Glorious Insults Galore

Check this out! Even if you are a person who is shy of conflicts and cannot even dream of insulting others, with a little bit of 'help' from Plum, you might turn into someone who desperately wants to insult everyone around! ;-)

CEOs - Business - Motivation - Wodehouse - Bhagavad Gita

Lovely article.

* Resist the urge to label occurrences as bad (or good). Adopt a neutral view
* One needs to ferociously prevent one's thoughts from straying — stay in the "now"
* ....evaluate the mental models used by Psmith (one of PGW's ever-cheerful characters) and his cheery insouciance when faced with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
*....if you are looking for fulfillment, you won't find it in the job. It comes from inside you
* I encourage executives to invest completely in the process and not the goal. If they invest every fiber of their being into the process they are likely to enjoy the outcome. It is a paradox. When you become detached from the outcome, the probability of achieving the goal rises dramatically

The World of Wodehouse and Knowledge Management

What-ho! What-ho! Jolly good day, today being a Friday and all that, what? Last week, during a bored moment, I impulsively told Tweeple who cared to listen to my babblings that it would be dashed nice to hit upon a good idea for a blog post. A fellow KM enthusiast @Kirti responded immediately and suggested that I write something about Wodehouse and KM..…as in, draw some connections between these two awe-inspiring topics. Now, connecting the seemingly unconnected is always an absorbing exercise! You, quite often, might come away wondering if you have some hitherto undetected supernatural powers within you. Of course, the euphoria doesn’t normally last very long but even a few seconds of the aforementioned delusion is good for the aspiring soul, don’t you know?

Where were we? Yes…so, the idea excited me and things looked oojah-cum-spiff for a while but somewhere in my mind I had an inevitable and lurking concern that I’d not be able to do justice to the topics. To write about Wodehouse, one needs to be in one’s element both in the use of language as well as in the employment of one’s sense of humor and to write about KM one needs to be what is the word I am looking for, Jeeves? No…not inspired…something that goes beyond inspiration and ventures into the context and current relevant experience, if you get my drift, which I was not so sure of.

Anyway, the initial excitement led me to making some quick notes on the potential connections between the two topics and then sharpening a broken pencil tip. [Wish someone would invent a brain-sharpener and make it a free download thingy, what?]

OK. I guess you’ll clearly see through my meaningless ramblings and discover my attempt to avoid hitting the nail on the head if I continue this preamble any longer. So, let’s take the supreme risk of looking into my random thoughts on how the Master and his works may be linked with the fascinatingly versatile field of knowledge management.

Random thought #1: When I read Plum’s (Wodehouse) perfect and hilariously creative use of English, the first thing that comes to my mind is how good his personal knowledge management strategies ought to have been. He knew his words, similes, metaphors, idioms and grammar better than anyone else I can think of at this moment. His writings are so effective that they transport us to the world that the characters of his book live in and make us laugh and chuckle along with them. Personal knowledge management in this case, according to me, is largely attributable to Plum’s passion + hard work + discipline + natural talent for humor. If you’re looking for a take away, here it is – managing your personal knowledge and strengths is a surefire way to success! [As if you didn’t know that! Bah!]

Random thought #2: Most of Plum’s novels have amazingly sophisticated and knotty plots that somehow magically sort themselves out right at the end of the story (perhaps on the very last page!). The last page turns out to be, in many of his books, where the main character attains the much-awaited nirvana/enlightenment (as in, overcomes his/her challenge). What goes into the first 200 odd pages prior to the climax are the beautifully weaved pieces of the context - each bit of which serves to adorn the overall story, add its own unique flavor and lead the story to its delightful climax. There’s nothing superfluous. There’s nothing omitted. It’s oh-so-perfect and comes to you at just the right pace with maybe some rare exceptions. What am I driving at? When knowledge is shared or tapped into, in my humble opinion, the aforementioned approach is a fantastic one to keep in mind. I love quotes and the insights that they give away on a platter but when it comes to finding solutions to some real life situations, I think the context and how it is fit into the overall ‘story’ is what makes knowledge sharing an effective activity/process. The take-away: Remember that sharing knowledge or even simple communication is not just about saying what happened but also sharing the “why” and then adding just the right amount of feelings, emotions and musings to it.

Random thought #3: Now, this one, I think, will almost certainly take the cake. Be ready to raise an eyebrow or two and let the lips twitch a bit. Jeeves, the miracle man who solves all of Bertie’s and his friends’ problems, I suspect, was a staunch believer of knowledge management concepts that we KMers try really hard to promote. No wonder he was and continues to be such a big hit. Wipe that skeptical look off your face, will you? No, I am not talking about the search engine (AskJeeves). A closer look at Jeeves’s methods will, no doubt, prove me right. Consider these facts: (Thanks to @Kirti for reiterating Jeeves’s importance in the context of this topic)

1. He stays connected with a mind-boggling number of peers. He knows a cook here, a valet there, a chauffeur somewhere and what not (And these are the people who supply him with the information that later turns out to be critical for success)
2. He attends the monthly valet meetings and is up-to-date with the stories that other valets share about their respective employers. The community that Jeeves is a part of even publishes a book with queer facts about their employers (and it is, if I remember right, mandatory for everyone in the community to share and publish these facts)
3. His intentions are supreme. He really wants to save his employer from getting into complex situations. He even wants to save Bertie’s friends when he knows they mean a lot to Bertie
4. He generally gets something in return from Bertie. Sometimes tangible and sometimes intangible (Bertie stops wearing that repulsive pink tie, for example) but Jeeves never really uses his knowledge for the purposes of getting something in return! He uses it because it is there to be used and he knows Bertie needs it. The returns come simply because Bertie is so generous and know Jeeves deserves the best
5. He doesn’t make a big deal of his knowledge. He doesn’t jump around and boast about the intelligence he possesses (Unfathomable for those who know Jeeves). He doesn’t pretend to be a savior but merely says it is his pleasure to help his employer. That makes him so very approachable and gets him the respect he so deserves!
6. He has a head that sort of juts out at the back. In other words, a peculiarly shaped head is apparently something of significance in this context
7. He is suspected to consume a lot of fish which in turn is suspected to be responsible for enviable mental growth
8. The 6th and 7th points, obviously, are not directly or, for that matter, indirectly related to KM concepts but I don’t think anyone is going to object to their inclusion in this list. These points will, hopefully, put the other 5 points in perspective. ;-) [This should undoubtedly prove my vegetarianism. I don’t eat fish. And my head doesn’t jut out at the back]

==========================================

In other related news, I recently heard about some bloke pretending to be Harry Potter on Twitter. Prompts me to imagine how it would be if Bertie and Jeeves had blogs and twitter accounts!

