Arjun Devran Episode 1: The Price of Happiness They called it a gala because the word auction had acquired a bitter aftertaste. The broadcast opened on velvet—digital, of course—spilling across a stage whose edge glowed with the phosphor-blue logo of the Vault. A presenter in a silver suit moved like a dart of light from one podium to the next. Behind him: columns of data cascading in ribbons, small squares of people’s faces suspended in pastel halos. Above all of it, the city’s night leaned against glass, and rain threaded itself down the sides of towers as if it were…
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Arjun Sharma Bangalore, the city where dreams are made—especially those involving startups and street food. For Ravi, Aarti, and Sandeep, it was a melting pot of both. The trio, childhood friends since their school days, had always been obsessed with one thing—food. But not just any food. They were street food enthusiasts. Their go-to hangouts included bustling streets filled with the sizzling sound of dosas, the smoky aroma of tandoori, and, of course, the crunch of samosas. Ravi, the tech geek of the group, was the one who came up with the idea. “Guys, what if we created an app…
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Atrayee Mullik Part 1: Arriving in Mumbai – A City of Dreams I arrived in Mumbai on a humid summer morning, and the city immediately made its presence felt. As soon as I stepped out of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, I was swept up by the chaos. The air was thick with the combined scent of street food, diesel, and the unmistakable smell of the Arabian Sea. There was no mistaking it—Mumbai was alive. I wasn’t prepared for the magnitude of it all. Mumbai, India’s financial capital, is often described as the city of dreams. But standing in the…
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विशाल कुमार बड़ा कागज संकट ऑफिस के माहौल में एक हलचल थी। Hopeful Hearts की छोटी सी टीम किसी न किसी वजह से हमेशा उधड़ी रहती थी। आज ऑफिस का एक नया दिन था, और जैसे ही अर्विंद, ऑफिस के मैनेजर, ने दरवाजा खोला, उसे एक चिठ्ठी मिली जो सीधे विनोद सर के केबिन से आई थी। “सर्वेक्षण रिपोर्ट के लिए सभी कागज़ों को एकजुट करो!” यह संदेश था। अर्विंद ने सोचा कि इस दिन का काम तो बस चुटकियों में निपट जाएगा। लेकिन, जब उसे यकीन हो गया कि रिपोर्ट का काम करना होगा, तो उसने इस चिठ्ठी का…
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Rishi Kulkarni Monday Mourning The Monday morning at Chai & Chat Media Pvt. Ltd., a mid-sized marketing agency in the heart of Koramangala, Bengaluru, began like any other—late. The office, located on the third floor of a building with exactly one working lift (which frequently stopped at every floor uninvited), had a culture of “flexible timing”—which really meant “come in before lunch, if possible.” By 10:47 AM, only four people had arrived: Sonal had her headphones on and was busy typing ferociously, probably fighting with a vendor over Google Sheets. Tapan was slouched over his MacBook, staring at an empty…