One of my favourite uncles passed away last month. He had been struggling with cancer for the past year or so, and had been terminally ill after suffering a relapse five months ago. He went through such terrible suffering in the last few months that death seemed to be his only relief.
As a mark of respect to him and his family, I decided I won't write my thoughts on it till after he had passed away. This post is not about my affection for my uncle, but about the kind of questions this kind of experience evokes in a human being.
My uncle's family has watched him wilt away day by day. They took good care of him and did everything they could to ensure he felt as comfortable as possible. Seeing someone they loved suffer for so long, it was only a matter of time before some of their thoughts went towards Euthanasia. I know this word might evoke a sense of alarm with some of you, but it is important to not allow our prejudices for or against it from preventing us to recognize the stark realities facing such patients.
Healthcare has advanced greatly over the years, with tremendous amount of breakthroughs in our understanding of the human body and therefore medicine. Some may argue that it has become quite a lucrative business to be in as disease is almost as certain as death. To put it bluntly, there is always a market for it.
However, given all that, there are still quite a few diseases which do not have a well-established cure. We have found ways to reduce the suffering of the people having terminal diseases, thereby keeping them alive much longer than they would live otherwise, but not enough surefire ways of curing their ailments. In some cases, it is generally known that it is only a matter of time before someone passes away.
One of my friends has quite a radical view on research in healthcare. He believes we should not be spending so much money on trying to find ways to keep really old and terribly sick people alive; they are not the direct contributors of growth and advancement of the civilization. They have done their part, thank you very much; its time to move on. He would rather see the money diverted from such research to something like education or eradication of children's diseases. He believes in the evolution of civilization in a certain way I guess. (It is my policy generally not to try and change a person's world view; in my experience, they usually have good reasons for it and it is seldom worth the fight)
One of the questions I have asked myself, confessedly only after witnessing my uncle's suffering first hand, is why we think human life is more sacrosanct than animal life? Take the case of Barbaro. Here was a thoroughbred who unfortunately got injured and never really recovered from it. His owners had no qualms deciding to have him euthanized. If we can allow this for animals, why can't we do the same for our own kind?
Maybe it is an inherent survival instinct in all of us. Maybe killing their own kind is not the way animals are wired. I wonder how other species feel when they face such a situation. Do they find it easy to let go of this inhibition and see the practicality of such a solution? Seems like a psychological problem to ponder upon. I will leave it at that.
PS: Just for the record, I personally have no issues with Euthanasia. In some cases, it is possibly the best we can do for the ailing person.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Saviour Complex
Some of you may have visited my company's website by now. As you must have noticed, we have defined an ambitious mandate for ourselves, to become a technology company that uses technology as a means to do socially-relevant work. This blog is an attempt to put into words my thoughts on social entrepreneurship lest I be accused of falling into the trap of the "saviour complex".
What is the "saviour complex"? The way I see it, saviour complex is the phenomenon in which perfectly sane people fall into the misconception that they have been born to save the world, that they are the saviours of a particular section of people in the world. When someone jumps into the world of social work, it is quite easy to get carried away with the good work you do and think of yourself as a "better" human being than others who do not do such work. Its perfectly natural to think that way and I want to consciously avoid getting into this trap.
Let me walk you through my thought process...
I believe there is no such thing as a "sacrifice". Every second of our lives, at a conscious or subconscious level, all of us are performing a cost-benefit analysis in our heads. One of the strongest manifestations of the instinct of self-preservation is a necessity to feel good about oneself. When we do something which we normally won't (sacrifice, in other words), we do it only because it increases our internal feel-good factor. We actually "want" to perform that sacrifice. (Well, thats my belief and it is fine if you don't share it. I am not trying to convince you)
So, when all this is going on inside your head, it is quite easy to feel good about yourself when you are helping out others. With a little bit of imagination, your world view could turn into proclaiming yourself a "saviour". Nothing wrong in doing so, but it has a tremendous downside, as you can probably see. The moment our work becomes about "saving them", we are wired to think of ourselves as superior. We start making decisions "for them", which is a foolish thing to do. People who need to be "saved" are not looking for our pity or compassion; they are looking for a way out of the mess they are in.
I strongly believe we should empower the underprivileged of the world to find a way out of the "situation" they are in, rather than provide humanitarian aid to get them out of it. Of course, in some situations, humanitarian aid is the best way. But one size does not fit all and this is not a universal solution. The long-term strategy for helping the poor and eradicating poverty has to be to provide them means to a better life. Let them be the final decision-makers; we should just try to set up the options for them to choose from.