Bertie would be frustrated with Twitter’s 140 character limitations and prefer to use blogs to explain his predicaments to Jeeves. His tweets would be on the following lines:

@Jeeves I say, Jeeves. Check this link [blog post] out, will you? This is a dashed what is the word I am looking for, don’t you know? I am dashed if I know… [Message truncated]

But, on the other hand, Twitter would be just right for Jeeves. [Another example of how he can adapt himself to the latest KM tools!] He’d simply have to tweet things like:

@Bertie Very Good, Sir.
@Bertie I endeavor to give satisfaction, Sir.
@Bertie [Raised eyebrow] This is indeed disturbing news, Sir.
@Bertie Shall I pack your clothes, Sir?
@Bertie Here’s your b. and s. Sir. *

(*b. and s. = Brandy and Soda)

Like I am now fond of saying, Plum is God’s answer to boredom, depression, climate-change, terrorism and war. Remind me to add KM to that list. That’s all for now, folks. Two Tinkerty tonks, three Toodle-oos and one Pip-pip!

PS: I tried. I really tried. But my sense of humor seems to have gone on a long vacation to Timbaktu. Pshaw! Tchah! Wish it would take me as well next time around. I need a nice delightful break in some alien land especially after writing this long post. For now, I shall probably thank God that the weekend is almost here and take a walk [If you’re an alien, send me a DM on Twitter and we’ll negotiate on the rates for the vacation]

@nimmypal’s_sense_of_humor Looking for you. Please come back. You’re needed.

Note: Wikipedia on Wodehouse, Wikipedia on Knowledge Management

PLUM Panacea

Sushmita Sen Gupta says "I came across this line when still a wee bairn in pigtails and promptly adopted it as my Motto For Ever : "Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out of it alive." And loving the words and works of Wodehouse helps you enormously in this noble endeavour. Steeped in Plum's world, one can always see the funny side of things, ignore irritants and classify all sorts of problems as too unimportant to agonise over. As long as the Empress gets her 58,000 calories per day, as long as Bertie gets his calories from Anatole's culinary masterpieces, as long as Psmith's monocle is shining happily, all's well with the world. Tinkerty tonk."

Brilliant! :-) Emphasis mine. Sushmita is a PLUM fan like yours truly and is a part of the Celebrating P G Wodehouse community on Ning.

Randomish

You may not be ready to indulge in pure Gibberish, but you could possibly try this. Discovered the link in one of the mails I received this morning. I'd imagine that it'll be quite entertaining to try it with a Wodehouse book or a C&H book.

Stress Buster

Random statements from Wodehouse. Great way to get rid of daily stress.

The Long and Short of it All :D

Talking of laughter (previous post) reminds me of two things that don't fail to gift me this wonderful....well...solution. Plum's wonderful work and a special Dachshund's character and misadventures (episodes of which have been featured before on this blog ). And I knew of the connection between the two laughter generators quite some time ago. Plum was a dog lover, perhaps with a soft corner for Dachshunds in particular for he had one. And....to my pleasant surprise, as a proof of this connection, I recently discovered this wonderful pic (reproduced below) on a blog devoted to Dachshunds! Wow! :-) How cute! Go here to read the full post. And hey, I must add that they've thought of the most appropriate name for the blog - The Long and Short of it All ! :D Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. LoL

It's a perfect world!

I simply don't know how to start this post. Hold on....for that matter, I have no clue how to end it or even stuff stuff in the middle. But I must share this story with you. So, I am going to give it a jab. I've been blogging for over 4 years now. If you've seen my profile and some of my posts, you know that I worship P.G Wodehouse (PLUM). I think he was a genius born to bring joy to many a depressed/bored soul....generally make this world more worthwhile to live in.

Kishore here happened to read some of my passionate posts on PLUM and decided to be a perfect Godsend. (It probably became obvious to him that I might even kill for a P.G Wodehouse book and he decided to save the world from a few early dead bodies.) He wrote to me telling me his dad is a great fan of PLUM as well and that he (his dad) has a collection of PLUM's books that he (his dad) might want to give away to an equally devoted fan. I thought it was too good to be true. Honest. I thought such things couldn't possibly in happen in today's world. So, I took it a bit lightly and did not probably completely believe that I'm blessed enough to get the books that were missing from my collection on such a platter. Kishore then actually followed it up and asked me to send the list of books I already have and I did that by taking my own sweet time as I was going through a job transition at that time and moreover I had to sit down and make a list of the 70 odd books I've managed to collect in the last decade or so. I finally did it (without any expectations) and then Kishore very modestly happens to have spoken to his dad and arranged for the books (that his dad had but I did not) to be couriered to me.

I did not follow up after I sent the list....and went about life as usual..... But then Kishore and his dad were very committed, sincere and serious about the whole thing. So, to my utter joy, I received the courier - 14 delicious PLUM books - this weekend. The end result being that I now almost know what it is like to be in Heaven. I was so overwhelmed to see the books that I screamed out in joy (the person who delivered the courier definitely seemed to be in a hurry to leave, if you get the drift). I immediately called Kishore's dad (BTW, he is a retired literature professor) and thanked him profusely. He said he was extremely happy to find a 'modern' PLUM fan to whom he could send the books, but I brought it to his notice that he couldn't possibly be happier than I was (and for that matter 'am). Sigh. God. This is just too awesome and overwhelming. Paulo Coelho is absolutely right. The world does conspire to give you what you really and badly want!!

I can't thank Kishore and his dad enough for this magnanimous gesture. Words fail me. As one of my friends put it, "This is a PLUM deal!". But only PLUM could have done justice to my feelings in that impeccable English of his. Right now, I am still floating somewhere amongst the clouds....if you look up, you might find someone with all teeth and an intoxicated look. Thanks a zillion million Kishore. Thanks a zillion million Mr.Ramamurthy! Did I tell you that it's a perfect world? :))

'Creative' Cure for Congenital Chronic Chronological Confusion

Well, this post is calculated to put a smile on the reader’s face. But you have a choice – To either not take my word for it and continue to be the very same sane or insane person you are today, as the case maybe or take all my words herein and get transformed into an extremely insane person for sure. If you happen to have read at least a few of the posts on this blog, chances are that you don’t belong to the sane category any longer. All right. You are advised to consume this if your appetite for the great blogospheric-nonsense risk is good.

