Author: udhara

  • A Life Less Ordinary Archives: Writer Ashok Ferrey

    A Life Less Ordinary Archives: Writer Ashok Ferrey

    I’ll never forget the time I got to spend with Sri Lankan polymath, writer and curator of The Ceylon Literary Festival, Ashok Ferrey, during one of the first recording sessions of my podcast, A Life Less Ordinary, back in 2017. My co-host, Tanya and I, got more than carried away by Ashok’s fascinating life and…

  • An escape from the city

    An escape from the city

    A couple of weekends ago, Peter and I visited Daylesford, the charming little town popular with Melbournians seeking refuge from the workweek. It was our first overnight escape from the city since we moved to Melbourne in 2022 and something we had been looking forward to doing for a while. And it was so worth…

  • Podcasts!

    Podcasts!

    While there’s plenty of noise in the podcast universe, there are countless sources worthy of soundtracking meal prep in the kitchen, cleaning the house, drives to the store, flights to places near and far. Here are some of my faves.

  • A short breather from the concrete

    A short breather from the concrete

    On Friday I took the train from Melbourne’s CBD up to the edge of the beautiful Dandenong Ranges National Park with a friend visiting from Sydney, to do one of the most popular bushwalks in the city, the 1000 Steps trail. Surrounded by the world’s tallest flowering plants, these towering 70m+ eucalyptus trees known as…

  • Why is Apple Music keeping this a secret?

    Why is Apple Music keeping this a secret?

    I used to be a resentfully loyal Apple Music user, overcoming pangs of envy every time my partner’s Spotify algorithm spat out the perfect mix of tunes to discover. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve secretly, then not-so-secretly Shazam’d his recommended music to add to my own library. And let’s not even bother…

  • How to answer a question

    I stumbled across this YouTube reel of Jay-Z being interviewed by the legendary journalist Nardwuar in 2008, where he is asked the most basic question, “Who are you?”. What a brilliant case study on how to enhance the flavour of a question with insight, depth, unexpected and story! Full interview here. I also started the…

  • A Life Less Ordinary Archives: Four Years to Everest

    A Life Less Ordinary Archives: Four Years to Everest

    In 2017, I collaborated with writer Tanya Warnakulasuriya to create the podcast ‘A Life Less Ordinary’, featuring remarkable individuals from Sri Lanka. The first episode highlighted the inspiring journey of the first Sri Lankans to summit Mount Everest, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and determination.

  • A Bookish Odyssey: My 2023 in Books 

    A Bookish Odyssey: My 2023 in Books 

    In 2023, I achieved my goal of reading 25 diverse books, from Viola Davis’ inspiring memoir to Andrew Chen’s insightful analysis of network effects. Highlights included Hilary Mantel’s transporting historical novel and Rosamund Young’s eye-opening account of animal lives. I also delved into finance, philosophy, and the music industry. Here’s to an epic 2024 filled…

  • Paris revisited

    Paris revisited

    Peter and I joined the rest of Australia in travelling to Europe this summer, first stop Paris. It had been nearly a decade since I last visited Paris, heading there with my partner to spend time with his parents who kindly invited us to join them for a few days their annual retreat to their…

  • An ever-so-brief look back on 2022 (well into 2023)

    An ever-so-brief look back on 2022 (well into 2023)

    2022 flew by so fast it was only on an 8 hour flight to Singapore in late December that I could take stock of the milestones that made the year so colourful. It wasn’t just the feeling of time moving faster the older I get, but waking up to the pace of post-COVID Business As…

  • Best of 2021

    Best of 2021

    Every year I take a decent chunk of time to figure out how I grew, where I need to pay more attention, and who I want to become in the year ahead of me. Along the way I inevitably take stock of the books, podcasts, food, and more that nourished my mind and spirit. Here…

  • A Life Less Ordinary: Taking Batik to New Places with Fern Chua

    A Life Less Ordinary: Taking Batik to New Places with Fern Chua

    Fern Chua is the award-winning founder of FERN, a Malaysian sustainable and high-end fashion label rediscovering the elegance of the ancient Asian fabric art form, Batik. Fern and I chatted earlier this year on the unexpected path that led her to Batik, the challenges building and growing her team of artisans from the ground up,…

  • Kill upskilling.

    With “upskilling” being such a buzzword at many companies, I wonder how many organizations actually achieve genuine upskilling outcomes instead of masking poorly formed KPIs that suggest some effort to make employees more productive. The best case scenario seems to be an impossible ask for a lot of businesses: to give every individual in a…

  • A Few Reads and a Listen: October 2021

    A Few Reads and a Listen: October 2021

    If I had to pick a theme that connects the assorted links below, it would be ‘breathing fresh life into the status quo’. Using rocks to absorb carbon from the atmosphere in Oman. A history of flight booking – To this day, airline ticket sales use infrastructure that is decades old. However, things are changing,…

  • Unpacking Creativity with Behind-the-Scenes Content

    I was watching this documentary about Beyoncé’s 4-night residency in Atlantic City, and it got me thinking about what draws me to behind-the-scenes content. I geek out on many things, going down endless curiosity rabbit holes through the week. The creative process is one of my favourite topics to indulge in. I luxuriate in material…

  • Tina Zaman: Creating Tight 5 Comedy, Australia’s First Anti-Racist Comedy Club

    Tina Zaman: Creating Tight 5 Comedy, Australia’s First Anti-Racist Comedy Club

    Tina Zaman is a comedian, writer, teacher and founder of Tight 5 Comedy, a unique platform in Sydney’s comedy scene. Tight 5’s comedians of colour and allies have entertained thousands of fans handpicked for their originality and social impact, empowered to explore both their comedic and cultural identities in careful curated venues from theatres in…

  • A few reads and a listen: June 2021

    A few reads and a listen: June 2021

    I thought I’d share a few articles, podcasts, and other things that I find insightful, every now and then. This time, I focus on a few pieces and a podcast episode that emphasise the collective over the individual. We tend to think that innovation is the result of a handful of geniuses, but really innovation…

  • Learning on the job

    Learning on the job

    A few months into the airline management traineeship I joined last year, I got moved into my second role rotation, in business analysis. My work prior to joining the airline industry included sitting in editing suites watching advance episodes of The Amazing Race Asia to craft digital content for its fifth season, producing influencer campaigns,…

  • When an iPhone, iPad Pro, MacBook Pro aren’t enough! iPad Mini Review

    When an iPhone, iPad Pro, MacBook Pro aren’t enough! iPad Mini Review

    I’ve been using an iPad Mini since 2016, and when Apple finally upgraded its innards earlier in 2019, I bought a new one as soon as I could afford to. I already have a MacBook Pro, an iPad Pro, and an iPhone 7 Plus. Why on earth would I need a device to fit between…

  • Sydney, Australia, via everywhere else.

    Sydney, Australia, via everywhere else.

    In February 2017, after four years living in Colombo, Delhi, Pune, and Singapore, I moved back to Sydney. This is a post about falling in love with my hometown after several failed attempts over the years. But first, some context Though I was born in Sydney, clocking over thirteen years in Australia in bits and…