Cruising Altitude
Time for takeoff
Hi friends,
Long time no talk.
I’m currently sitting on a plane about an hour from landing in Tokyo. From there, I’ll hop on a flight to Bangkok, and then finally land in Delhi. I kind of love the layovers—it means I get to experience two new countries on the way. I’ll treat myself to a nice meal in the Tokyo airport to make up for the food tour I won’t have time for.
Airports always remind me of the essay I once wrote called No Man’s Land. As I wrote last time, you can learn so much about a culture just by observing its airports and travel behavior.
Mid-travel update: I just landed in Japan and it is silent in the airport. And somehow… adorable?
I’m beginning a whirlwind adventure in India. I’ll be there for about five to six weeks (no, not moving). I’m going to build my new meditationwear company, Sovereign, and I don’t want to leave until I have product in hand.
I’ll share more over time, but at its core, Sovereign is an attempt to build the Patagonia of meditation. More specifically: Nike transformed running in culture. Alo and Lululemon did that for yoga. Patagonia did it for the outdoors. While I’m genuinely excited about the product itself, I see clothing as a vehicle for culture more than anything else.
I’ve been pretty heads-down for the last two months. Since returning from Senegal, I’ve been ~orbiting in my own universe, and the energy of my life has shifted. Fewer long monologues of reflection; instead, each day feels like a steady beat I get to show up for. It feels like play. More importantly, it feels like my life.
I’m deeply grateful for the last six months I spent quieting the noise around me and digging into what actually feels aligned. Because now I’m at a point where it feels obvious—of course I’d go to India to start a clothing brand and try to invent a category called meditationwear. If you had told me this a year ago, I probably would’ve laughed in your face.
Being in my bubble has softened the limits of what feels possible. Those limits no longer depend on other people’s opinions, but on what I believe can be done.
I’m also so grateful to everyone who supported my writing over the last year—who read along, responded, or found themselves in it too. About once a month, I published something urgent, usually written in one sitting, when I really had something to say.
I’m not sure what you want to see from me next—but I’ll share a few different buckets below and you can see what you like. And if you feel inclined, write me back. Tell me what you want more of.
Attention Economy & Wisdom Economy
Lately, I’ve been writing more on LinkedIn about two frameworks I keep returning to: the Attention Economy and the Wisdom Economy. These are the lenses through which I’m building Sovereign—and how I think about business and culture more broadly.
So much of our economy—and capitalism more generally—is deeply extractive at individual, communal, and societal levels. A few months ago, I found myself noticing that across many philosophies, cultures, and religions, there’s a shared set of values pointing toward what makes life peaceful and meaningful.
Yet so much of modern society functions in opposition to those values.
I’m interested in what happens when we try to build from the flip side. More generosity than greed. More sufficiency than excess. More care than conquest. That’s what I mean by the Wisdom Economy.
As for the Attention Economy—many of the tech companies underpinning modern life rely on attention as their primary resource. If drilling oil is environmentally extractive, then mining attention might be the equivalent for our inner worlds. Environmentalism of the psyche? Meditators? TBD.
I’m interested in examining what this shift has done to us—individually and collectively—and where we go from here. Along the way, I’ve written about social media, wellness fatigue, and consumer sentiment. If there’s anything you want me to go deeper on, let me know.
Personal Planning
Sometime in October or early November of last year, I started reflecting on 2025—and planning for 2026. Premature, maybe. But I like to chip away slowly and arrive at the end of the year with clarity about how I want to feel and where I want to place my energy.
I got a little too into my year-end reflection questions and may have forced everyone I spoke to to reveal their deepest secrets. Sorry. Mwah.
My process is simple:
I set a theme for the year (2025 was all about alignment).
I audit my life across twelve areas and write how I want to show up in each.
Throughout the year, I check in—what’s complete, what needs care.
As the year winds down, I start to feel what’s next. It’s less analytical and more intuitive—like an Easter egg hunt for clues. Then I repeat the process: themes, audits, goals, and a letter to anchor it all.
Starting a Business
One thing I’m excited to share more about is how to start a business or creative project. So many ideas swirl in people’s heads and never see the light of day—not because they shouldn’t, but because starting feels opaque.
When Sovereign started percolating last October, I sat down and mapped everything I thought needed to happen over the next six months. The big and the little things. I dumped it into Notion. In the early days, all I had to do was sit down, look at the list, and work.
Some days, of course, I still sat there thinking: What am I supposed to do today? You really are building the plane while flying it.
Now that I have a bit more stability, I’ve mapped out longer-term goals: where I want the business to be by February 2027, then worked backward by quarter and month. Yes—it’s a one-year to-do list. But it turns big milestones into tangible problems to solve.
(And yes, I recognize the irony of building a meditationwear company rooted in presence while thinking so far into the future.)
I’m also grateful beyond words to my parents—especially my mom—who somehow knows nearly everything about business operations and patiently answers my endless questions. This is my third incorporation (jury’s still out on whether that’s a good thing), and this time I chose to incorporate as a Public Benefit Corporation, meaning our baseline responsibility is public good—not just private stakeholders.
But if you feel confused about where to start - I got you.
Trials & Tribulations of Building Sovereign
I finally bit the bullet and joined TikTok and Reels. For years, I resisted video. But suddenly, my why became bigger than my fear of being perceived.
If you want to build a business, you have to do it in public. Video is the medium—king or queen, take your pick.
For anyone who knows this is their inevitable truth too: spreadsheets don’t excite me, but I had to learn them. Video didn’t excite me either—but now I’m actually having fun.
As for the cringe mountain: if people think you’re cringe, let them. If they unfollow you, they weren’t your people anyway. I can’t control what people think of me in real life—why spend energy trying to control it online?
In fact, the opposite happened. I’m genuinely thrilled about every single person who opts into the journey. Even 130 followers feels deeply personal. You chose to be here. Welcome.
Most of the day-to-day will live on Instagram and TikTok—if you dare to follow. And of course, I’ll share lessons as I inevitably learn them.
How I’m Experiencing Life
The premise of my work has always been cultural interrogation through personal reflection. Right now, my reflections look like this:
I never thought I’d want to live in the Bay Area again—but being in your home environment removes friction. Like the actual environment of Palo Alto is quite peaceful. When you strip life down, it becomes… easier.
I’ve made my critiques of growing up here, but I’ve also found gratitude. I see the original spirit of the Bay for what it was: curious, experimental, fearless. Making things, not just managing what already exists.
I’m politically scared and saddened—and I don’t quite know what to do with that yet. I think the silence says enough.
It’s almost time for my next flight.
I hope you’re well. I’d truly love to hear from you.
All my love,
Anushka
There really is something cultural and deep learning in airports, I love them too. I am interested in almost all the themes you have outlined, so bring it on baby!! Good luck to the next few weeks xxx