I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious | Fascinated | Animated | Digital Enthusiast | Stoked by Ideas | Forever Abecedarian | Road Tripper | Smitten by Art of Storytelling | Tickled funny bone | Kindled by Random Conversations | ISB Alumna | Marketing Professional
You know its been a great weekend, when on a Monday, you pull out the scribbling on the back of an industry report, to update a long forgotten blog. An inspired moment, unedited, a first in hindi for me.
Kaal
Is shor main jo ulajhta ja raha hoon,
Apne mann ke dhagaon ko-bun,
Kabhi udhaidta ja raha hoon
Zindagi ke pal jo beet ja rahe hain
Unhe samait,
Sulajhta ja raha hoon.
Seekh raha hoon,
Sambhal raha hoon.
Apni ki hui galtiyoon pe kabhi itra,
Kabhi sukhoon bhi pa raha hoon.
Mudh ke dekhna, galat nahi.
Aage jo hai, uske beetne pe,
Apne kal ki udharana pata ja raha hoon.
Meri lakiroon main, meri gaatha nahi.
Khud ki jeevani, main likhta aa raha hoon,
Guroor ya abhimaan hai,
Vidhata ki kuch dain bhi.
Karamoon ke upkaar,
Aage apne soch ke buland iraadon pe chaltein ja raha hoon.
We 20Mn+ Delhites, please allow me the luxury to extend the definition to lesser mortals of NCR too, are proud owners of 8.9Mn vehicles. Vehicles, that ply on roads clogged by traffic. Traffic, that belongs to it and some that doesn’t: Pedestrians, Strays, Hawkers, Pavement houses, Construction, Dumpsters, Unammned check posts, Broken down trucks, Trees for shrines. Traffic powered by machine, humans and animals.
Oh, am otherwise in awe of the wide, and the very rare experience of, uninterrupted roads of Delhi. To chance upon the later, is a fairy tale. We are often blamed for Indian Stretchable Time. Truth be told, it’s not of volition. Waddling through traffic and the harrowing task to find a parking is no small feat. I recollect leaving my car to be towed for lack of both a parking spot & time to reach the interview with Microsoft at Cyber City, Gurgaon. An ocean of offices swamped with an ever increasing school of employees and of course, negligible parking. The other time I did find parking in the bylanes, my patrician stilettoes gave up on the cobbled dusty track. Then there is, carpeting, to save you from the embarrassment of grating heels.
Life goes on, at the rate of 4 hours of daily commute to and fro work, since. Am no exception. Those who live in spitting distance are not better off either. Well, I say that because they spend inordinate time covering a short distance. This regular life of mine is often interrupted, by the likes of wedding season. 20,000 weddings on a single day! While it might tell you the obvious, about the exploding traffic and potential mating population, I am perplexed to know that there are so many eligible men out there! Who are these people? Where are their watering holes? How come ‘I’ have not spotted these unicorns! Then we have festivals, VIPs, maintenance, construction stalemate and religion. Be warned Kanvarias and Chhat puja can dent you! Speaking of dents, virgin cars in Delhi are a myth.
In my ranting thus far I have not spoken about anything you did not know. Although, I may have been able to evoke empathy, by stating the obvious. Doing so was not the intention but admittedly is quite charming of me.
This write-up could have well been about air pollution due to traffic but then healthy lungs, chirping birds and green earth move few to action. Selfishness, can and does. Let us pivot this around us; our comfort, time, money & life. Now we should be better prepared to lend an ear and a thought.
It is also easier & natural to expect, after all we pay taxes; we elect. We have paid for infrastructure development, salaries of cops and waivers for violations. We should have better roads, faster construction, improved connectivity, flawless enforcement of traffic rules, pavements for cyclists, overhead bridges, shelters for the homeless, sheds for the stray and Santa Claus.
There are things “they” , the other partridges, can do. Lane driving, abide by signal, respect distance & your vehicle, be less ear-splitting, get that black hose of hell fixed, give way to the emergency siren, to start with. I am sure you have your asks.
Then there are some things we can do. Of course we do them already; not give into road rage & profanity, acknowledge our mistake, time our travel- but then again there are no off-peak hours I know of anymore.
