it back on the board. Another initiation is also planned for May, and that’s its own new dimension.

Office

Office is the key focus right now. The re-org is in progress and it’s reshaping the scope of work, the teams, and the rhythm of the day. I’ll keep the specifics out of these posts, but it’s a meaningful chapter and I’m fully engaged in it.

The Honest Scorecard

Pillar How It Went
Family & Relationships Very Strong. Ryan homeschooling started. Riya scored 98.6 percentile in JEE Main 2. Mom’s birthday. Bangalore friendship festival.
Wellness & Fitness Strong. Gym held even during travel. First proper physio session after years. Hyrox training real. Zone 2 and running still the gap.
Finance & Investing Breakthrough. First US stock bought. House broker calls done. Two multi-month logjams finally moved.
Learning & Writing Good. April article shipped. Meditation for Mortals finished with notes.
Mind & Meditation Mixed. 24 days, then travel broke the streak. Habit not yet portable.
Joy Present. Through people, books, walks, music.
Travel Active. Bangalore week was rich. Bihar with Mom and Japan still pending.
Office Key Focus. Re-org in progress. Fully engaged.

Looking Ahead to May

May is the second month of Q2 and the deadline month for several Q2 rocks. The non-negotiables:

The Bihar trip with Mom : deferred since January, hard deadline now. Riya’s JEE Advanced and BITS 2 anchor mid-May. The initiation happens this month and I want to walk into it prepared.

Hyrox training continues with the 31-day run/walk challenge as the daily floor, at least 30 minutes of run or walk every single day. The kids’ passports need renewal so the Japan trip can be planned through May.

Office continues as a key focus with the re-org in progress. On the finance side, keep buying on IndMoney, finish Hidden Investment Treasures, and convert the broker calls into face-to-face meetings.

April broke through on momentum. May is for translating momentum into outcomes.

I am a warrior monk.

This is part of a monthly series where I review my life across the pillars that matter to me. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s awareness. If you know where you are, you can choose where to go.