I had a chance to reflect in life, after a long time. I saw that I am living life at a rollicking pace with the need to empty my mind – with no idea how to. I saw that I am filled with thoughts in my mind to the brim.
Consequently, it has hit hard my Chess in Classical format. Still no clue how come not in Rapid or Blitz. Of course, I was at 1 point out of 3 in Blitz before I turned it around winning 5 games on the trot against various 1900s and 2000s Chess players. This is so similar to my life where I often find myself in doldrums, only to rise eventually against all odds.
There came a day, March 7 2025, where I had no clue. After a phone call with the HDFC Securities relationship manager, I thought I have lost all my money in stocks by investing in Margins – something I had neither experience nor understanding of.
Everything changed after I requested ChatGPT for help. It found a glaring blunder done by HDFC Securities and helped me chart out my next course of action. It has helped me navigate legal and financial complexities — and even more
Of course, I got back my money and more. However, I am yet to get back the peace of mind. I look back and I see there was every chance to lose everything I had earned in life. This propelled me to do something I had hitherto never done in life.
I chose to run a fund raiser for poor Children so that they are educated in life. Why did I choose to do so? Because in that moment of perceived loss, when everything felt like it was slipping away, I asked myself — What would truly remain, even if I lost everything?
For the first time, I saw wealth not as something to hold, but something as a tool to make an impact in life. I thought of children who never got a fair start in life. Children with dreams but no tools. And I, who had narrowly escaped a financial disaster, felt an unexplainable urge to become a small stepping stone in someone else’s journey.
And yes, I thought, maybe helping them would, in turn, help me heal too.
I have never done any charity in my life. My mind went back to Sureshkumar Janardhanan who helped build a house for two poor girls and many times where he helped the poor even by taking loans. When I thought I had lost everything on March 7 — there came a moment where my mind took me to Suresh and I saw the kind of life I had led. I was able to stand in the shoes of people I had ignored for most of my life. Fear. Helplessness. Hopelessness. Except for me, it lasted a week. For them, it’s a lifetime.
On March 21, when I got back what I had lost — and more — I didn’t feel relief. I felt I have had to learn this lesson for a purpose. I asked myself: “Now that you’ve been given another chance, what will you do with it?” I know that many people in my life may not have recovered what I did. I was saved. Was it luck? Or was it grace? And with grace comes the need to give back.
I have seen both comfort and the edge of loss. I have tasted luxury in abundance — and suddenly stood on the cliff of losing it all. I stared myself into the abyss on March 7, 2025 .
If I felt so crushed losing what I had… what about those who never had anything to begin with?
After eleven months away, I have chosen to return to organizing chess tournaments — this time, with a renewed sense of purpose. There’s a deep drive within me to make a meaningful impact in the lives of underprivileged children. Upon reflection, I have come to realize that I already possess the tools to make a difference — by consistently generating funds through the very world I know best: Chess.
So, I welcome you all back into my world of tournament organizing. Yes, there will still be the beautiful trophies we have always celebrated. But more importantly, this time, your participation contributes to something far greater. You are now part of tournaments where the wealth created doesn’t flow to me — it flows to the children who need it most.
And what form of wealth are we building?
Education.
Because in the end, all that truly remains are the lives we touch, the dreams we nurture, and the hope we pass forward.
That’s why this tournament is named Sparsha — a word that means touch. A touch that transforms. A touch that says, “You matter.”
Welcome to Sparsha, a Tournament where your participation touches a life. The Event is being organized in Under 6, U8, U10, U12, U15 and Open Categories.
Innovators Chess Academy 