Also, there are real solutions that do not require investments or infrastructure. Some solutions dangle the carrot, some whip the stick, others, do neither.
Here are the 15 Ideas that I can think of to reduce traffic and save you some money, time & life:
A Case for Car Pooling
Car Pool
This can be done informally at an individual level, formally by large organizations and monetized by 3rd part technology solution providers via apps. Carpooling, Letsride & Pool Circle
Shared Taxi Service
Why can’t the radio taxis not add a feature of multiple pick-ups and drops on the same route. Some will take it, few every day, others will cringe. Here is how UberPool works.
Single Passenger Hours
Disallow single passenger vehicles to ply during certain hours. If not disallow, make it prohibitively expensive.
Cap cars/person
Increase tax liability, charge higher registration, higher loan rates for second car. And the whip cracks!
Dangle the Public Transport carrot
Income Tax relief. Student concession. Loyalty cards. Reward points for Metro kms.
Meter the Autos!
Create an economical option for people to use. If autos charge this steeply & arbitrarily, I might as well buy my Nano.
Technology at help: Automated real time heat map
Spot the congestion, avoid it like plague. No need for twitter and radio updates, most of which are awfully incorrect.
Shared transfers
Hotspots like offices, marketplaces, theatres, parks can have shared transfers at standardized rates that ply frequently. Metro being the hub, hotspots the spokes.
Promote Work from Anywhere
Why incent individuals alone when you can influence the culture they work in. Reward companies where employees enjoy a work from home.
Do telemarketers need to be in office?
Use collaborative workspaces to plug and well, play.
Flexible work hours
Let the cogs decide the hours that work for them. The company and the manager should care for the output.
Company transport
Facilitate busses and cabs. Charge them if required, but nominally.
Car Pooling Alliance
If there can be coopetition why can’t offices in the same zone or building come together. This serves as company transport with centralized security and logistics. Small businesses benefit! Win-Win.
Preferred housing
Allocate preferred societies for employees to stay at. Give them a reason to live there; benefits. Membership to gym, compensation component, schooling for children, doctor on call, Life balance. High density of employees in an area = economical and efficient shuttle service.
Be Draconian:
Allocate days when odd and even registration number plates cannot ply.
Don’t turn right on the green light.
A lot amongst these ideas may need organizational or policy level support. A few are fledgling, others growing wings. Then, there are those you can excuse as a thing of my late evening, hyperactive imagination. What I hope though is that it leaves you with food for thought and me with a comment on how you think we can solve for traffic congestion.
The previous post on “Marketing the Brand – You” dwelled on the art of persuasion. The exploits of which, are aplenty, in the field of advertising and politics. A natural progression would be to identify these tactics at play and set your grey cells ticking, recalling brands and campaigns. Interestingly, as you begin to recall campaigns, it may strike you, that a majority of marketing campaigns lead with a primary tactic, but have an interplay of the others woven-in seamlessly into, stories of persuasion, they tell.
Associations: forge a connect, arouse an emotion. Example Coke-Open Happiness. Nike- victory. The arsenal is well equipped with:
Beautiful People: Before and after, a la fitness / fairness cream ad- the I could be like that feeling. A word of caution this can translate into an Oh I am so ugly moment too. Which is why read beauty magazine’s sparingly- they only make you feel ugly- Baz Luhrman
Transfer to a warm and fuzzy place : the aww moment, use of children, puppies, friendship, elderly, vacations and good times (Kingfisher)
Symbolism: Broom :: cleaning corruption for Aam Admi Party, Cars to sexy women being wooed.
Nostalgia: simplicity which = higher quality; evoke memories of childhood, India’s partition- Google-Reunion Ad. Think Pilsbury Chakki fresh atta.
Status- Snob value: discerning people drink Bailey’s. Usually associated with Luxury marketing.
Brand name: Umbrella branding- P&G, Unilever, HUL. Endorsed brands- Polo by Ralph Lauren.
Bandwagon: Join us: everyone is doing it! Don’t get left out. Example Blackberry boys and every social networking platform-Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram.
Bribery: promise to give something: discount, specials, gifts, packages. 70% discount***, Mahindra club holidays, Saloons and Spas.
Testimonials and Advocacy:
Celebrities: Dime a dozen.
