An Inevitable Journey

Way back in the mid 90s when I, a newcomer to the garden city of Bangalore, was looking around to find a social support system in order to make my transition from Kolkata to Bangalore, I was introduced to him.

Wearing the Chairman’s Jewel around his neck, a thorough gentleman with a thin voice, thinner hair and a very warm smile welcomed me to Bangalore North Round Table 25 and a feeling of homecoming engulfed me. S.R. Badhri, a senior in all ways, became a good friend. A friend, who may not visit your home unless invited but you know that whenever you will need, he will be there, standing next to you, extending his complete support to take you out of any adversity, maybe just using his warm disarming smile.

However, that, even if you need, will not happen now, it will not!

The smile is gone. The friend is gone. The man is gone. The inevitable and cruel hands of death have snatched him from us and taken him to the world where each one of us will eventually end up but the decision to proceed towards that destination will never be of our own free will.  

It will happen, one day, all of a sudden - almost, in some cases! There will be no choice. We will have to undertake the journey from this world to another, unknown world, leaving everything behind. Everything that we would have earned in our life till then – health, wealth, reputation, relationships… everything! And, it will not matter when this will happen. It may be any regular run-of-the-mill day or perhaps a special day for us and our loved ones as was with Badhri. The pitiless fate led to his funeral falling on the day of his wedding anniversary!!

My dear friend Badhri, next, we shall meet in that other world. Who knows when, but someday, for sure!

Rest In Peace!!

Revving Up

It was Difficult! Yes, it was!! Surprisingly, it was!!!…Surprising? Well, considering my media industry background, it ought to be surprising that it took me sooooo loooong to actually make my own blog, a reality! And believe me, it will be even more DIFFICULT (CAPS defining the degree of difficulty; BOLD accentuating the level of effort it required to overcome this difficulty) to sustain it. But am determined, I will TRY (CAPS = degree of determination; BOLD affirming the affirmation) to sustain it.

Obvious question, in my mind (hopefully in your mind, too), is WHY did it take me so long to jump on to the bandwagon? After all, isn’t it an ideal tool for marketing oneself and with this delay, I have missed the proverbial ‘first-mover advantage’. Well, yes, that I have but then don’t 'Me-Too' products make a success story? Many a times, 'Me-Too's are more successful than the originals. And if there were no 'Me-Too's, there would have been only one market condition – Monopoly – and no consumer choice in any field…Ah!, sorry for digressing to a much macro level. 

Talking about the micro – me and my delayed entry in the blogging arena – truth is, I was not sure what blogs to create? I mean, whatever subject I pick, there are already enough people writing about it, so who would read me? Why would they read me??

(Image courtesy: Gabriel Weinberg’s blog “Why I blog’)

It just did not strike me that here is a concept called ‘Promotion’, you know - the 'Tooting Your Own Trumpet'. Thankfully, I remembered it now…and here I am with my first musing in the virtual world with a hope that the trumpet will orchestrate enough interest to transform this into a blockbuster.

Well, now that the baby is born its time for the next step – naming the baby! In the Indian tradition, this is a big, complicated and often a very close and personal (read family) and hyped up ceremony....latter, especially if you are a paprazzi hounded celebrity – thankfully, I am not, so will keep it simple! 

But hey….... let me bring in my style of management in this process – participative style. Let me give this baby a nick-name - A Musing - to start with, and invite you, my loved ones, my friends, my possible supporters and my prospective readers to make this a joint venture (did I say I will keep it simple??? I must be smoking something??). What should I name my baby…errr!! My Virtual Baby – My Blog. And I know, just like me, many of you have a Bollywood fixation, but please resist and don't call it Baby A or Baby Jhingran ;)

Let me be professional and give you a brief to assist you:

‘Sitting miles away from my home country – India – for fairly long, I am still rooted to home and would bring in my reflections on what is happening around back home, across fields – social, cultural, economical, political, sports, movies, music, food, etc. At the same time, I will also not neglect my land of residence – Jamaica, which has given me an opportunity to earn a living, perhaps, a better one (in some aspects) than my home country did. The name of my blog has to be reflective of my personality (don’t ask….you all know me) and what I intend to write. Preferably a single word but not more than three words, with intentional pun, if possible!’

So, guys & gals, ladies & gentlemen, let those thinking caps adorn your heads and creative itches start getting stronger. Help me name this baby and for sure, you will get the credit of this ‘naamkaran’ for its lifetime. Bring out the 'Pundit' in you

Ciao!!