About
Mandar and Dakshayani is an author coupe based in Pune. Their first book, a Marathi novel titled 'π-प्रेमाची-किंमत-कय' won the hearts of young Marathi readers as well as touched the elder generation.
Both Mandar and Dakshayani are trained musicians and Kirtankars, and perform frequently on various occasions.
The couple is passionate about Indian Classical Music and are founding trustees of Baithak Foundation, a charitable public trust which functions to create awareness about Indian Classical Music
Meet the Couple
Mandar Karanjkar
dakshayani athalye
Latest news
What Do We Need? ‘Startups’ or ‘Smartups’?
Last weekend, I was invited to conduct a full day session for co-founders of 22 startups, coming from the different parts of the country. The purpose of the session was enabling them to fine-tune their business plans which they would be presenting to potential investors after three days of intensive training. All the co-founders had[…]
Questions to Mandar #6 Do you take life as a game/ as a challenge/ as a battlefiled or as a playground?
Do you take life as a game/ as a challenge/ as a battlefield or as a playground? I take life as a surprise. When you don’t expect, life is a surprise. We have lots of misconceptions about what life is . Many of us look at it as a duty and some feel as[…]
The Future of RIckshawallas in the Age of Ola and Uber
Taxi and Auto drivers in Mumbai planned a strike starting from 29th August to protest against on-demand hailing services like Uber and Ola. Through my occasional discussions with cab drivers and very rarely with Rickshaw drivers, I always feel the hostility they keep in their minds against the drivers who joined with these Apps. To[…]
Can you share the sensitivity?
We read so many scriptures and listen to so many wise people around us. Still, we do not change. So many peace rallies and silent marches are conducted but they do nothing to stop the crimes. On the social level, we all want to stop corruption but still, we are far from controlling it. Hatred[…]
The ‘Choiceless’ Awareness
Today, terms like awareness, Nirvana, Meditation and Yoga are being used like other casual activities- trekking, mountaineering, cycling etc. Yoga is probably being looked upon as a form of exercise good for both body and mind and meditation as a way to take better decisions in the complex situation without letting your blood pressure go[…]
Joy, Satisfaction and Frustration: Balancing Life On The Three Pillars
Through out the day, we are doing something or the other. The other day, while observing how we spend our time, I realized that the most of the time that we spend, can be divided into two gross buckets. First bucket is the time that we spend doing things that give us direct joy or[…]
Questions to Mandar #5 What Makes One’s Life Joyful?
Doing things just for the sake of labels keeps you away from finding joy in your life. It is a trap, in which sadly, many of us have been trapped. We are doing everything just for some label. We study engineering not because we like it but because it earns us the label- ‘engineer’ and[…]
Wisdom of Kabir: The Art of Sailing without ‘Head’
कहे कबीर, जो बिन सर खेवे, सो यह सुमती बखाने Sant Kabir says, the one who sails without head, gets the ultimate wisdom. Why so? For our entire lives, we have been told that our head is what guides us in this world. We firmly believe that our mind is what helps us to remain[…]
Questions to Mandar #4: What is the Purpose of Life?
What is the purpose of this life? Instead of answering this question, I will advise you to simply drop it; not because I do not know an answer, but simply because there is no one answer to this question. Life does not come with a readymade purpose. At the same time, life does not have[…]
Questions to Mandar #3: How should one decide one’s career?
Dear Mandar, After doing a job for more than ten years, I realized that I am wasting my life. How should one decide one’s career? Before I actually get into the topic of career, I would like to talk a bit about an integrated approach to life; for it is too important to look at[…]