Experts: Doctors for Skin, Health and Dental care or Mothers for baby care.
Plain Folks: build authenticity. This one has become very popular. Example: Dove
Customers: A great B2B card. Example Accenture. The election campaign has several happy supporters show their vote of confidence through PDA and canvas.
Scientific Evidence: Engines, Water Purifiers, well sometime it just sounds a lot of jargon and pseudo-intellectual.
Explicit Claims: Come clean, through credibility and setting expectations. Transparency on product specification, what to expect, price, delivery, manufacturing, ingredients. Quantifiable metrics, effectiveness, reliability, guarantees. Example: E-commerce portals
Fear: of rejection, non-conformity, of not being able to achieve, of being differentiated. Example fairness creams will get you that job, marriage, do your parents proud and more; Is bad breath or body odor keeping you away from getting a date? Have you secured your family’s future? Get that insurance cover.
Humor: Likeability and recollection. This one is especially, tricky. You could boost or go bust. Example A “cheeky” one by Aston Martin, how about one closer home Center Fresh- Yeh wala.
Intensity: Load your ad with intensifiers- Superlatives (Best, greatest, fastest, latest), Comparatives (Fewer calories, better, improved, more), Hyperbole (incredible, amazing). Copy writers at work.
Maybe: Now that intensity has led to tall claims, they must be neutralized with a * Terms and Conditions apply. Even if it means a 20 secs radio spot – mutual funds are subject to market risk. Put the onus on the consumer. Often used qualifiers are may, might, could, often, virtually, up to. Think Insurance, Discounts.
Personalization: Use of second person. The message is addressed to “you”. Because “you” are worth it!- L’Oreal
Neologisms: Flashes of brilliance by copywriters to coin terms to describe and convince: Chewy, longer-lasting, smoother-handling, mirror finish, meaty, nutty, crackly.
Repetition: frequency of showing the ads, jingles. They will not relent! Airtel-Har Ek friend, “rings a bell”?
The Big lie: is easier to pull off than a small lie. Be confident. Tell it with aplomb. Make a claim. Own the space.
Charisma: Leadership position, strong, bold, confident. Brand image play a pivotal role here.
Euphemism: garnish the ugly truth. Soften the expression. Layoff = Downsizing, Torture = intensive interrogation techniques. Remember the pre-owned cars by Aston Martin?
Extrapolation: Small facts leading to huge conclusions. Ignores complexity. Over- simplification. Insurance seems to be a favorite.
Flattery- cause you are worth it! “You deserve it,” The consumer is the smarty pants- can judge a good deal from bad: You, with that taste; oh the niche hobby, the talent, eye for spotting a deal. People who know their cars choose Thuderbolt.
Glittering Generalities: generous garnishing of “virtue words” which give no details New improved, Safe, Caring, qualified, Patriotism, democracy, civilization, financial freedom, beauty, love, science, health. Where these concepts can be evoked without evidence or delving into their meaning- All time fav- “NEW” where new = better/innovation, latest = best. Mobile, Gadgets, Automobiles
Name calling- building negative associations and sentiments. Typical of at your throat technique. Pepsi vs Coke. McDonald vs Burger King.
Rhetorical Questions: Ask questions audience will agree with you on. Builds buy in. Audience can relate. Example: Do you want to get rid of a headache? Do you want to secure your child’s future?
Simple Solution to a complex problem: Axe deodorant can make women swoon over you. Fair and Lovely can bag you a job, beauty and appreciation
Slippery Slope: An action (small) will cause an unwanted reaction (magnified). Example: Direct TV
Ad hominem: Latin for “against the man”. Shoot the messenger tactic. If there messenger is objectionable, the message must be wrong too. Example: when brand ambassador receives negative publicity. Tiger Woods affair cost corporate sponsors $12Bn in lost stock value. Companies such as Gatorade, Nike and Electronic Arts stock prices fell 2.3%, costing shareholders $12 billion or how about this Dish Network ad.
Card stacking. The half- truth No one can tell the whole story; we all tell part of the story. Here we “stack the deck,” selecting only favorable evidence to lead the audience to the desired conclusion. Example: high calories & sugar laden products boasting of low fat.
Analogy: Drawing parallels. Mac on Intel , Clear and internet access company.
