De-branding

 Just try this exercise. On your resume.

Remove all references to brand names- institutions, colleges, companies, products and so on. See how it looks without the famous horses we usually piggy-back on. I will have to remove references to 4 IIMs, a foreign university or two, and all country names where I went for conferences- yes, remove those too.

What remains could be the essence of what you did, or what you are. A human who interacted with and learnt from other humans- teachers, parents, colleagues- and maybe taught a few things to other humans, if you were a teacher, like me. One whose experiences were shaped by conversations that exchanged thoughts with a variety of people - including children, adolescents and old people over shared meals, or coffee, or music, or nothing.

We are what we forget to be most of the time- ourselves. Not the guy who went to IIT or MIT. Or the girl who starred in a film called so and so. Just normal- affectionate, cranky, friendly, sarcastic.. whatever.

I call it de-branding. Not exactly a marketing principle. Maybe one of self-discovery.

Tourism and Goa

 Goa occupies a unique spot in our psyche out here in India. Its tropical beaches stretch for miles, and give you an opportunity to swim or bathe in the sea almost any time of the year, except when it is raining heavily. Very few beaches in the world can compare. 

But more than this, it's an idea. Just the mention of Goa brings a smile to anyone's face. Stories of plans made to go there tumble out, many of which went unfinished. Some who actually made it want to do more of it. I have rarely met a person who does not wish to holiday in Goa, in all these years. It's almost a magical land.

Maybe, at a psychological level, it's a place where you can BE. Try and discover yourself, your limits. Not just the drinking limits, but in forgetting your routines, and immersing yourself-figuratively, in the sea. Enjoying the present, without a care of the past or the future.

Having been there about 8-10 times now, probably more, I can vouch for that feeling. You feel bad when you leave. Viva la Goa!

Sophie's World- Book Review

An amazing book, if you have the slightest interest in things philosophical. I came across the book in a Pondicherry boutique hotel room -yes, they had books in each room. There was also a common living room/kitchen- here's a pic. (Wildflowers of Walden's the name of this place)

The book is about a girl discovering various schools of thought -mostly philosophical and religious, but also about inventions and discoveries and much more- through conversations with an older man. It's written in an engaging style (translated from Norwegian, I think), and I was hooked until I read all of it.