Aditya Mendonca

📍BLR | Publisher, Books & Events
@raintreemedia @thegoodcity @southfiresport Community Enabler
🏊🏽‍♂️🚴🏽🏃🏽‍♂️ #Type2Diabetes | #DiabeticTriathlete

[Jaspreet Bindra : Homo Promptus @j_bindra]

The Bengaluru Roadies #32: Langford Town

Langford Town is an unsolved historical mystery. There is a debate whether it is named after Colonel Pierce Leslie Langford or Cadet William Langford.

It's the ultimate Bengaluru identity crisis. For over a century, locals confidently assumed this posh layout was named after Colonel Pierce Leslie Langford, whose sprawling estate once defined the area. But the plot thickened in 2014 when an Australian family arrived with a 200-year-old wooden chest, proving their ancestor—William Langford—was a decorated cadet here much earlier, sparking an unsolved colonial cold case. Whoever the true namesake is, they left behind the southernmost jewel of the 1850s British Cantonment—a quiet, leafy paradise originally built for high-ranking officers and their horses.

Eagle Street, one of the original 1850s layouts, ends abruptly in a wall overlooking a historic cemetery—literally a beautiful dead end! At the end of Serpentine and Eagle streets lies a heritage cemetery. It sounds a bit macabre, but a misty early morning walk here is deeply peaceful. Keep an eye out for the 19th-century tombstones of British soldiers, which are decorated with incredibly intricate, hand-carved floral motifs.

Also, if you've ever walked past the modern St. Joseph's College campus on Langford Road, you are actually stepping on the erstwhile gardens of the legendary 'Langford House'.

Take a quiet stroll down Eagle Street, once home to Henry Eagles, the financial comptroller to the King of Mysore. Hunt for the last three surviving old-time bungalows; look specifically for their classic monkey-top windows, grand columns, and massive porticos which are a masterclass in colonial design.

I am not sure if they still exist, but would love to hunt for them and see if they do…

Just a short walk away on the Richmond-Langford border is Johnson Market. Grab a colossal Jumbo Mutton Roll at Fanoos, a legendary joint that has fueled generations of locals.

(I have recently relocated to the city of gardens and traffic, and what intrigues me most are the road names, each of which have a fascinating history. This series of posts will unravel the historical origin of the roads and localities in BLR.)

By the way, on popular demand, I have started archiving all my Bangalore Roadies posts at https://t.co/rdoXF1aBsU , in case you missed a few.

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

@kunalkapoor09 2/2 The rise of India’s everyday athlete is real: Ironman, HYROX, endurance sport.Skill matters. Athleticism decides who lasts. 💪 finally a new space dedicated to everyone congratulations @kunalkapoor09 and team #lifeinbangalore

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

India has always valued skill in sport.
But we underinvested in strength, speed, power & durability.Modern sport doesn’t allow that gap anymore.On my Sunday off from 6-day training as the #DiabeticTriathlete, I checked out Twitch Performance by @kunalkapoor09 1/2

[Kunal Kapoor @kunalkapoor09]

Indian sport has always valued skill.

But we’ve historically underinvested in athletic development aka strength, speed, power & durability.

Modern sport doesn’t allow that gap anymore.

Growing up playing for the Karnataka junior & senior cricket teams, most of us didn’t actually train. We just played a lot, which was absolutely fine back then.

We never had in depth movement assessments. Just a few random movements and a few tests and a program handed to you. No real structure. No insights.

Training back in the day usually was - run a few laps, stretch a bit, hit the nets for hours (the nets bit is still important and valid). Everyone assumed that was enough and it actually was because that’s how the game was played for a long time but, the game has changed. Modern cricket is explosive. Very explosive in fact.

Faster sprints. More power. More intensity. More stress on the body. The sport has become far more athletic but the way many people train has not caught up yet.

Looking back at my own journey as a cricketer, I wish we had access to better assessment, technology, better structure, and better understanding of performance.

Twitch is something I’ve always wanted to build since 2017, the day I stopped playing. It hasn’t opened overnight. It’s been almost a decade in the making. As someone still part of the coaching circle in Karnataka, I still see incredible ability from a skill POV all over the country, but when it comes to the physicality & athleticism of an individual, there’s still plenty of work to do in order to make him / her world class.

So what is twitch? It’s a space built around structured, high-performance training. It’s a mix of data and domain expertise.

Not just for athletes or cricketers or anyone involved in a professional sport setting, but also for anyone who wants the physical abilities of an athlete - strength, speed, coordination and durability.

Because in many ways, modern life demands it too :)

Twitch coming to Indiranagar :) - and it just makes perfect sense as it’s the place of my birth.

It’s funny how life plays out.

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

Interesting to see as we chat everyday about the Indian Rupee devaluation, with how the world keeps changing.

[Pranay Kotasthane @pranaykotas]

Since rupee devaluation is back in the news, worth going back to Manmohan Singh’s response in the Rajya Sabha way back when he was the Finance Minister:

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

@the2ndfloorguy @Raspberry_Pi @peakbengaluru @the2ndfloorguy this is an amazing idea - is there a way we can integrate it into dashcams?

[Pankaj @the2ndfloorguy]

i was tired of stupid people on road so i hacked my helmet into a traffic police device 🚨

while i ride, ai agent runs in near real time, flags violations, and proof with location & no plate goes straight to police.

blr people - so now ride safe… or regret it.