This story is akin to the flashback scenes in movies. All of it except the last part actually precedes this one and this one and this one. If you’ve been following this blog for sometime, despite my attempts to introduce acute chronological confusion in you, you may be able to figure out the story in the right sequence. On the other hand, if you suffer from congenital chronic chronological confusion, this inappropriate sequencing may jolt you enough to actually help you recover. Why delay the story when I can be of such significant service to the society? So, here goes….

The doctor examined my ankle from all ankles…err...I mean…angles. After gently poking it in various areas and waiting for my response – which was either an ouch or a shake of the head – and getting a loud ouch when poked on the fibula (or is it tibula…or, wait….tibia….or, what the heck, maybe fibia??) nearabouts the ankle junction or whatever it is called, he furrowed his brow and suggested an x-ray. The ray of hope that I had till that moment about there being no serious problems with my ankle retraced its particles a bit. The x-ray arrived after a while only to turn my ray of hope into an ex-ray of hope. The doc declared a bone to be slightly broken (chipped) and a ligament underneath it somewhat licked. Plaster was what the doctor ordered. This was definitely not what I had expected. So, I tottered a bit. (Please note that this action is performed by an expert and you are advised not to imitate it especially when you happen to be relying on one foot that is temporarily subjected to infrastructural constraints resulting in below-par performance.)

The plaster was therefore wrapped around my feet and lower portion of the leg and I was let loose on the world. “Ruthless!”, some people I know may have declared without a moment’s hesitation. Of course, they would be referring to the world’s plight (on the introduction of a new monster) rather than mine. Anyways, the world has faced many such challenges before and I was sure it could brace itself for one more. I stepped out of the clinic on one leg and surveyed the landscape from the door to the vehicle while revolving around my right leg and almost crushing the physiotherapist who had unwittingly offered to provide me support till the vehicle. Mother earth seemed to be teasingly inviting me to pay my respects to her with both my feet whilst she very well knew my left leg had to be suspended in air for at least a few days.

Even as I wondered how my poor right leg would manage so much weight single-leggedly (err…to say ‘single-handedly’ would be such a gross misrepresentation of facts), the mobile rang. A sane person would have carried on regardless of whether mobiles were ringing or elephants were singing, in such a situation. You can’t of course expect that from yours truly. I promptly picked up the phone even as my right leg as well as the physiotherapist pleaded for liberation. On the other end of the telecommunication line was a very good friend, all the way from Europe. But I immediately realized my folly and knew I had no time for conversations and had to run…err…hop…to the vehicle as quickly as I could or I may end up hurting my other leg as well and not to forget, kill an innocent physiotherapist in the bargain. So, I settled for something equally dangerous – losing a good friend. I quickly babbled into the phone about ankles being fractured and put in casts and that I would not have any problems if she hung up and hanged herself or some such gibberish. Being a clever person, she knew what to do. She grabbed the opportunity to put the phone down without delay and I suspect I heard her thank her stars as she did so. (Latest update – Apparently, she has been enquiring about possible vacancies in erstwhile concentration camps on a ‘good’ friend’s behalf. I am fervently hoping that she didn’t mistake my usage of the word ‘cast’ for holocaust. Appropriately speaking, the very thought casts a hollow feeling)

The trek back home is an experience I’d rather not recount. Once I landed on my bed (whew!!), I knew I would have to stick to it as much as possible for three weeks or so. What a blow and that too when it was soon to be my birthday and a couple of cousins (and a niece and nephew) were to come down from other countries to pretend to celebrate the same! I suspect that one of my cousins, known for her practical thinking, grabbed the chance to get back at me for some fights that I had apparently won against her when we were children. She thrust some school books on my face and challenged me to do the holiday assignment that was given to her son. (Hey cousin, if you happen to read this, please note that I am just kidding! Not that you don’t know better than to ever rely on me again for any sort of school assignment ;)) Now, the son (and his sister) were complete darlings and did everything possible to help me protect my leg as well as keep me in high spirits. So, I gave in and ‘helped’ the nephew with the assignment. (If you want me alive, don’t worry. I plan to disappear for a few days once his school reopens. Don’t you think a few days would be sufficient for a teacher and a cousin and her family - just returned from treatment for mental shocks - cool down? And it is to my advantage that they live in a different country, far away from me)

Three weeks later, fast forwarding to the recent past, I came out of the clinic having cast off my cast and gotten a clean certificate from the doc. I celebrated the deprivation of the concrete attachment that had made me look like a penguin with a heavy left foot. A smile split my face. Hey, wait a minute. Split, my foot! (Please note the coma after the word split. I am very particular about punctuations.) Actually, I think I’ll retain just 60% of the original word. I’ll change split to lit. The sentence will thus read - ‘A smile lit my face’. But the occasional pain still lurks and getting back on my feet to the former extent will be no mean feat.

Important Note: This post is dedicated to PLUM who is a major influence in my life. His works inspire me to look at the lighter side of situations however challenging or difficult they may be. PLUM: I dread to imagine what the world would be like without your literary master-pieces at large! Toodle-oo! Pip-pip! :)

Plum's Song Lyrics...

Put all your troubles in a great big box,
As big as any box can be:
Put all your troubles in a great big box,
And lock it with a great big key:
Crying never yet got anybody anywhere,
So just stick out you chin
AND
Jam all your troubles in a great big box
And sit on the lid and grin.

How on earth did I not know till now that PLUM had written such a thing!!!! Don't you think it's absolutely rocking or rather pipping? :)

Courtesy - Blog post by another PLUM fan...

Plum Party

Joining the party are some more books.... :D

6. Aunts aren't gentlemen
7. A few quick ones
8. The old reliable
9. A gentleman of leisure
10. Spring fever

Three cheers to the Solihull Library!! Hip Hip Hurray! :)

Providence, PLUM and I

I ought to be jumping up and down with joy...really! Providence has helped me get my hands on some PLUM (P G Wodehouse) books that I had earlier combed Bangalore's bookshops and libraries for but in vain. Though these books are from the library and I can't possibly think about owning them, the fact that I've an opportunity to at least read them once in my life is something to be jumping up and down about. The books that I've got so far (and hopefully I will get to read more than this if I am around in UK longer) are...

1. Very Good, Jeeves
2. Something Fishy
3. Doctor Sally
4. Louder and Funnier
5. The Small Bachelor

:-)

Reading book # 2 now. Came across this yesterday and laughed away to glory....

"Poverty is the banana skin at the doorstep of romance". Haaaa Haaa Haaa :) What prose, o boy! Hats off to the one and only PLUM...eh?

