Abhishek Machkar

[Abhishek Machkar @abhiicake]

Knowledge. Courage. Compassion.

[Abhishek Machkar @abhiicake]

Is there something really obvious that everyone knows but I don't?

[Tai Lopez @tailopez]

Seneca was right when he said to be happy you must eliminate 2 things: the fear of a bad future and the memory of a bad past.

[Dr Mouth Matters @GanKanchi]

Confessions and realities

42M, 55LPA

I am a 42-year-old man with a senior job in IT. I have a house in Chennai, a supportive wife, and two children. On paper, everything about my life looks perfect. I have achieved all the things society says a man should achieve.

In my twenties, life felt different. I had friends to spend time with. We would hang out at Marina Beach and Besant Nagar beach, watch movies at Rohini, Udayam, and Kasi theatres, and ride around Mount Road on my RX100.

In my thirties, I had colleagues to talk with over tea breaks. We would discuss apartments, onsite trips, and share random stories about life and work.

But now, in my forties, life has turned into a quiet routine. My phone rarely rings for anything personal. Most calls are about office work, bank alerts, or someone from home asking me to pick up milk on the way back.

The loneliness of a man in his forties is unusual. I am not physically alone, but I often feel like a machine.

When I enter my home, I am simply “Appa.” I am the person who pays school fees, fixes the Wi-Fi, and handles repairs. My wife is busy with her work and the kids. My children are teenagers now, living in their own worlds and their own rooms. They love me, but they mostly see me as the person who provides comfort and stability. They no longer see me as an individual.

At the office, I am the senior person. I am expected to have all the answers. I cannot tell my team that I feel tired. I cannot tell my boss that I sometimes struggle to keep up with new technologies. I must appear confident and strong, even when I quietly worry about the future.

Sometimes I drive home slowly from work just to spend a few extra minutes in the car. I listen to songs from my college days.
For those fifteen minutes, I am not a manager or a father. I am simply myself again.

I realize that I have not had a real conversation about my feelings with anyone in years.

My old friends now exist mostly as names on WhatsApp. We send “Happy Birthday” or “Congratulations” messages, but rarely talk. When we meet at weddings, our conversations revolve around our children’s grades or the cars we drive. We never talk about what we actually feel.

The hardest part is that I cannot even complain. If I tell my family that I feel lonely, they look confused and say, “But we are all here with you.”
They do not understand that a person can be surrounded by people and still feel like they are on a desert island.

Society teaches men that if they provide money and security, they have succeeded in life.
But no one teaches us how to deal with the silence that comes with it.

I have built a beautiful life for everyone around me, but sometimes it feels like there is no space left for me inside it.

And maybe… this is what life in your forties feels like.

[Reads with Ravi @readswithravi]

This sentence by Dostoyevsky never fails to hit hard:

“You sensed that you should be following a different path, a more ambitious one, you felt that you were destined for other things but you had no idea how to achieve them and in your misery you began to hate everything around you.”

[Mahesh Kale @maheshmkale]

The modern world is built to function, not to feel. Precision over presence. Optimization over emotion.... art has that code! And in a world starving for feeling, it's time we start running it! What's your first run going to be?
#MKMusings

[Nabibi🐝 @lolajaey]

I’ve tasted Unemployment and I’ve tasted 9-5.
I recommend not being born.

[Muskan @muse_cann]

The complete absence of critical thinking in Indian society is a matter of grave concern.
Why can’t people think beyond what is told to them? Does this reflect the limitations of our education system?

[Abhishek Machkar @abhiicake]

The worst decision I've made recently is reading Metamorphosis by Kafka while doing a 9-5 job.

[Abhishek Machkar @abhiicake]

@malpani_ruchita Lol

[Aravind Srinivas @AravSrinivas]

“Do not make any small plans, because it cannot inspire the soul” - John D. Rockefeller

[mr fabio @fffabs]

My daily reminder

[Abhishek Machkar @abhiicake]

@OrwellNGoode I thought I was the only one doing this🤣

[Abhishek Machkar @abhiicake]

@puneri_misall Tula milale tr mala pn desheel

[Dylan O'Sullivan @DylanoA4]

— Oscar Wilde, 1890

[Naval @naval]

Only two things are pursued for their own sake - even if they make you feel worse or make you worse off - truth and love.

[culture jpeg @culturejpg]

The Penguin (2024)

[Abhishek Machkar @abhiicake]

@mindfulmaven_ God definitely wants me to grow a lot then.

[Abhishek Machkar @abhiicake]

@Trendulkar Never uninstalling this app