With this sort of thinking, I have analyzed my motivations in pursuing social entrepreneurship. The fact that I recognize the "saviour complex" is a good thing. I will be more wary of it and even if I do eventually fall into that pit, I hope to realize it soon enough to get out of it quickly. I also have realized that my mandate is not to make decisions for the poor and underprivileged; my mandate is to create the opportunities and the environment required for them to rise upto the challenge of poverty and get to what they consider a better standard of living.
For now we are focussed on building a successful commercial enterprise and trying to figure out the pieces needed to make social entrepreneurship work. I intend to keep you posted on what I discover along the way...
What is the "saviour complex"? The way I see it, saviour complex is the phenomenon in which perfectly sane people fall into the misconception that they have been born to save the world, that they are the saviours of a particular section of people in the world. When someone jumps into the world of social work, it is quite easy to get carried away with the good work you do and think of yourself as a "better" human being than others who do not do such work. Its perfectly natural to think that way and I want to consciously avoid getting into this trap.
Let me walk you through my thought process...
I believe there is no such thing as a "sacrifice". Every second of our lives, at a conscious or subconscious level, all of us are performing a cost-benefit analysis in our heads. One of the strongest manifestations of the instinct of self-preservation is a necessity to feel good about oneself. When we do something which we normally won't (sacrifice, in other words), we do it only because it increases our internal feel-good factor. We actually "want" to perform that sacrifice. (Well, thats my belief and it is fine if you don't share it. I am not trying to convince you)
So, when all this is going on inside your head, it is quite easy to feel good about yourself when you are helping out others. With a little bit of imagination, your world view could turn into proclaiming yourself a "saviour". Nothing wrong in doing so, but it has a tremendous downside, as you can probably see. The moment our work becomes about "saving them", we are wired to think of ourselves as superior. We start making decisions "for them", which is a foolish thing to do. People who need to be "saved" are not looking for our pity or compassion; they are looking for a way out of the mess they are in.
I strongly believe we should empower the underprivileged of the world to find a way out of the "situation" they are in, rather than provide humanitarian aid to get them out of it. Of course, in some situations, humanitarian aid is the best way. But one size does not fit all and this is not a universal solution. The long-term strategy for helping the poor and eradicating poverty has to be to provide them means to a better life. Let them be the final decision-makers; we should just try to set up the options for them to choose from.
With this sort of thinking, I have analyzed my motivations in pursuing social entrepreneurship. The fact that I recognize the "saviour complex" is a good thing. I will be more wary of it and even if I do eventually fall into that pit, I hope to realize it soon enough to get out of it quickly. I also have realized that my mandate is not to make decisions for the poor and underprivileged; my mandate is to create the opportunities and the environment required for them to rise upto the challenge of poverty and get to what they consider a better standard of living.
For now we are focussed on building a successful commercial enterprise and trying to figure out the pieces needed to make social entrepreneurship work. I intend to keep you posted on what I discover along the way...
What it takes
I have noticed over the past few years that quite a lot of people I meet want to do something on their own, yet very few actually end up doing it. Every person is waiting for something or the other to fall into place before taking the leap. For a majority of them it is a matter of getting that necessary "experience" which will make them ready for it.
This post is dedicated to such people; my attempt at providing them an idea of what might be needed to get "there" (I use 'might' because I don't believe there is a formula for it). Here are some of the qualities that I have felt are useful to have as an entrepreneur:
Patience
As I have discovered, almost as soon as I began, starting up is "a waiting game". Every entrepreneur acknowledges that hard work is essential to bring the best-laid plans to fruition. But as soon as you start, the first lesson that becomes apparent is that it takes time to achieve goals, even short-term ones. You have to put in the hard work without running out of patience.
Impatience !!
Paradoxical as it may sound, some impatience is also needed in entrepreneurship. Having well-thought out goals, deadlines & deliverables to meet goals is a must for any organization, and startups are no exception. Moving into a world where you are your own boss is a transition which can lead to a loss of discipline in setting and adhering to deadlines. A streak of impatience will serve you in good stead against falling into such a trap.
Perseverance
As an entrepreneur, you will make a lot of decisions and define tasks which require significant time and effort. Without fail, you will also continuously question yourself whether you made the right decision, especially when things are not going well. A certain amount of perseverance will prevent you from abandoning tasks in a hurry without giving them due consideration. It is important to stick with your decisions and persevere with them towards their logical conclusions, whether good or bad.