Update: I've managed to read a lot more of PLUM's books
- A gentleman of leisure
- The old reliable
- Wodehouse - A life by Robert McCrum
- The girl on the boat
- A few quick ones
- Aunt's aren't gentlemen
- Ice in the bedroom
- Bill the conqueror
- Money in the bank
- Do butlers burgle banks
- Indiscretions of Archie
- If I were you (This one's wonderful)

2 Peas in a Pod?

As many of my blog-world friends and real-world friends would perhaps be aware, two thingies I am absolutely devoted to and stuck on to the extent of worshipping are books by Plum (P.G. Wodehouse) and Calvin & Hobbes (by Bill Watterson). I suddenly caught myself wondering why I happen to like them so and a little bit of analysis brought to the fore some obvious similarities between the two.

- Both PLUM and C&H exhibit incredible language
- Both of them are humorous though in different ways
- Both the books are high on imagination though PLUM expresses it in the form of complex plots while BW does it in the form of pure imagination of character (Hobbes himself is an imaginative character) and outer space exploits of Calvin etc
- Both of them have extremely witty central characters (Jeeves, Calvin/Hobbes)


If there’s an area where the two have completely opposite approaches, then it’s probably this that C&H gets philosophical at times while PLUM is always looking at the lighter side of things and for example thinks nothing of spoiling Bertie’s reputation as long as there is a happy ending for the rest of the cast. Hey, come to think of it, maybe that’s Plum’s communication of his philosophy to readers - sacrifice; laughing one’s way through life.

Fish-ing

Bengalis occupy one of the top spots in my list of the most admirable people in India. Many of the literature greats, intellectuals, spiritual leaders, artists, thought-leaders and current business executives that I’ve read about/encountered are from Bengal. One very evident aspect that everyone knows about is that being based out of a coastal area they eat a lot of fish. And fish is considered to be a great contributor to the development of one’s grey cells….

(If you’re a parent, it would perhaps be worthwhile to feed your child on fish?) Hey, here’s a word of warning – This is not an expert opinion….just a comment from a passer-by. I am just thinking aloud and you ought to decide for yourself if this is a worthwhile attempt. Anyways, before I wind up this short post, how can I not mention that PLUM, through Bertie Wooster, has mentioned in many of the Jeeves’ series that the latter derives his intelligence from his fish-eating habits! :) And what about cats? Are they the way they are (clever) because of their fish intake? (Tom of the Tom & Jerry fame being an exception) Is that why we use the phrase that someone’s a cat at something if that person happens to be very good at the same thing (pardon the weird language)? While on the topic, is there some kinda established research on the correlation between fish-eating habits and intellectual abilities? But whatever the truth is this whole matter about eating fish to become brainy is either which way fish-y.  ;) Looks like there is an ocean of conversation material on the topic of fishes & intelligence…..but no time to go fishing for more information right now….

Calvin's View of the World... :)

Another of those profound quips from Calvin....(read Bill W).







I own almost all the P.G.Wodehouse books that are available for sale in India, which works out to be close to 80% of the total number of books (91)written by the comical genius . My eyes are now set on C&H. Got only 3 of them so far...

PS: If you're thinking of giving me any gifts, you know what to buy... ;-)

Legacy

Yesterday, I went home to find an old, brownish and slightly tattered book on my bed. I pounced upon it and gingerly flipped through the pages. (Doesn’t that sound like an oxymoron?). The book I found on my bed and gingerly flipped through - “Heroes who made history”. (It’s a book with a dozen chapters covering a dozen Indian Heroes…mostly kings/princes and the like) The author who wrote the book that I found on my bed and gingerly flipped through – V.B. Kulkarni.

V.B. Kulkarni was the then editor of the now Indian Express which was then called the National Standard. (What a sentence! But I like to ‘complicate’ sentences as much as possible…after all I need to justify being one of PLUM’s * biggest fans!) My mom got it as a prize for having stood first in her village school (lower primary school). :). How cute! But she never touched the book because she studied in a Tamil medium school and found it difficult to read books in English. She did have English as a subject but the standard was too ‘simple’ for her to read books and moreover she was too young and playful to read such ‘outside-the-school-syllabus’ books, I guess. (If you don’t find me blogging anymore, you’ll know my mom has been reading my blog ;-) )

* P.G. Wodehouse is known as PLUM to his fans. If you don't know who P.G.Wodehouse is, then I suggest that you do one of the following. (You have lots of options to choose from). Hang yourself with a rugged rope after ensuring that the door to your room is locked from inside/go away to a place that doesn't have any hospitals whatever and consume the deadliest of poisons/ jump from the tallest building in your city/shoot yourself at point-blank range with a gun that cannot fail/stand in the middle of a busy road when the traffic is at its peak....

Book Bug

Gautam gives me no choice but to be bitten by the big book bug. I don’t mind being ‘bugged’, for once. Here are my answers:

Number of books I own: Need to count to give you a 100% accurate number. When last counted, it was approximately 300+ including the Tintins and the Asterix & Obelixes. I sometimes go around thinking that I earn only to buy books. The maximum percentage of my spending goes to the Gangarams, Strands, Crosswords and Sankars of Bangalore, and for that matter, any other city I visit.

Last book(s) I bought: I have never bought a book. Asking me to get my head examined? Read it again...I have never bought a book. Every book-purchase transaction (or should I say strategy?) that I am into is about buying books…many books. I have an obsessive compulsive disorder when it comes to books. Okay, cutting all the crap out, the books that I last bought were: Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki, In Your Dreams by Tom Holt, The Best of Rumpole by John Mortimer, and Pour Your Heart Out by Howard Schultz. Wisdom of Crowds was more or less an impulsive purchase based on some things I’d read about the book earlier. In Your Dreams and The Best of Rumpole were risks, so to say! Bought them based on the facts that they were books belonging to the ‘Humor’ category and based on what I found on the covers and some contents inside the books. The Pour Your Heart Out book was a purchase that was influenced by a friend.

Just can’t wait to read all of these books. But they may have to wait longer than I, along with my 100+ other books to be read.

Last book I read: Freedom’s Way by Bloch Jorgensen. This one was a gift both in the literal as well as figurative sense. It's a lovely and brave book that is quite unconventional and extremely strong in its communication. The language is fascinating and the potential it promises that the reader has, cannot but leave her/him a changed person.

Five books that mean a lot to me: This is a very tough one for me. But let me see if I can do some sort of justice to the question. I take the liberty of mentioning more than five. These books are in the order in which I came across them.

