1/ 🌟 Recently, while browsing @KiranaClubApp feed, I came across an insightful comment that received appreciation from many retailers.
And that's when I discovered Praveen Ji, a retailer from Prayagraj, UP, who exemplifies the true spirit of community. This is his story. 🙌
6 years of watching @baniaintech & @AishwaryaTSD grind through the unglamorous work of organizing India's fragmented retail economy at grassroots, while the ecosystem mostly chased shiny trends
Huge congrats to the entire @KiranaClubApp team.
Couldn't be happier for this crew 👏🏼
Today marks an important new chapter for Kirana Club
When we started Kirana Club, our belief was simple: small retailers in Bharat deserve better access, transparency and efficiency in how they discover and source products.
India’s kirana stores are the backbone of our retail economy. They serve every mohalla, every town, every village, yet the systems around them have remained fragmented for far too long.
We started by building a community where kirana retailers could learn from each other, discuss products, compare prices, discover schemes and make better business decisions. Over time, that trust became the foundation for commerce.
Today, I’m excited to share that Kirana Club will become part of Meesho.
@Meesho_Official has built for underserved users at a scale few companies in India have achieved. What stood out to us was not just their scale, but how similarly both companies think, using technology, marketplace models and operational efficiency to serve users who have historically been underserved. That shared belief made Meesho the right partner for our next phase.
Kirana Club will continue to operate independently within the Meesho group, with the same retailer-first focus and the same mission: to build India’s most trusted digital commerce network for Kiranas.
This milestone would not have been possible without Aishwarya (@AishwaryaTSD), who has built Kirana Club with me from the earliest days - through every pivot, every hard call, every experiment and every phase of growth.
Grateful to our team, retailers, brand partners, sellers, investors and everyone who believed in us through this journey.
The mission stays the same. The ambition gets bigger. 🚀
P.S. This photo is from a kirana store in a village in Bihar. @viditaatrey spent time with us on the ground during the process, listening to retailers, understanding the reality of kirana commerce, and seeing the opportunity up close. That said a lot about the team we are joining.
Two kinds of people use AI:
1) Obsesses over its mistakes and finds reasons not to use it.
2) Exploits its strengths and works around its flaws to become dangerously productive.
Use AI like an army of high-IQ interns.
Not like an expert you’re trying to catch being wrong.
Most people at work set-ups don’t realise that their achievements, honours and laurels come with a expiry tag.
The smaller the startup, the expiry is short and lasts for a month or quarter. The larger the organisation or bigger the corporate setup, it lasts for a few years. Make career choices accordingly.
Majority of Indians don't follow traffic laws.
Traffic police are ineffectual. CCTVs are rare.
AI-powered citizen-worn auto-reporting helmets are the Big Brother India needs.
Gamify it with rewards for each challan paid and Indian driving etiquette will rival Japan's by 2030.
Let’s keep politics aside for a moment and just talk sports.
Ever since Ironman Goa, I’ve been seeing posts criticizing the performances of @Tejasvi_Surya and @annamalai_k . I don’t have any political affiliations, and this isn’t about politics — it’s about understanding what goes into a race like this.
I’ve trained for and completed two Ironman 70.3 races, and I can say with complete honesty: just showing up at that start line requires months of discipline, sacrifice, and self-belief. The race itself — the heat, the humidity, the elevation on the bike, and the grind on the run — tests every part of you.
So whether someone finishes in 7 hours or 8 hours doesn’t matter. If you trained, showed up, and crossed that finish line — you are a champion. It’s easy to sit behind a screen and comment, but before criticizing anyone’s performance, ask: Can you run 5 km? 10 km? Can you train consistently for months and then race in tough conditions?
If the answer is no, maybe the best response is respect.
At the end of the day, they made a conscious effort to work on their fitness and take part in something that pushes boundaries. That in itself is worth appreciating. Let’s celebrate effort, discipline, and progress — not drag politics into sports
I took a walk in HSR Layout recently.
Here's what I realised:
1. Footpaths are inaccessible due to encroachment
2. Inaccessible footpaths aren't maintained
3. Unmaintained footpaths become dumping spots
4. Dumping spots become toilets
It all starts with encroachment.
Posting this on behalf of a friend who's been incredibly patient but is now just exhausted dealing with @Hisenseindia
He’s on his third Hisense TV in two years — each one failed. The latest one has been dead for over a month, and the brand has gone completely silent. No repair, no replacement, no response.
If this is how after-sales works, people deserve to know. Not cool.
@claudeai why do we still not have a Voice to Text option in Claude in Mac or Chrome?
You know, there is a thing called Claude Code that can help you implement it faster.
I don't want to install third-party extensions. I use ChatGPT's Voice to Text & then copy the content.
🙏 A big thank you to Hon’ble Cabinet Minister Shri @iChiragPaswan ji for taking time out at World Food India to interact with our Kirana retailers.
For our 15 Retailers who travelled from Bihar, UP, MP & beyond, this moment was truly special — a recognition of the 35L+ small shopkeepers they represent.
@worldfoodindia@MOFPI_GOI@ficci_india@KiranaClubApp
walking 2.4 km of Bengaluru footpaths showed me:
- tunnel juice
- barbed wire
- desire paths
- bushwhacking
- pavement pudding
- a stairwell into a drain
- something I can't type here
don't watch this if you have a weak stomach
People here are ignoring India’s population + low per capita income. Sure, robots could serve in 10 yrs, but it won’t make economic sense for most restaurants.
Agri automation has been around 30+ yrs.
Maybe 4–5 restaurants will do it for novelty, like those that serve food on trains.
Been to 10+ airports in tier 2/3 cities in the last year. Varanasi (@AAIVNSAIRPORT) is easily among the worst:
1. Taxis drop you 100-200m away, close access is “VIP only.” Walk through muddy puddles to enter.
2. @DigiYatraOffice doesn’t work at security. Officials says “it never does.” Just for show.
3. No trays at security, you have to beg for one, blocking the line.
4. @AkasaAir ground staff here = zero hospitality, clueless on handling queries and rude promax.
India’s spiritual capital and Modiji's city deserves better.
@AAI_Official
Online Money Games Ban! The startup community will be divided on this issue, but I'm in the camp that totally supports this Govt move.
Online games involving money (RMG) are nothing but gambling. The skill v/s chance argument is just a clever subterfuge to slip past legal & societal filters... there is a simpler way to judge this dichotomy - "Would you allow your own young kids to play this thing freely?" I bet no sane person would acquiesce to that!
Every time you see the gambling cos logos on the Indian cricket team, it's a national shame!
Feel sorry for the startups, employees, investors likely to be affected by this, but there is a bigger societal issue at stake here (and something that cannot be left to the markets & capitalism to self regulate).