Unsolicited rock photos
“My DMs are full of pictures of random rocks and pebbles people have found and want me to identify. Once, someone sent me a picture of a bone, and thought they’d found a fossil. I had to explain that a fossil is actual stone. It’s bad enough that as a geoscience communicator, people ask, ‘Oh, you studied geography?’ They’re two separate things, people!” Kanchi Dave, 30, founder of The Neev Project
Keyboard clicks
“That constant ‘tick-tick-tick-tick’ sound in a quiet room drives me absolutely up the wall.” Navneet Kaur, 30, hockey player
Zodiac sign, moon sign, other signs
“Remember how we all had one growing up, which we innocently called our sun sign? Now we also have a moon sign and a rising sign. Last month a friend told me I have to read my stellium as well. Google it! I contain multitudes but how can I possibly be one third of the zodiac! Another peeve: Bank relationship-managers. They call you, they ask you to save their direct line and promise that they’ll be there for you. But it’s always, always, a new person when you call again. It’s a situationship.” Anindita Ghose, 42, writer
Disorienting design
“Why is the switch for the bathroom light outside, behind a door, at ankle height? Am I designing a home or auditioning for an escape room? I’ve seen statement chairs that no one can sit on. It’s stunning, it’s sculptural, it’s… completely useless. If a chair can’t handle a human, it’s just expensive guilt.” Apoorva Shroff, 49, architect and founder of lyth Design
Drama queens
“They say ‘I don’t like drama’, and then are two seasons worth of drama. It’s all self-produced, with terrible scripting and without music. It’s only slightly more triggering than people who stand too close to me while talking. Like, why are we sharing oxygen? Step back, I can hear you in HD.” Adah Sharma, 33, actor
Cameras at live events
“Some people show up to a gig or concert, pull out their phones and record the full 90-minute set. They are viewing the artist through a six-inch screen rather than looking directly at them. They’ve paid for a live experience, but are getting the YouTube version. Set the phone aside. You’re not going to watch your jittery, warped 40-minute footage again, anyway.” Girjashanker Vohra, 51, sound engineer and producer
Moral monitors
“It see it particularly in sustainability and permaculture circles, people get so attached to principles that they stop listening to the landscape or the situation. Someone asked me how we continue to drink milk – did the cow consent to it? By that logic, vegetables also did not consent to being eaten or trees did not consent to being made into a chair.” Sunith Reddy, 42, CEO of sustainable farming collective Beforest
People who identify as Foodies
“I am a born hater. I get pissed off when people wear flip flops in public. But this Foodie term really gets to me. Your hobby is… eating? Should we applaud good breathers next? I am also rage baited by places that are obsessed with the word ‘overload’: Overload fries, overload nachos, overload chocolate sundae brownie. Where’s the regular menu?” Anoushka Jain, 30, author of Badass Begums & founder, Enroute Indian History
Facing the music
“‘Ek gaana suna do, beta!’ is the worst thing for a singer to hear in real life. I am not a wind-up doll. What’s worse is when people say ‘I know you make music, but what is your real job?’ Then, they tell you how to do your job: ‘You should make fast songs or dance tracks!’ The biggest rage-bait: ‘Why don’t you perform on Indian Idol?’” Rauhan Malik, 26, singer
Overhyped restaurants
“Those long queues outside an eatery – who are these people who are willing to stand for hours for just a dosa? I want to be instantly seated when I arrive at a restaurant. On the other side of the spectrum are people who don’t have a sense of their own skills. Your weekend craft activity with your four-year-old is not what a gallery would put up for sale, let alone get an auction slot.” Mihir Thakkar, curatorial advisor at Art and Charlie
Speakerphone calls in public
“It’s never a normal call either – it’s always someone pacing dramatically, holding the phone flat in front of their mouth like they’re hosting a podcast nobody subscribed to. While the rest of us whisper into our phones, clutching them like state secrets, these folks treat the airport lounge, café, or building lobby as their personal TED Talk venue.” Shayan Italia, 47, singer-songwriter and pianist
Subject-matter non-experts
“People who have absolutely not a single clue about the subject are showing up on podcasts. There are unboxing videos in which the creator has clearly never used the equipment professionally, but confidently tells their 200,000 subscribers which softbox ‘working photographers’ swear by. But the platform that enrages me most is LinkedIn – somehow, every single moment (even your kid’s diaper change) is recrafted as a business lesson.” Archisman Misra, 34, founder & CEO of photography equipment platform StudioBackdrops.com
People who message “urgent” and then vanish
“They’re on their phone 24/7 otherwise. But the minute I respond to their plea for help, it’s like they disappear into another dimension. Then, they say ‘Let’s catch up soon’. Yeah, right!” Nivedita Basu, 46, producer and director