1. 100% Mind Power by Jack Addington – Category: Self Development/Achievement – This was an extremely accidental purchase and in the most unlikely of places. I was out in Goa on a college tour and there was a book exhibition on, on one of the beaches! I just barged into one of the stalls and picked up this book. It was perhaps one of the first ever books that I read in this category. And, it changed me completely. It instilled a whole lot of faith in me and opened the doors of new possibilities to me – it taught me that the human mind has amazing and unbelievable capabilities that one ought to make use of.

2. BPR by Michael Hammer and James Champy – Category: Business/Processes – This was a book that one of my classmates recommended to me in my MBA and I went over to the college library and gobbled it up in just 2 sittings. It somehow grabbed my attention and got be fascinated with the concept of process improvements. I developed a love for processes and process improvements after reading this book. (Well, I do know that BPR isn’t what you’d call a successful concept)

3. The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt – Category: Processes/Industrial Production – This was another book I read while doing my MBA and it left me spellbound. It was the first time I’d come across a management book written and communicated in such a interesting/captivating way. It read like a novel and this is what I know to be storytelling now. Great way to communicate and help the reader understand and develop a passion for the topic being spoken about!

4. The Fountain Head by Ayn Rand – Category: Fiction/Philosophy – I just love this book! For its attitude, philosophy and approach to work :-). I’d overheard quite a few people talk about this book and had been trying to make a mental note of the title and author but never got around to buying the book till I started working. I love Howard Roark’s (the hero of the book) philosophy - work for work’s sake and nothing else. He is so detached that he almost seems inhuman. But a closer look at his attitude will show that he is so passionate about his work that nothing else matters to him once he gets down to work. The beauty is that he does not actually look out to grab projects from anyone else and simply takes what comes to him if he is okay with the values of the person giving him the job. What matters to him are his values and his work. Period. In fact, the book reminds me of the Gita at times. The philosophy is revolutionary. Anyone who reads the book will either love it or hate it but just can’t ignore it.

5. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – Category: Fiction/Spirituality – I like the book for its climax, for its author’s philosophy, for the dreams, courage and faith that it nurtures in its readers. It lays out life as it; manages to bring out reality and dreams in the same breath (book/story). It is hope, personified.

6. The Paradox Process by Derm Barrett – Category: Thinking (out of the box) – This was a book I read only last year. I found it to be fascinating and exciting. It led me into a completely new way of thinking. It seeded new thoughts in my mind and led me to the conception of a model for collaboration. It was the single most important reason why I wrote a paper on collaboration and went to my first truly international conference to present the same - It was the single most important reason why I got to go to Australia.

PS: Would love to add all of the P.G Wodehouse Books to the list. Humour - is what gives me the fuel for life. And, it’s a pity I can’t talk about Calvin and Hobbes Comics and the Asterix and Obelix Comics as well.

The people tagged below have to answer the same questions I did, on his/her own blog and tag five more players. My to-be-bugged list is as follows:

Sarita
Raj
Veera
Dina
Deepak

Listening

P G Wodehouse, the uncrowned King of the English Language said - "The gift of listening is more valuable than that of easy speech". Need more be said? But well, all of us want to say something rather than listen to what others have to say. Isn't that what the 'problem' is all about? :)It's going to take me too sometime to learn to listen better.

The ego does the talking. (Didn't someone say "Empty vessels make more noise?"). It takes an enormous amount of faith in oneself and confidence in oneself to listen, I guess. Because there is this constant urge to show the world that you know! And anyways, in today's cut-throat world, many of us are under the impression that the person who talks knows more. It is a paradox in reality. Those who talk less know more! Because they've gone out of their own circle and garnered knowledge from the world. They are always trying to garner knowledge and that's why they are always listening. Maybe, those who listen a lot finally get down to make a book of what they've learned! Is that why those who listen more are such great authors? (PLUM, Ernest Hemingway....). SO, there, you still get an opportunity to voice your thoughts by writing a book! (And you have your Blog too) I am rambling a little too much here I guess. Here's my conclusion:

Listening requires humility and self confidence. Listening teaches. Listening makes one popular. Listening is difficult. That's why it is worth it. :) I am going to learn to listen more and talk less. And whatever comes on to my Blog would be from listening - both - to the world as well as, sometimes, my inner voice.

My A&N Trip - The Whole Story - Dec 15 - 21 ('Twas Before the Tsunami)

Every time I set out on a tour, I watch the world with a renewed sense of wonder. Especially mother nature. It’s amazing what just a good number of trees and a huge reservoir of water can present to the eye. An overwhelming sense of being a part of something that enthralls even as it makes one feel like a non-entity in comparison. It was a long-awaited tour. A tour for which many a ‘battle’ had to be waged. A dream come true. A trip to the magical A&N islands.

I shall not recollect the events in chronological order. For it not only strains my weak memory but also makes the whole thing a tad boring. Random recollection is what I shall resort to. That is what gives me the thrills. A recollection arising out of impressions and connections. Imagine having a whole sea to yourself! Imagine having a conversation with the sea all by yourself! Lucky me. I don’t have to imagine.  For I had the opportunity. (Do you see green?) Let me tell you what happened. It was the Baludera beach. It was nearing 3.30 PM when we reached the Baludera beach at Baratang after having seen the mud-volcano. There was a vast stretch of land with narrow strips of water finding its way through here and there in front of the beach. There were 2 native ladies fishing in a narrow stretch of water and there was a very nice-looking wooden-logs bridge leading to the beach. We took the bridge and went up close to the beach. I then collected my book (PLUM – Summer Moonshine), camera and CD player and went over to where the water had made up its mind to come till. On the way, the ornithologist in me cocked an eyebrow on seeing a flock of small and cute birds in search of food a little distance away from the shore; in another narrow strip of water. I ran up bag and everything only to see the birds fly away.  . When will I learn to be a professional bird-watcher and not scare away birds? I ventured back to where I’d decided to deposit myself till I’d be allowed to. Sat down on the sand, plugged into the music, opened the book and (actually) stared into the sea. There was a group of trees to my right and to the left the sea seemed to have no end. There were a few people having a swim and splashing around in the water. Not a typical crowded beach you might see in a city, mind you. It was around 4.15 when I realized (to my joy) that most of the people had walked back to the bridge and a nearby shelter. I was almost left alone with the sea. In a few minutes, even the couple of people who were still there, left. I was alone with the sea. What a feeling that was! Absolutely no noise except the soft clap of the waves. (this sea unlike many others that I’ve seen seemed to be extremely modest and quiet). I was listening to some of Illayaraja’s old (70s) songs and felt like there could have never been a better experience than what I was going through. The waves on close observation I felt were certainly dancing to the music. I wanted the moment to last forever. I did not want to move from the spot. I wanted to turn into stone at that very spot. But it was not to be. I was almost rudely awakened from the dreamy moment by my folks calling out to me that it was time to go. It was 5 PM. And it gets dark by 5 in Andaman. I wouldn’t find my way back to the car if it got dark, I was told. I had to leave. Did I hear the sea say something as I was on my way back? While this was an occasion when I had a long chat with the sea all by myself, there was another contradictory occasion when I met the sea in a different disguise at a different place for just a few fleeting moments.

