march '24 | curated, by kashvi.
i met ed sheeran, learned about memecoins and devoured bollywood romcoms.
ed sheeran came to mumbai for his tour and collaborated with an influential indian chef to cook misal pav for 3 special fans…and i was one of them.
there are some days on which life feels unreal, and that’s exactly how i feel rn. i was there as a fan of his music (so. grateful.) and ended up learning so much about him. ed is that one guy in a group of friends who will listen to you and nod along while everyone else is speaking over the story you’re trying to tell. he has the kindest eyes and i’m kinda in awe of how nice he is as a person. silly, i know, for someone who stopped idolising celebrities a long time ago (having done my fair share of it as a kid) but something about his demeanour, strong eye contact game (lol) and genuine interest in our culture really struck a chord.
i did post a video about how this happened, but for those of you who are curious to learn more:
ed sheeran came to mumbai for a concert and wanted to immerse himself into indian culture. collaborated with celebrity chef sanjyot kheer (managed by monk entertainment) who wanted fans involved in the campaign. pratham shah (sanjyot’s talent manager) reached out to me a day before the shoot and i said yes (no brainer lol)
tried to keep it chill because we were asked not to scare ed with our fangirl-iness (pfft, as if) but was internally SCREAMING because i have been listening to this man’s music for 10 years now.
ed and sanjyot cooked misal pav together, we ate and left no crumbs. honest to god, one of the best misal pav i’ve ever had. and i’m a massive misal girlie (you can ask my mom). pleasantly surprised by the spice level, and fkn losing my mind because it was cooked by ed sheeran.
i spoke to ed like i’ve known him for years, and i really don’t know how i did it. we talked about how he’s feeling about the upcoming concert, our fav indian dishes and i ended up making him do the taylor swift bejeweled dance!!!
after the shoot, we got a few more minutes with ed to just take photos and chat (he initiated this eventhough we were running out of time!!!! 🥲). we talked about his 2017 concert and i gave him a matching friendship bracelet. said goodbye by thanking him for all he does, and can confirm that ed sheeran is a fantastic hugger.
as a kid on the internet, the first online friend that i made and met IRL was because of ed sheeran. there’s so much more that i wanted to tell him, but i’ll be saving it for next time!
enough fangirling tho, let’s dive into the best of what i consumed in march ‘24:
📘 what i’m reading:
“how to not die alone” by logan ury: in this book, logan ury pretty much calls out all our toxic traits and unreasonable expectations from relationships. with humor and real talk, it's like getting advice from your love guru friend on how to navigate dating and relationships without losing yourself in the process.
“tastes like shakkar” by nisha sharma: another bollywood romcom lol. somehow this one was even better than the prev book, and i caught myself smiling throughout.
“fool me twice” by nona uppal: still getting through this book but nona has been one of my favorite instagram follows since “midnights” by taylor swift came out. she certainly has a way with words and is v relatable girl’s girl from what i’ve seen in her content! def check her out if you haven’t already :)
🎧 what im listening to:
what character flaws make the best entrepreneurs (wtf, by nikhil kamath): in this conversation, nikhil and guests explore the nuances of what it takes to build a successful business and to be a risk taker in india’s entrepreneurship landscape. they open up about their personal lives, industry struggles and overcoming them.
the world’s great family dynasties: a deep dive into the world’s biggest family business empires: Rockefeller, Rothschild, Morgan, & Toyada. in this conversation, the host breaks down the role of being in the right place at the right time with access to the right resources, and how that is the ultimate point of leverage which eventually converts into success. there’s also a lot in there on family power dynamics in a business environment, and the guiding principles to operate when it comes to succession of power.
the business of bollywood: anyone who knows me knows that i’m obsessed with india’s film industry, but even more so with karan johar’s dharma productions. not in a weird worshipping way, but more from a “holy shit how did he build this empire” standpoint. in this episode of master’s union, he reveals how dharma operates as an organisation and deals with the rapidly changing digital landscape.
🎶 march playlist:
💭 a quote that i’m thinking about:
Pride, happiness, money earned and lost over a single life is not meaningful wealth. It’s a spiritual dead end. This is why death is the final test.
The completion of the cycle of maturity is the acceptance of death, and the conditions with which you leave the world behind are the fulfillment of your obligations to your ancestry and determine your descendants.
Those who fear death at the time of death know they failed, and they enter the after life, if at all, with that feeble doom in their soul.
Death is the final test and it’s one that is meant to be overcome.
Death is a challenge to determine your place beyond life, because life after death is in your descendants, and at death, you know what future you've given them.
Your ancestors watch over you, spending a currency earned in their lives to influence fortune in yours.
Dynasty Mindset, by Charlotte Fang
📸 camera roll dump:
🌱 cool stuff from random places:
i crave love but i reject it everytime
indus valley annual report 2024 by Sajith Pai, Anurag Pagaria, Nachammai Savithiri: this report breaks down how different industries in India are evolving in 2024 and the opportunities you can capitalize on as a seasoned or budding entrepreneur. i’m big on all things research and data, but i’m not the best at interpreting it myself. this is where easy-to-read reports come in handy, and the indus valley report is definitely one of them!
crafting the next generation of user generated assets by Kinjal Shah, Blockchain Capital: in this article, kinjal shah makes a legit case for memecoins as a part of the overall creator toolkit. can memecoins enable deeper forms of engagement, ownership, and monetization for creators and users? only time will tell.
✨ onchain bliss ✨
aryana’s youtube channel: one of the coolest people i kinda know is posting daily youtube videos and they’re hella entertaining! 10/10 would recommend y’all to check it out :)
dilli.wiki: 42.0% of paarug’s personality is that he loves dehli. he is a loud and proud localhost (pun intended), and he has curated the best of his recommendations for things to do when you visit on this webpage. give it a browse!
nothing really matters: as someone who has worked in content, community and generally public facing roles for YEARS now, i can confirm that everything laura says below is true. attention, fame and recognition are fickle. do it for the love of the process, and for the impact of the outcomes. this is how you stay happy.
thank you for reading this and for being subscribed to the newsletter! i appreciate all 870 of you so much 🙏 feel free to reply to this email with any thoughts that you’d like to share - i love hearing from you :) i hope that march will be a great month for us all, and i can’t wait to write to you again 💙
with gratitude,
kashvi 🦋
Kashvi, you provide justice to the time put in reading your newsletter