The Deepest Work Is Just to Stay

If there’s a single thing I’ve learned over the past decade from walking alongside many of India’s civil society leaders, it’s that sometimes the deepest work is just to stay.

That presence is important.

That sometimes you need to stay in the unglamorous work, in the moments where certainty has collapsed and where you don’t have the answers, and all you can do is hold the space.

A very long conversation I had with Amit Varma on Seen and the Unseen made this visible to me in hindsight. That I began with a faith in methods, first principles and frameworks, then pivoted to practice, where you try, fail, listen, and adapt. And perhaps now I’m in the phase of presence, where presence is what matters. (With a fair warning that it is 4 hours of conversation, which Amit made feel effortless.)

Thx for sharing Rohin Dharmakumar

Originally written for LinkedIn on 10 February 2026. View original →