Denial: Think when a brand smartly uses negative occurrence in a compete situation to “not bring it up” in press. Celebrities: We are just friends!, No comment! They are actually tricking you into persuading them to ask for more.
Diversion or Red herring: to divert attention to a lesser problem where convincing will be easier
Majority Believes: Use of surveys and polls. Example: 4 out of 5 dentists recommend ABC.
Scapegoating: Get the monkey off your back. Offshoring to India is the reason for high rate of unemployment in USA.
False Dichotomy: You have only 2 options, nothing in between: either filthy, disgusting cloth towel OR you can use “Kleenex Hand Towels – a clean, fresh towel every time!”
Straw Man: Come clean by building an illogical or deliberately damaged idea of an opponent , knock it off and presenting your own as easier. Less tedious to get a loan, fewer calories.
Timing: Contextual and relevant: Cricket, Budget, Diwali, Valentine’s Day, Elections
Armed to disarm? Now don’t skip those ads. Makes for a fun game. Alright, tad bit geeky, but fun, nonetheless.
Anecdotes, make for valuable lessons. People who share their life stories mentor us fortuitously. It is over one such conversation I was told that, in personal and professional life you always get what you negotiate for, not what you deserve. Well, the original thought was Chester L Karrass’ “In business as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” However, what made it meaningful, was the narrative that followed. Needless to say, I had been subject to deft demonstration of negotiating capabilities.
On my drive back, I thought to myself that great negotiators would be rather capable in the craft of persuasion. A skill, I assume, we all would love to bargain in favor of.
Persuade means:
to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging:
to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding; convince:
Thesaurus, can be quite a tool for learning. I don’t mean it from a “replace with a tougher word” perspective, alone. Look up, persuasive. Dwell on and internalize each of these synonyms.
Three thought bubbles popped in my head. First, how the often cited mechanisms of being persuasiveness were really not tactics, but aspects. Second, how advertising and politics had thrived on this expertise. Lastly, individuals are brands that need marketing.
Juxtapose the exploits of marketing and the aspects above, and the result is how the brand “You”, can get people to do things that are in their own best interest, that also benefits you.
Be Purposeful:
Self-Awareness: Understand your power and use it sparingly and knowingly. Refrain from brand dilution.
Argue and advocate less often. If you don’t stand up for something you will fall for everything.
See the larger picture, win the war: be willing to sacrifice
Listen, actively
Articulating your stance is just the half way mark. Know the other side of the argument. Dialogue over monologue
Assess how receptive people are to your idea. Build audience insights.
What are and potentially can be their objections. Know your customer. Know your competition.
What could be their moments of agreement. Know their BATNA (Best Alternate to negotiated agreement). Why would they switch?
Connect, Localize & Personalize
Establish a common ground- an emotional bond. Uncover similarities
Be likeable | Influence the subconscious | Empathize
Have a sense of humor
Compliment- genuinely: Charm and disarm- “Because you are worth it”
Example: by body language, mirroring, interests, life events, political views, social beliefs. This is used very well in the direct selling model like Tupperware
Acknowledge Credibility:
Don’t argue facts. Don’t live in your world- get out there.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, make peace with it. Run research but remember it’s not sacrosanct.
World is grey. Don’t be dismissive. Competition is everywhere. Create an opportunity. Create a need.
Shut up
Don’t constantly berate people with verbal barrage. You are never big enough
Step back. Look within. Look without.
Whenever you ask a closing question, shut up. The first person who speaks, loses.”
Give space and time for your idea to be absorbed and take root. Don’t give up.
Persuade the persuadable
Identify the low hanging fruit. People that at a given time are persuadable to your point of view and focus your energy and attention on them. Fine tune the Target Audience. Example: Identifying vote bank during elections
Everyone can be persuaded, given the right timing and context, but not necessarily in the short term. Diffusion of innovation-Early adopter>early majority> late majority>laggards
Lend a context
It creates a standard for what is acceptable.
Lend it a situation.
Stanford prisoner experiment demonstrates the power of authority and situational attribution of behavior over dis-positional behavior
Time it
Wishes and wants are a function of time. Example you want a hatchback when riding a bike and then a sedan when driving a hatchback
Be an opportunist: Thank then ask. Example: Upgrades, Cross Sell.