Alcohol snobs
“These people believe that spending as much on a liquor bottle as they pay their domestic help is what constitutes quality booze. The majority of so-called experts can’t even tell the difference between good and bad spirits in a blind tasting.” Raghav Mandava, 39, comedian
When someone types “hmm”
“My brain says, ‘let’s unpack this’ even though I don’t really want to. Are you agreeing with the topic or dismissing it? Are you busy or just disinterested? It’s even worse when your partner does it — it’s basically a reason to start a fight. I always overthink what their ‘hmm’ might mean, and then regret for reading too much into it.” Dr. Rimpa Sarkar, 38, psychologist
Everyday interruption
“When you’ve reached the climax of the movie, and, someone calls for something trivial. When someone makes you angry, and then you have to go to them for some work. When you open a website for something urgent, and it wants your phone number and email before it gives you the info.” Tanmay Shah, 36, filmmaker and visual artist
All design, no story
“Like cyberpunk visuals with no narrative, or brands using brutalist, dystopian styles just because they’re trendy. Or AI slop with no depth or real understanding of the artistic process. I can immediately tell when someone’s just faffing. When it’s all costume with no character, that really gets to me.” Santanu Hazarika, 33, artist
LED light in homes and restaurants
“Nothing kills a vibe faster than a place that looks like a pathology lab. I work in hospitality, so I see a lot of customers who say ‘I know the owner,’ and look at me as if I’m the receptionist. Sir, I am the owner. Please continue your performance though, I’m enjoying it!” Nikita Harisinghani, 32, co-founder, Chrome Asia Hospitality
Reaction-driven content
“Have you noticed that your algorithm mostly shows you the kind of news and videos that get a rise out of you? And you feel compelled to respond to content that triggers you, which just makes you spiral further. Then you realise it’s just your feed personally attacking you.” Michaela Talwar, 38, co-founder of Harkat Studios
Cosmetic pretences
“Celebrities who deny that they have fillers and say that they just ‘drink water and meditate’. Their jawline has a better architecture than my clinic! Also, quacks pretending to be dermatologists or skinfluencers. Being able to google something and having a ring light is not the same as having a dermatology degree.” Dr Geetika Srivastava, 38, Dermatologist and founder of Influennz Clinic
Fussy WiFi
“It’s a classic: Your internet will work fine all day, but give up only during that one important task. But at least you can blame tech for that. How to account for that awkward moment when your brain miscalculates and you hold the door open for someone too early and you’re stuck there while they’re still far away?” Kashika Malhotra, 23, founder & CEO of women’s wellness platform Yoginii
Being asked ‘What’s the best wine?”
“As a sommelier, this one always gets me. There’s no such thing as ‘the best wine’. It depends on what you like, what you’re eating, your mood, the occasion. It’s like asking what the best song in the world is. The fun of wine is in discovering your own taste, not looking for a cheat sheet.” Nikhil Agarwal, 47, wine and spirits expert, and founder of spirits events and consulting agency All Things Nice
The Mumbai–Goa highway
“Those potholes turned my peaceful Devgad drive into a full-body workout. But that was a one-time trigger. My daily rage-bait is when hotel housekeeping staff turn the room into a Diwali show, keeping all the lights on for you to switch off when you return.” Suma Shirur, 51, athlete and founder of Lakshya Shooting Club
Borrowing from me and not putting it back
“Just return it to its original place. And don’t move my light setup from where it is; it’s in the perfect spot!” Diksha Sachdev, 25, make-up artist
Obsessing over box-office numbers
“A film is not a cricket match. Storytelling shouldn’t be judged only by the opening scores. It ties to my other peeve: Influencers who have no knowledge of cinema but review films.” Anand Pandit, 62, film producer
Chewing loudly
“I’ve walked out of the room when this happens. Another thing that triggers me is when someone starts an email with Dear. Just don’t. It’s so cringey. And don’t end a sentence with ‘Ya’. Why ya?” Varun Duggirala, 43, entrepreneur
The strong-woman stereotype
“When men call me strong, it implies that I am not truly feminine. I remind them that I am just as capable of being weak or strong as anyone else. Also, I abhor being asked to look at the brighter side of life when I am going through a crisis.” Mohua Chinappa, 56, poet, author and host of The Mohua Show
Empty aphorisms
“Think of ‘Just stay consistent’ or ‘Trust the process’. Okay, but HOW? Give me a plan, give me numbers, give me something I can actually do tomorrow morning. Otherwise, it sounds deep but it’s actually useless.” Tarini Shah, 23, content creator
From HT Brunch, April 18, 2026
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