About Me — Shashi Sastry
Engineer at 20 -> IT Architect at 35 ->Writer at 55? -> Philosopher at 60??
My life, in brief
I've had two lives, am living the third, and looking forward to the fourth.
The first was an engineer, born and bred in India, Pune. After ten years working for an industrial manufacturer, Thermax, I left for Australia when I was 30.
That began my second life as an IT coder, designer, architect and finally, an enterprise architect. It's lasted over 21 years, mainly in IBM. It was also an Australian life for 13 of those years. My newlywed wife Shalu joined me in Sydney. We had our lovely kids Preetika and Tarun and lived a spiffing life. Many close friends, picnics, beach outings, get-togethers, weekend cricket. Splendid.
Now I've begun my third life — as a writer. It's been ten years since we moved back to India for family reasons. I suppose the writing bug was inevitable, given my long love of reading and English. For the last two to three years, I've been thinking of myself more and more as a writer, material evidence notwithstanding. There is still much to live in this one. It's an adolescent stage.
I hope to have a fourth and final life - as a philosopher. Perhaps an amateur one, but a serious one.
What I love
- Reading a lot. Then writing. Then reading some more.
- The English language. And Hindi and Urdu.
- Western classical music.
- IT Architecture, especially Enterprise Architecture. It's my day job. But it doesn't feel like work. Lucky me.
- The great outdoors. I am still deciding if I love being more in the mountains or by the seaside.
My pet peeves
- Invective. Foul language. In-person or in movies. I consider those who use it are weak or lazy with language and expression. And are being unaesthetic. The worst I permit myself to utter is 'bloody hell'.
- Seeing Indian migrants change their names and accents. Come on, people, have some self-respect. Assimilation is about mixed neighbourhoods, friendliness, co-operation, openness, no evangelising and such. Not about losing your identity.
- People saying questionable things with zero doubt. How can one be so unimaginative?
- People who ask to be taught what they can learn themselves. I believe that once we are essentially literate, we can and should learn anything on one's own if we are sufficiently curious and a bit obsessive. I am both.
- Lack of civic sense — body odour, bad breath, oblivious noisy chewing, ditto using leaky headphones, littering, breaking road rules. I am beginning to sound like a cranky curmudgeon. No apologies, though.
What I admire in a person
- Integrity, as in - what you see is what you get.
- Gentleness, especially towards juniors and the less well off.
- Humour and wit, self-deprecating or inoffensive.
- Quality consciousness. Attention to detail.
- Not taking oneself too seriously.
- At least a few interests other than work.
- Authentic listening with a genuine interest in the other person.
My Writing
I write for the pure pleasure of translating thoughts accurately into words and benefit you, my reader. Either by informing you of something I learnt or entertaining you. I imagine myself as a prism, refracting the light of thought into a rainbow of stories.
These are my favourite subjects to blog and write about
- IT Architecture
- Life, Mind & Body
- Language, writing & reading
- Philosophy
- The future
You can find my original content on Medium, LinkedIn, and my website Quality-thinking.com.
I've also published a book — In My Experience. It's a 30 copy worldwide bestseller. But I am still proud of it. Have a look. You could be number 31.
My top 3 stories I'd like you to read (updated regularly)
My Website
Like any self-respecting blogger or writer, I have my WordPress website.
It has all my writing published on Medium, LinkedIn and other sites and curated content. For example, there are lists of books and websites on IT Architecture, Mind & Body, Philosophy, Classical Music, and Art. Please have a look, explore, enjoy, and ask me for more!
If you like it, please register yourself on it. You'll benefit in one way or another.
My Dream of a Fourth Life
An abiding interest of mine since my teens has been philosophy. It’s not the academic and technical sort, but one that helps us practically to be better, happier. And to make others happy.
I’ve been working on a line of philosophy for almost thirty years that I believe achieves this. I apply it every day, giving me understanding, self-control, tolerance and peace — even joy. My great aim in life was to publish and share it with others, so they have it too.
So I wrote this book on it.
Now my dream is to spread the understanding of the essential ideas of this philosophy as widely as possible while elaborating its various practical applications. I hope you’ll be a part of it, my friend.
Shashi on LinkedIn and quality-thinking.com
Would you consider subscribing to Medium for $5 a month from this referral link to enjoy my stories and those of its many excellent writers?