Self-confidence
Well, this is kinda obvious, isn't it? :) I think it will be quite difficult without this. Enough said.
Risk taking without fear of failure
Risk becomes an integral part of life once you turn an entrepreneur. There have been very few successful companies that have been built without some underlying risk at their inception. One should be bold enough to dream big, take a few risks and face the consequences. The lessons learnt from unplanned events in a startup are probably the ones that will make you successful. As Vinod Khosla elegantly puts it here, entrepreneurs should dare to dream dreams, and be foolish enough to try to make them come true.
Situational Awareness
This is a rather elusive trait which helps bring perspective in our lives. Everyone gets these moments of insight when they truly understand how what they are doing at that instant fits into the big picture of life. Almost without fail, startups begin with grand ideas and possibly exaggerated assessments of self-worth. Entrepreneurs need to actively cultivate intuition, or discipline depending on the kind of person you are, to seek situational awareness for their startups. You need to periodically assess your work, the environment in which it is done, the economic realities prevalent, trends in the business you are in and any & every source of information you can lay hands on that you consider important to better understand how your company is faring. And don't be afraid to discover unpleasant things.
Execution is everything
Cliched, but true. Period.
I don't claim to have found the magic ingredients for an entrepreneur; heck these are only a few attributes I am trying to build in my company. It is very likely I have missed a bunch of important things; I will leave them for the spirit of discovery in each one of us :)
Lastly, I don't think it is necessary for any one person to have all of these traits. But I do feel that a startup should have people who collectively possess all of these traits. Obviously there are a variety of reasons for you to turn entrepreneur. But once you have made the leap, a wonderful variety of experiences unfold which WILL surprise you :)
Looking forward to seeing you on this side of the entrepreneurial fence. Good luck.
This post is dedicated to such people; my attempt at providing them an idea of what might be needed to get "there" (I use 'might' because I don't believe there is a formula for it). Here are some of the qualities that I have felt are useful to have as an entrepreneur:
Patience
As I have discovered, almost as soon as I began, starting up is "a waiting game". Every entrepreneur acknowledges that hard work is essential to bring the best-laid plans to fruition. But as soon as you start, the first lesson that becomes apparent is that it takes time to achieve goals, even short-term ones. You have to put in the hard work without running out of patience.
Impatience !!
Paradoxical as it may sound, some impatience is also needed in entrepreneurship. Having well-thought out goals, deadlines & deliverables to meet goals is a must for any organization, and startups are no exception. Moving into a world where you are your own boss is a transition which can lead to a loss of discipline in setting and adhering to deadlines. A streak of impatience will serve you in good stead against falling into such a trap.
Perseverance
As an entrepreneur, you will make a lot of decisions and define tasks which require significant time and effort. Without fail, you will also continuously question yourself whether you made the right decision, especially when things are not going well. A certain amount of perseverance will prevent you from abandoning tasks in a hurry without giving them due consideration. It is important to stick with your decisions and persevere with them towards their logical conclusions, whether good or bad.
Self-confidence
Well, this is kinda obvious, isn't it? :) I think it will be quite difficult without this. Enough said.
Risk taking without fear of failure
Risk becomes an integral part of life once you turn an entrepreneur. There have been very few successful companies that have been built without some underlying risk at their inception. One should be bold enough to dream big, take a few risks and face the consequences. The lessons learnt from unplanned events in a startup are probably the ones that will make you successful. As Vinod Khosla elegantly puts it here, entrepreneurs should dare to dream dreams, and be foolish enough to try to make them come true.
Situational Awareness
This is a rather elusive trait which helps bring perspective in our lives. Everyone gets these moments of insight when they truly understand how what they are doing at that instant fits into the big picture of life. Almost without fail, startups begin with grand ideas and possibly exaggerated assessments of self-worth. Entrepreneurs need to actively cultivate intuition, or discipline depending on the kind of person you are, to seek situational awareness for their startups. You need to periodically assess your work, the environment in which it is done, the economic realities prevalent, trends in the business you are in and any & every source of information you can lay hands on that you consider important to better understand how your company is faring. And don't be afraid to discover unpleasant things.
Execution is everything
Cliched, but true. Period.
I don't claim to have found the magic ingredients for an entrepreneur; heck these are only a few attributes I am trying to build in my company. It is very likely I have missed a bunch of important things; I will leave them for the spirit of discovery in each one of us :)
Lastly, I don't think it is necessary for any one person to have all of these traits. But I do feel that a startup should have people who collectively possess all of these traits. Obviously there are a variety of reasons for you to turn entrepreneur. But once you have made the leap, a wonderful variety of experiences unfold which WILL surprise you :)
Looking forward to seeing you on this side of the entrepreneurial fence. Good luck.