This time the sea had a simply cool look. It was awe-inspiring. It was breath-taking. I was mesmerized and dumb-struck when I laid my eyes on the beach just behind the Dolphin Resort at Havelock Island. It was an occasion when words don’t suffice to express one’s feelings. What was so special and different here? It was just the colour. And the water-based flora. But it made all the difference to me. The sea was green in colour. A bright yet light green. And there were a couple of trees that had grown in the water just a few meters away from the shore. There were also some barren branches jutting out here and there. What a view that was! The problem here was that we were given only 10 minutes to get back to our car. Because, we still had to visit another beach and return to the ship that was to leave Havelock for Port Blair. What a pity. But the scene continues to remain in my mind’s eye. Needless to say, I clicked away to glory on the camera and the photographs that have come out are there to remind me of the view. But the photographs are only a weak reminder of the real scene that touched most of my senses. Let me rewind a little to go back to the experience I had on the ship journey from Port Blair to Havelock. It was a cool experience. It came at the right time. Just when I was beginning to think that it was a waste for me to have lugged along my books with me on the trip. Whenever would I get the time to read books? Well, this was it. 4 hours on the ship – M.V Ramanujam – and nothing else much to do. I paced the decks on the ship for the first few minutes and then settled down on the metal stairs leading from the upper deck to the lower with a cup of coffee (bought at the ship’s cafeteria) with my book. I read my book for about 2 hours with breaks in between. The breaks were utilized to stare at the sea of water all around me and a little bit of ship-exploring. Nice experience altogether. The other beach that we went to in Havelock was the Radhanagar beach. It was, we were told, the most popular beaches of all. The water was, I later learned, turquoise blue in colour. But personally, I did not see anything extraordinary in the colour of the water here. It was extremely crowded unlike all the other beaches we had visited through the trip and maybe that was what made it less fascinating for me. I love solitude. Or maybe I hate crowds. ;) Anyways, I ventured into the water here and got myself a lot wetter than at any other beach. After which, we only had time to have a very quick lunch at a place called Dreamland Restaurant. The food was pathetic and I just had the Dal and the Rice and left the rest of the food untouched. On the way back to the ship, we saw a lot of ducks quaking and waddling around. They were so cute. I wanted to get off and play with them, but then, the ship wouldn’t wait for us. The ride down to the harbor from the beach was something I enjoyed. The greenery, the birds and the quietness of the roads reminded me of the English countryside that Enid Blyton describes in some of her books. It would have been a great experience to walk on those roads rather than whiz past them in a car.

What do I talk about next? Let me go through the rest of the Baratang experience. Rewind. The trip from Port Blair to Baratang, BTW, was the high drama part of the whole trip. This calls for some talk about history and culture. Andamans has its share of tribal population. There are supposed to be 6-7 different tribes that inhabit certain parts of the island. Their population though has apparently dwindled over the last 7-8 decades. These tribals still lead an unbelievably laid-back and ancient life. Some of them are hostile while some others have just got convinced that we aren’t dangerous or have learned to ignore us (we - people who pass through their territory). So, where were we? Yes, the trip from Port Blair to Baratang involved passing through a dense forest inhabited by a tribals called the Jarawas. These weren’t said to be very hostile but the Andaman government still took the necessary precautions, had a set of rules – the Dos and Don’ts, that is. At the beginning of the forest the rule was that we were to wait for a particular number of cars to come together. Then, the fleet of cars were escorted into the forest by policemen occupying places in the car/van that went in first and the one that went in last. Obviously, they were armed. The van that went in first sported a red flag while the last one in had a green flag. There were 12 cars I guess and we were probably 8th in the line. We were instructed not to honk, not to scream, not to call out to the tribals (were we to come across them), not to offer them any food/clothes etc, not to open the windows etc. I did gulp a little before we began the trip into the forest, not knowing what was in store. What if the tribals were looking out for some bespectacled human to sacrifice at the altar of their God?  what if they’d just invented a new poisoned arrow that they wanted to beta test?  I was reminded of the Phantom, and Tintin comics and felt a tingling sensation in my spine. Hey, but I exaggerate…slightly. ;). We went into the dense forest and kept our eyes and ears wide open for tribals. We’d covered almost the entire distance when we heard noises. There were 4-5 kids from the tribal community standing by the side of the road and screaming. One of the kids had a stick and a clot tied to it with which he hit all the cars passing by. We saw two adults (women) as well. Both of them were wearing dresses made out of leaves, twigs and some kind of beads. That was all there was about the tribals as far as our trip was concerned. (we did not sight them on our way back to Port Blair the next day). Now, we’d left Port Blair at around 6 AM and once we reached the end of the forest, it was around 9.30 AM and time for breakfast. There was a small motel near the sea backwaters that we were facing and we had a few minutes to go for crossing the sea backwaters by boat to the other side – Baratang. The motel was as dirty as you could imagine. But people (all the 12 vans/cars that crossed the forest together) didn’t seem to care. Everyone expect me had breakfast there. I made do with a packet of groundnuts and chips. The boat that transported us across the sea backwaters was a strong and sturdy one that actually carried the cars; 4 at a time. We got out of the car and stood by the side of the boat and reached the other side (Baratang) in about 10 minutes. It was a cool ride as the water was covered with Mangroves on either side. We landed at Baratang and realized that it was a small village with just a handful of houses and shops. We were to stay in a hotel for the rest of the day and only return the next morning. So, we walked up to the hotel which was just 2 minutes away from the place where we got off. Two rooms had already been booked by the tour operators that were handling the tour for us. We were to stay in a deluxe room. You’d be amused to see what the ‘deluxe’ room was like though!  The room next to ours was a ‘super deluxe’ room and the difference was in the flooring. Oh God! I had a nice laugh seeing the rooms and thinking of how they were referred to. Anyways, after relaxing for about 30 minutes, we left to see the caves that were famous for Stalactites and Stalagmites. This was almost an hour’s ride from the place we were staying into the sea backwaters. We went by a small boat that was ‘navigated’ by 2 young men. When we’d been in the boat for about half an hour, we saw one of the men get a bucket and collect water that had got into the boat through cracks and pour it out!!!!!!!!!  we were traveling in a boat with holes - that let water in!  I don’t know how to swim but this was somehow very amusing and hilarious. I looked around at my folks and, not surprisingly, saw some bewildered expressions! ;). Anyways, the most exciting part of this journey was when we reached the mouth of the caves. The water was completely covered with mangroves and there was a small and narrow path that had been made out to reach the land that had the caves. It was so exciting to get in between the mangroves and navigate the twists and turns. Once we got to the land, we had to walk up for about 10 minutes to see the caves and the stalactites and stalagmites. It was just cool. Some of the stalactites and stalagmites were white and glowing, some brown with age and some still dripping wet.