Spot the mood: Examples Festivals, Cricket, Budget
Inculcate the interest
Keep the channels of communication open. You can’t persuade someone who is not willing to be persuaded. Find the window.
Seduce | Bewitch | Charm | Serenade
Reciprocate:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Invest. Create leverage
Be Logical
Use rationale, facts and figures.
Power of asking questions
“You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into.
Be Consistent
Build predictability. Build Credibility
Be persistent:
Winners don’t quit. Quitters don’t win. Example: Abraham Lincoln.
Set expectations:
Don’t over-commit. Example Warranty, Guarantee, SLA
Don’t assume:
Don’t judge. Don’t be biased. Example: Leapfrogging
Give yourself and them a fair chance and choice
Create scarcity:
It’s in the mind.
Take back approach: your offering and yourself.
Say no, to get a yes.
Lost opportunity
Example: Value based pricing. By invitation only, Exclusivity
Create Urgency:
Not desperation.
Establish value of time, opportunity cost.
Motivation to act in present
Lend a visual:
Choose the location
Tell a story. Make it vivid with emotions. Pain or pleasure.
Seed imagination
Example: Movies. Bollywood!
Show the mirror
Tell them the truth.
Call a spade a spade.
Example: Satyamev Jayate, Jaago Re, Before and After (Weight loss)
Be Flexible
Flexibility not power lends control
Example: Children. Pester power. They are willing to do anything to persuade- howl, charm, bargain, plead!
Bring good energy
Motivate & Invigorate
Heightened appeal to senses: touch, sight, emotion, speech
Observe:
The practicing artists & scientists of persuasions: Competitions. Learns from the successful and those who failed.
Be Prepared
Know your subject ( pun intended)
Conflict management
Be calm, detached and unemotional
Evoke trust
Example: Feedback, Customer Satisfaction
Transparency
Build the trust and faith
Accept limitations
Use anger purposefully
Sparingly.
Not emotionally or due to lack of self-control
Put your foot down
Believe
Be confident. Be certain.
Start:
Begin a job and seek help. Its leading by example.
Example: Very handy for chores at home. Get your partner to help.
Over ask to compromise
It’s difficult to refuse, consistently. What more, there is a sense of relief in giving in to a lesser ask/evil.
Children do this rather well. Can we at least go play?
Be Inclusive:
Use we. Have skin in the game.
Find Testimonials
Showcase adoption by others. Their point of view.
Seek recommendation. LinkedIn
Example: News- quotes , Research: Paper citation
From “Marketing the Brand- You” to “Brands Marketing to You” The story telling will continue…
My tryst with languages has been that of, love-hate. Education, across a string of schools and cities throws at you challenges, of what some might recall, as 2nd and 3rd languages. Compulsory languages, that you had to cross the mark on, to make it to the next grade. I had my encounters with Hindi, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Sanskrit and acquainted myself with French and Urdu. Thankfully, English was the marathon friend.
When it came to taking a second language, for boards, the hoity-toity had, French. As much as, the bourgeois bug appealed to me, I had to resign to Hindi “A”. Then, I had kicked myself for not having scored lesser, so that I could have been assigned to the batch of Hindi “B”. The scholarly subscribed to Sanskrit- oh boy, for that cramming! I have a fundamental disconnect with the whole, memorizing without understanding, school of education, but addressing that would merit an entire post. Honestly, I would have opted for neither French, nor Sanskrit, or the long tail German, Russian, and more. It’s the lack of choices, which sets you off on the “what if” mode. Sometimes, no option is not such a bad option, after all. It makes life simple.
In my brushes with Bengali and Gurmukhi, I learnt to read and write them. Speaking was another league, a preposterous one. Cat got my tongue, voice box would collapse, heart beat and swimming head competed to win the dash, eyes shied away from contact. It remains, a different league.
The task at hand, then, was to prepare sufficiently enough to decode the examination. Put a bunch of symbols together to, string essays, long answers, stories, letters to score 40 or 44/100. Modus operandi – out of the examination hall, out of mind. Admittedly, it was an art. An art of, shallow learning. On the brighter side, your formative years expose you to endless abilities, most of which you are not aware of and look back at, with bewilderment. As we mature we give in to self-doubt. Self-doubt, that stems from a constant monologue in our head telling us “now we know better- we were kids then-boundless” Interestingly, that ability to do unthinkable things is easy to replicate. Look at what one was a couple of years back, and the same feeling takes over-how did I do it then?
