Library

books · fragrances · chess

A curated, ever-evolving log of what I'm reading, wearing, and playing outside of code.

Updated when the rotation changes. Opinions are my own and enthusiastic.

Books

04 entries
  • READING

    BuildIt

    Albinder Dhindsa

    Getting an 'Indian version of Hard Thing About Hard Things' vibe from this. Reading to understand the pure chaos behind the scale.

  • READING

    12 Years

    Chetan Bhagat

    Sometimes the brain needs to clear its cache and step away from system architectures. A nostalgic, guilty-pleasure read to reset the system.

  • FINISHED

    The Hard Thing About Hard Things

    Ben Horowitz

    The definitive guide to wartime building. Required reading for anyone who thinks startups are just ping-pong tables and easy funding rounds.

  • PAUSED

    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

    Douglas Adams

    A much-needed break from startup frameworks. A good reminder that the universe is mostly absurd anyway. Will return to it.

Fragrances

07 in rotation
SIGNATURE BLEND · WINTER
The Soul Store
Whiskey Smoke
The Soul Store
Akatsuki

Layering these two is the ultimate Gurugram winter hack. Deep, smoky, and delivers pure main-character energy.

  • HIGH-STAKES

    Bleu de Chanel

    Chanel

    The production-ready monolith. Heavy, reliable, and commands the room. Wear this when the code works and the meeting matters.

  • DAILY / LOUD

    Dylan Blue

    Versace

    Fresh, loud, and universally liked. The highly-available, reliable API of the fragrance rotation.

  • THE CLASSIC

    Cool Water

    Davidoff

    The legacy codebase of perfumes. It's old school, everyone knows it, but it still executes perfectly on a hot summer day.

  • DEEP WORK

    Raw

    Skinn by Titan

    Crisp, clean, and unproblematic. A lightweight daily driver perfect for long, focused coding sessions.

  • HIGH MOMENTUM

    Verge

    Skinn by Titan

    Sharp and energetic. The scent for days when you need to ship fast and break things.

  • OFF-HOURS

    Akatsuki

    The Soul Store

    An experimental, bold choice. Darker undertones reserved for when the laptop finally closes.

Rapid
1200
Blitz
1050
Bullet
900

Climbed out of 900s after a month of only playing after losses.