Later that night, in Baratang, we ventured out for a walk just before dinner, encountered some local people chasing a centipede, went to a small Ganesha temple atop a hill, and asked a small motel chef to make Dosas for us for dinner!  (That was a favour because only Rotis sell there and Dosas aren’t made at all)

The next day morning, the trip back through the forest and out of Baratang went off without any tribal encounters. Once we reached the end of the forest toward Port Blair, we had breakfast in a roadside hut-hotel! after breakfast, we were just wandering around waiting for the driver of the car, when I spotted a really cute bird to my utter joy!  It was a bird with feathers of 3 colours. Blue, Orange and Black. I ran up to the car, got my camera and crept up to the small water tank where the bird was perched with hope in my heart and a grin on my face. I caught him on the camera twice and crossed my fingers and hoped the photographs would come out well. you ought to see the snaps. Err….they’ve come out well, but you’d have to be a keen observer to spot the bird in the photograph. (I couldn’t have gone very close to the birdie as he would have certainly flown away; remember those birds in Baludera)

Rewind to day one. We went to a beach called Corbyn’s cove. It was absolutely deserted except for some tired and hungry street or shall I say, beach dogs. The beach was great. The shores were lined with coconut trees and there were a couple of steps leading to the water. Hard to describe with my limited vocabulary. Thanks to all those trees, it was a nice and shady beach. The dogs came looking for food and refused to budge. Gave the dogs some jellies but they smelt the jellies gave me a ‘are you crazy?’ look and refrained from eating them. Even before reaching Corbyn’s cove, we stopped on the way at a temple overlooking the sea. The view was superb as there were small rocks in the water that the water was crashing against. There were some cows and a calf which had deposited themselves beside the sea on the road. All of them were lazily chewing cud. My dad’s colleague’s wife and I went and patted the calf and then came off as he threatened to return the favour.

The other place we went to (in the evening on day 2) was Chidiya Thapu. Now, here is the context - we did not know that we were at Chidiya Thapu! All the driver had mumbled was that this was another picnic spot. This place was quite different. A spot at the southernmost tip of Port Blair, it had still and just knee-deep water for more than probably half-a-kilometer into the water. We picked up a lot of shells here and waded into the water and stood staring at the water, the sky and the trees beyond. After gaping at nature for sometime, we decided to go back to the car only to find that the driver had disappeared. It was around 4.30 PM. That was when a truckloads of tourists turned up. We were wondering where our driver had disappeared to, for almost 20 minutes. He finally turned up after a while and then we left. Just outside the tourist area, there were a few shacks where Bajjis and tea was being sold. We drank tea and dug into some tasty Bajjis. It was a little after 5 PM and people were watching the sunset. I did not get out of the car though and managed to see the sun through the window from across the road. Well, guess what, the next day, we got to hear from people at our local guest house that the place we were taken to on the previous day was Chidiya Thapu and it was most famous for birds chirping around and the sunset! I was almost seething with anger. We did not know, else we would have, of course, endeavored to step into the nearby forest to spot birds and would have waited long enough to see the sunset from the ‘beach’ and left after 5 PM. The driver had disappeared even without telling us what this place was all about! I was pretty upset for a long time after that and will never probably forget to feel bad about this. Some things as I’ve mentioned elsewhere too are just not meant to be.

Another wonderful and small island that we went to was Ross island. It is very close to Port Blair. We went by the regular jetty. Stepping into Ross island, we discovered that it was a very small island where the Indian Navy had a base. It was once the Britishers’ base too. Most of the buildings built by Britishers there were all destroyed and razed to the ground, apparently during a Japanese attack. There was one spot on the island where the sea waves were hitting a broken wall quite wildly! We then walked up a steep road to also see the somewhat attractive remains of a church. After that, was a cool flight of open-air stairs that led to a lovely beach below in the rear of the island. There were plenty of coconut trees and tender coconuts that had fallen off. In the same jetty that we went by was a big gang of people from Rajasthan. They seemed to be having a whale of a time at the island (And why not? What a refreshing change for those folks from a hot and dry desert!). They also went on a coconut-breaking spree and went on guzzling down coconuts! I was surprised that they seemed to be enjoying the coconuts more than the sea. (But then, neither do they have access to tender coconuts in Rajasthan). We came back to the Jetty-boarding area through a graveyard (created during the Britishers’ time) and saw some deers! We had 30 more minutes to go for boarding the jetty back to Port Blair and spent time just sitting and lazing around and playing with one brave deer that came looking or rather demanding for food. After we left the place (and the place became deserted) and just began to make our way back to Port Blair on the jetty, we saw a peacock making its way through to the place where all of us had been sitting, apparently hunting for food!

The last island that I have to talk about is North Bay. It was about 45 minutes away by jetty from Port Blair. We went up there already aware that it was a place meant for snorkeling and had no other attractions. The jetty was stopped a little away from the shore. Once we got off the jetty, we were taken in batches to the shore by a smaller boat. I had to wait for about half-an-hour before it was my turn to go snorkeling. I had a little bit of a problem wearing or rather learning to breathe through the tube that was to provide the path for oxygen into my lungs. Also, I had to remove my glasses to wear the water goggles and started wondering if I’d be able to see anything at all. Anyways, I managed to get used to it and went snorkeling though only for a few minutes. As I was just beginning to enjoy experiencing the underwater world – the corals and the fishes – the guide guided us back to the shore.  It was a great and thrilling experience. I felt like I’d hit the corals with my feet but, of course, the goggles were what made it seem like the corals were very close to the surface of the water. After snorkeling, we just sat down and relaxed till it was time to head back to town.