Little flair for languages has been a challenge, but am not willing to throw away presents from my past. Rekindling the literature which seems blurred and far.
Despite, English acing the list, there is always room for improvement. Improvement, which translates not into a bigger better basket of words, but a creative use of it. Romancing the language.
India is a land of abundant knowledge. The diversity we read about in our civics textbooks manifests in each family teaching children English, Hindi and a native language. Well, the idea is to neither generalize the first two nor their order but to state that on an average an educated Indian is conversant with three languages. Impressive.
In my case, am not too pleased that despite being of Sikh origin my first rendezvous with Gurmukhi was not until 8th grade, for a brief 4 months. Clearly, I could do away with it being so foggy. Read and understand the vaakh at gurudwara sahib without squirming. Shed the inhibition to speak, get the inflections, intonation and pronunciation right.
Hindi, is a different story all together. Somewhere the colonial hangover left Hindi with drooping shoulders, robbing us of pride in our own literature. Sound education, intelligence, sophistication were and if I may add, are the reserves of the English speaking. Hypocritical and biased. Hindi to me is hypnotic. Casual conversation with locals outside of the metro cities, profound deliveries by theater actors, riveting expressions of orators, storytelling by poets and writers has enticed me into rediscovering Hindi. Rediscovering Hindi is like rediscovering yourself, re-connecting, grounding, dusting off the bells and whistles. Speaking more of Hindi makes me feel warmer and connect better. Some expressions just cannot be translated, they are priceless as originals. True for all languages. Often we think in one language, translate that thought into writing or speech of another. I want to learn to think in the language.
Bengali’s are easy to spot. Perhaps a function of their accent, cliquishness, love for travel, cultural nuances, amongst many others. Revival of my dexterity in Bengali can go a long way in deciphering conversations my friends and colleagues indulge in – my field of marketing and advertising is besieged with the fraternity. More importantly, bond with the domestic help. Most importantly, it is a low hanging fruit when it comes to a language I have learnt to read and write in the past.
Sanksrit, is highbrow. It is a root language and to be able to do justice one must not be of fleeting interest, lend depth. Admittedly, I don’t fit the bill.
Indian languages are too inviting and have caught my fancy. The relationship began with the inescapable syllabus but has mushroomed into a promising canvass of understanding and connecting better with people. High on my wish list is Gujarati, Urdu and finally one international language, Spanish
While I get more conversant with English and Hindi, renew my familiarity with Gurmukhi and Bengali, explore Gujarati, Urdu and Spanish am cognizant that there are only so many languages I can unbox. The truest and most compelling are, unspoken languages- that of dance, music, emotions, art, sports and more. They germinate from our mind, body and soul! Universal.
Summarizing with Quotes
A tribute to my 3rd languages across schools:
“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”
“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”‒Sarah Caldwell
Thinking in a language: being a purist
“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”- George Orwell
As food for thought
“Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.” ‒Oliver Wendell Holmes
“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein
On native language
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela
On Hindi losing appeal
“Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.”‒Rita Mae Brown
On my inhibition to speak another language
“Never make fun of someone who speaks broken English. It means they know another language.”–H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“…the only normal way to begin speaking in a new language is to begin speaking badly!!”
On learning multiple languages
“Those who know many languages live as many lives as the languages they know.” – Czech proverb
“To have another language is to possess a second soul.” – Charlemagne
Universal languages
“I’m bilingual, speaking English and body language. I prefer the latter, because I can speak it silently and without listening and while my back is turned.”
“Touch comes before sight, before speech. It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth”-Margaret Atwood
“silence is the language of god, all else is poor translation.”Rumi
Heavens were falling, the rain gods irascible. It thundered, only this was not a no-man land but our very ol’ concrete jungle of pot holes and traffic jams. It was only last Friday that I had lived through a nightmare and my bravery was not rewarded beyond Ashram where I took a U turn and headed back to a work from home. I had no sadistic overtone to suggest that I would even fathom inflicting myself with the pain.
