Srinagar, March 24 -- I think society owes me an apology for making me believe that being alone was a depressingly bad thing. I was born and remained an only child-no siblings, no in-home cousins. My parents had a son before me who, unfortunately, passed away just a few months after arriving on this blue (indeed blue) planet.

Growing up, I didn't have many resources, so I had to make do with what I had-including learning to enjoy my own company. It took me years to be okay with solitude, but I eventually embraced it. In school, I was a different kind of kid. My academic journey started in an unusual way. I missed half of my nursery year due to illness, struggled with grades in lower kindergarten, and then started performing well. But ano...