I have only written about my experiences with water. Let me quickly run through the rest of the places that we went to. It is not fair to sideline them altogether - water does seem to be so charming and make land and its attractions seem less appealing. We went to a science museum that was amazing. But I did not have the time to go through every counter there. There was one section called Fun Science that was simply cool! It would undoubtedly be a great place for school students to learn and understand Physics. I swear. In another sea-life museum that we went to, I saw a board that attempted to explain the basics of sea life and read something that amused me  . The board trying to explain the concept of the underwater food-chain read ‘the greatest of activities under the sea is eating’. 

Another great place we went to was Mount Harriet. This was on our way to Port Blair from Bratang. Mount Harriet is the highest peak (or is it the second highest?) in Andamans and needless to say, the view was breath-taking. We could see the sea, some beaches, lighthouses and a few small islands. In Mount Harriet, we also came across some cute, cuddly and friendly cats! 

The two other places we visited were the Gandhi Park and the Marine Park. Gandhi’s statue in the former was very artistic and inspiring! In the latter, there was a nice statue of Subhas Chandra Bose. This park was facing the sea and had a nice little wall along the sea where one could seat oneself and watch the water. I stole a few moments here and listened to some instrumental music. I still remember the lovely sea breeze and the music that I was treated to.



Kaala Paani. How can I forget the cellular jail??? Would I be forgiven or for that matter would I forgive myself if I did not mention this? On day one, we saw the sound and light show at the Cellular Jail. It was a recorded show as narrated by Naseeruddin Shah. The programme was conducted using sophisticated audio equipment and moving lights. It was in the open air and slightly cold. . Before the programme began, we were seated and had to wait for a few minutes during which I had a great time. It was wonderful. It was around 7 PM and not knowing what to do, I just looked up at the sky and almost gasped for the sky was beautiful with a multitude of twinkling stars! As everyone was waiting for the show to start, it was very quiet and I enjoyed those moments immensely. We couldn’t look up the cells in the jail, on the same day and went back to see them only on the 4th day of our vacation. The cells were as one would expect any jail to be like. We also saw the eerie gallows. What was great were the various galleries. One of the best things that I liked and felt nostalgic about was the Aug 15th, 1947 paper – the statesman. There were advertisements by the Tata Industries, Bajaj, Hindustan Motors, and a few other companies whose names I am not able to recall. There was an advertisement for nail polish and an advertisement for shaving cream. The advertisement for the latter was something to the effect that one should look smart to be able to do good business!  (Big deal; now its about wooing the girls)

Finally, coming to the last few reminiscences of the trip, the guest house that we stayed in was a very quiet and secluded spot. We stayed in the first floor of a building atop a hill and the view was quiet nice though the sea wasn’t to be seen from there. The view presented many small houses, a small and peaceful-looking temple and huge groups of arecanut trees. It was, overall, a serene place. We did not really get to spend a lot of time in the guest house except on 2 days when we returned early from our local trips. On the day that we left for Bangalore, I went up to the temple and said a quick prayer.

The car driver who took us around claimed to be a Tamilian whose ancestors had settled down in Andaman. He said his name was Subramanian but he was known as Chotu. The name Chotu is explained by the fact that the Andaman people spoke Hindi even though the population was very cosmopolitan comprising Bengalis, Tamils, Malayalis etc. Finally, we had access to some good meals at the restaurant called Annapurna. 3 Lunches and 1 dinner was had at Annapurna, 3 Dinners at the guest house and on the remaining occasions, we had to make do with food available in roadside shacks and motels.

BTW, I think I’ve said it all, omitting no significant detail whatsoever. Just hope you aren’t saying that somebody should have stopped me. Well…anyways, the trip will remain etched in my memory for years to come. For both the good and the bad reasons. I am just hoping that I don’t continue to feel repelled and imagine a tsunami coming when I see beaches, for ever, after having loved and admired them so much.

Creative Writing? :)

Creative writing! HA! Actually, it ought to be a guffaw - HA HA HA! Before you think I’ve lost my mind or maybe just kept it aside (did I hear you say “If it exists in the first place”?), let me clarify. I love creativity. I love writing. So much so, that my sentences can be longer than acceptable. So, what’s it about the two together that makes me go ‘HA’ing? Err…shall we say that it’s all about my previous attempts to get creative while writing? The first ever time I was given an opportunity to put pencil to paper and get creative was at school. (You’d rather ask my teachers to narrate the story of how they fought the urge to get me hanged to death. And I can’t help wondering if they ever went back to giving students this kind of an opportunity after seeing my work.) There was no turning back for me since then, literally. I’d hate to show my face in school now. From those good old school days to the not-so-good office days– a huge jump in the story but the in between phase is better left unsaid – my job has given me plenty of opportunities to kill. Wait. With my creative writing abilities, that is.

Well, okay, let’s get serious. ;) Let me cut the faint jokes out and get down to reality. Here’s the truth, only the truth and nothing but the truth. I write to express myself. I write to communicate. I write to connect. I write to make people smile (if not laugh). I write to change minds. I write to influence. I write to coax. I write to motivate. I write to inspire. I write to help people share. I write to help people innovate. And sometimes - I write to exist. I write for myself.

PLUM (P.G Wodehouse) has been the most inspiring force in my life when it comes to writing (as well as humor). I might worship the ground he walked on if given the opportunity. I’ll probably have to be born again to reach his levels of writing and mastery over the language. But then, I also believe that he is inimitable! The simple philosophy that I have when it comes to writing is to have a unique style and keep it simple and easy-going rather than complex and verbose. There are some excellent writers who do have what it takes. But then, it also takes a dictionary to understand them. Not a human. I am, admittedly, in awe of writers who seem to know just about every word in the English language and more (don’t ask me how) and dole them out in no small measure in their writing. But it’s anybody’s guess as to whether that kind of writing just happens to be a show of vocabulary or touch hearts & evoke emotions! It’s okay to brush up the vocabulary and make use of it in every possible situation, but not at the cost of losing one’s audience. Having said that; let me now introduce a paradox. Bill Watterson (The creator of Calvin and Hobbes) is another favorite of mine though he uses up most of the vocabulary in the language. Maybe, he’s a rare example of how a writer can capture one’s audience despite the complexity of the language. And, what probably helps him is the fact that he is a cartoonist and not a storyteller. His artistic abilities (the pictures) and his extremely good sense of humor provide the necessary fun quotient and minimize the stress on the reader due to frequent dictionary-references.
Okay. Enough of the rambling. Let me jump back to my style of writing (whatever that is!?). So, what do I want anyways? I want to capitalize on my passion for writing and help address cultural issues. I want to use it to change things for the better. I want, in short, to change the world through my writing. Like it is said, the pen is mightier than the sword and I’d like to wield it better. Blogging, I hope, will help me pursue these dreams.