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

A strong civic initiative. Using public data, geotagged photos & MPLADS dashboards, #YeTheekKarkeDikhao (@YTKDIndia) enables citizens to assess MPs’ work—who delivered, who didn’t.
Karnataka, time to look beyond speeches.
#MPLADS #PublicAccountability
https://t.co/lqey5Fc5OB

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

@sudeshna_ra @TheKenWeb The fascinating part will be players in the diagnostics space like @OrangeHealth_ @1mgOfficial and more catching up on loyalty membership in India
But more affordable companies at below 10,000/- INR a year for all this bundled up

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

I love @Apollo24x7 loyalty base with their point system, fascinating article by @sudeshna_ra

What are your thoughts @sonalasthana @AiHealthDoc /

[Sudeshna Ray @sudeshna_ra]

Apollo 24/7 might have been draining its parent company for years, but this year it converted 25% of its user base into the country’s largest paid healthcare loyalty program.

Apollo Circle is a digital glue, for Apollo’s different retail, digital and pharmacy businesses.

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

Check out my latest article: Why India’s Fitness Movement Is Quietly Moving Outdoors by Aditya Mendonca https://t.co/MdrMf64vnz via @LinkedIn

@sonalasthana @Nithin0dha @nikhilkamathcio

[Ajith Mathew George @AjithMG]

Sometimes commitment alone can't sustain and move you ahead. Pure passion combined with dedication makes people stand out. Amazing effort @adityamendonca proud of you! https://t.co/LjeZcRt5Ml #DiabeticTriathlete @laeeqali @rneelish #abbottindia #YoungIndians

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

@tejeshwi_sharma 6. sounds like a mile - @tejeshwi_sharma How do we connect?

[Harish Bijoor @harishbijoor]

iXPRESS: Sad to hear of the passing of Mr.T. T. Jagannathan, Chairman Emeritus TTK Prestige!Just within 23 days of the passing of his younger son T.T. Venkatesh!A titan in his own right!Om Shanti!
#TTJagannathan #TTVenkatesh #TTKPrestige

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

@DKShivakumar @CMofKarnataka why does the Richmond flyover flood at Richmond road ramp? Who is in charge of Bengaluru infrastructure?
@Tejasvi_Surya

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

@indiebyindusind credit card I've paid twice for my bill payment for April. The IVR system sucks - four hours of trying to reach the bank and not one person picks up the phone.
Imagine adding your credit card number, date of birth and more for so many hours @CRED_club

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

We live in 2025, why can't broadband cables we attached in a neat manner and not in a dangerous way around our streets? @RajeevRC_X @DKShivakumar @CMofKarnataka a proactive IT policy for structuring clean infrastructure like the #tendersure streets?

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

Such a sad campaign to get India Fit @FitIndiaOff would be awesome to see @GovtOfIndia_ take it up and protect consumer interests.

[Sumanta Mandal @SumantaTF]

🚨 HDFC ERGO x Apple Scam? 🚨
A thread on how thousands of customers got scammed under the "India Gets Moving" campaign by Zopper, Apple, and HDFC Ergo.
🧵 Read more in details & discussions on TF Community 👇
https://t.co/TbG1mrsyVQ

1️⃣ The Campaign:
In Nov 2024, Zopper launched "India Gets Moving" with Apple & HDFC Ergo. Customers who bought an Apple Watch & walked 15,000 steps daily were promised a 100% cashback of the watch's invoice value.

2️⃣ The Catch:
People bought Apple Watches expecting cashback. Many completed their daily steps & accumulated points. But when they claimed the cash reward in Jan 2025, their claims were rejected by HDFC Ergo.

3️⃣ Mass Rejections:
HDFC Ergo denied most claims, citing step count manipulation—claiming users gave watches to others or used tools to fake steps. No proof was provided, and genuine walkers also faced rejection.

4️⃣ Community Impact:
Many in TF Community who played fair had their claims denied & insurance canceled. Some even provided GPS & heart rate data to prove authenticity, but HDFC Ergo refused to reconsider.

5️⃣ Financial Burden:
Many stretched their finances to buy an Apple Watch, believing in HDFC Ergo’s promise. Now, they are stuck with no cashback, rejected claims, and financial stress.

6️⃣ HDFC Ergo’s Silence:
Customers are emailing & tweeting, but HDFC Ergo isn’t responding properly. Seems like they never expected so many people would actually complete the step challenge.

7️⃣ What You Can Do:
✔️ Email HDFC Ergo for clarification.
✔️ File a complaint with IRDAI:
Via portal https://t.co/gJFv5FaKqG or via email: [email protected]
✔️ Spread Awareness! Share this thread to make Apple & HDFC Ergo accountable!

Final Thought:
This campaign feels like a scam—a marketing gimmick. Will Apple respond? Will HDFC Ergo pay up?

#HDFCERGO #AppleWatch #Scam

[Dr Abhijit Bhograj @AiHealthDoc]

Inch loss gives instant feedback, weight loss keeps you waiting!
#GLP1 #WeightLoss
#WeightLossMotivation
#GLP1WeightLoss

[Aditya Mendonca @adityamendonca]

Step into the lives of extraordinary individuals at #blrlitfest 2024. Meet biographers @sandhyamendonca Founder @Raintree_Media on Day 1 Sat 14 Dec at 1.15pm at Volley Valley #blrlitfest2024