Windows lend a story book charm to our lives. Looking out of mine, I could see the verdant trees, smell the dampness, hear the thunder and feel , just feel! It’s good to have moments through the day where even if it is for some fleeting seconds one can connect with oneself, it just sets a rhythm to our breathing for the day. They say if you can control your breathing you can control the way you feel, perhaps for me it lasted more than 48 hrs.
A productive day at work must be rewarded. A Friday celebrated.
Rina Dhaka and Rocky S fashion show. Red painted nails and batting eyelids. Don’t mistake me for the fashion fraternity but am agreeable to it occasionally, much like a family wedding. Yes, the sentiments are pretty similar you spend long hours preparing for it and last crisply. Interestingly you don’t’ complain. To me the show was about anorexic women, champu men, sponsors, free loaders, non-buyers! The tag of designer label seems to have diminshed, the era of models passé. Of course there will be individual shows with great elan and in their usual pomp and flair but until then its good to give them a miss. The first glass of wine was needed and I glugged it only the second glass wouldn’t go down my gullet. It was time for my sister and I to treat ourselves to some chettinad, hot, spicy, rooted food. It was not by design but Swagath was one amongst the fewer restaurants we could have a meal at 1130pm. Of course we couldn’t move much but make it home and plonk ourselves to sleep.
17th September
Its got nothing to do with my community! Its got nothing to do with my DNA.. but it was 12 exact 12. An amusing start. It has been forever that I slept for 10 hours straight. No phone (battery died), no maids, no wake up its 730, what time do u need to reach work?, no here is your tea, no where are the car keys? No licks on my face. No nobody, no no-one.
This evening we kick off Experience Delhi. There is a concert at American Center by Carrie Newcomer, a Grammy award winning singer accompanied by Gary Walters Pianist and Jim Brock Percussionist. When you share itinerary there is credibility at stake, you need to own it and I could feel the pressure of hoping it would be nice. It was gone by the time I got into the car. It snapped out. I was excited. I was setting out for something I genuinely wanted to do, Experience Delhi, it wasn’t meant to be ExperienceD Delhi. The discomfort with ambiguity had vanished, especially when you are standing in a queue, in queue where you are not allowed to enter. Yes, I was 10 mins late, blame it on finding the venue and then a parking but then I was late none the less. I was living one end of the spectrum in Delhi. Punctuality, Queues, Security Checks and being escorted to an LCD for viewing as a consolation prize, a prize a friend didn’t get for entering 18 mins late. He had to turn back. No one can take the dilli-walla out of me. I was soon cajoling the hostess to allow me into the auditorium and she was gracious enough to relent. Carrie was soulful, her lyrics meaningful and well when she spoke ahem I knew she could dirty talk. For me Jim was the STAR , brilliant he just blew me away with his talent. I wondered what it would be to think like him, to witness creation like him, to hear music in everything, to make music of everything!
The other spectrum awaited us. Bollywood, fashionably 3 hrs late, my name is on the guest list, can I make a call, oooo we love you, muah muah, large peg, treated hair and a jars of gel! Speedy Singhs event. Now that’s not what we were prepared for. It was Russell Peters whom we wanted to root for. Little did we know it was Gugi to Harbhanjan Singh and a lot of Punjab in the middle. I wonder if there is any correlation with the start of the day. Oh there was a star cast. Only I wasn’t sure they were stars! At least not until now. You can tell little these days. Song and dance, recitation of Russell Peters rib-ticklers, oh and some phone photography owing to which one of us got knocked down and out for a minute. Now is that not truly an experience for him and at his expense for us!
18th September:
Sunday lunch has to be big, if it’s not paranthas, it is butter chicken! If it not home, its dining out. Atleast that’s the reputation a Punjabi family enjoys and we lived up to it. Ideally a hot cup of tea and sprawling like a cat on my couch would have been an ideal follow through. Only if I had not wanted to see that girl in yellow boots. The movie left me numb. Unconventional theme, unorthodox portrayal, avant-garde artists, unaffected cinematography. Disturbing and dark. Very disturbing, very dark.
5 new pairs of shoes can make anyone feel better, try it! Shopping is the elixir..
Curio-Cities by Dilpreeta Vasudeva 