Eating well
My colleagues and I decided to try out an Ayurvedic restaurant called Sanjeevanam one fine day for lunch, and were treated to an exquisite and unique experience. A sumptuous meal called Rajakeeyam Bhojan was laid out to us on a banana leaf with 26 different items served in a particular order. The meal has been designed on traditional ayurvedic principles to maximize the assimilation of micro-nutrients from food.. basically get the good stuff out of good food :)
Here is a re-creation of the 26 items served to us, in the order served:
1. Piece of Banana as a starter
Then a round of drinks was served to stir up the appetite
2. Dates juice
3. Milk from Nuts - badam and pista predominantly
4. Vegetable juice
5. Harita buttermilk - buttermilk with some mint paste added to it
6. Brown rice water
This was followed by a round of half-cooked items. Preetham, my colleague, didn't relish this round much. Ajit and I were totally enjoying this extraordinary meal already.
7. Sweet Puttu - a sweet dish made from Rice flour and coconut; Kerala special
8. Salad
9. Banana Stem Patchadi - Banana stem is supposed to be good for the kidneys
10. White pumpkin Patchadi
11. Natural Mango Pickle
A round of fully-cooked items followed, and this is where a regular meal would have started :)
12. Green Beans curry
13. Greens curry - generally classified as spinach in the west, there are a large number of greens available in India. I don't quite know which one was served, to be honest :)
14. Banana Flower curry
15. Avial - a delicacy made with myriad mixture of vegetables on a curd platform
16. Okra Patchadi
17. Mint Patchadi
All the above were just side-dishes. This is where the main course started ...
18. Red Bean Rice - was quite tasteful; never had it before
19. Dhal - lentil soup in some sense, but quite diluted; eaten with rice sometimes
20. Sambhar - a Tamil delicacy, made of tamarind and lentil bases with vegetables
21. Rasam - a predominantly tamarind soup-like dish
22. Mour Kozhambu - a curd platform delicacy, typically eaten with rice
23. Buttermilk
24. White Rice
25. Payasam - sweet porridge essentially, this is one of my favourites
26. Honey, to help digestion after a heavy lunch
You can imagine how heavy this might have felt but, surprisingly, it didn't fill us up like other such meals do. We showed some moderation in eating rice that day, and the other portions were just right. Felt real nice to have a great and completely healthy meal.
I am sure all of us have heard about the diversity in India somewhere or the other, but it is when you are here and discover something like this that you really appreciate the diversity. I hope this is just one of the many pleasant discoveries I will make of my own country, and may some of them provide such good nourishment as well :)
Here is a re-creation of the 26 items served to us, in the order served:
1. Piece of Banana as a starter
Then a round of drinks was served to stir up the appetite
2. Dates juice
3. Milk from Nuts - badam and pista predominantly
4. Vegetable juice
5. Harita buttermilk - buttermilk with some mint paste added to it
6. Brown rice water
This was followed by a round of half-cooked items. Preetham, my colleague, didn't relish this round much. Ajit and I were totally enjoying this extraordinary meal already.
7. Sweet Puttu - a sweet dish made from Rice flour and coconut; Kerala special
8. Salad
9. Banana Stem Patchadi - Banana stem is supposed to be good for the kidneys
10. White pumpkin Patchadi
11. Natural Mango Pickle
A round of fully-cooked items followed, and this is where a regular meal would have started :)
12. Green Beans curry
13. Greens curry - generally classified as spinach in the west, there are a large number of greens available in India. I don't quite know which one was served, to be honest :)
14. Banana Flower curry
15. Avial - a delicacy made with myriad mixture of vegetables on a curd platform
16. Okra Patchadi
17. Mint Patchadi
All the above were just side-dishes. This is where the main course started ...
18. Red Bean Rice - was quite tasteful; never had it before
19. Dhal - lentil soup in some sense, but quite diluted; eaten with rice sometimes
20. Sambhar - a Tamil delicacy, made of tamarind and lentil bases with vegetables
21. Rasam - a predominantly tamarind soup-like dish
22. Mour Kozhambu - a curd platform delicacy, typically eaten with rice
23. Buttermilk
24. White Rice
25. Payasam - sweet porridge essentially, this is one of my favourites
26. Honey, to help digestion after a heavy lunch
You can imagine how heavy this might have felt but, surprisingly, it didn't fill us up like other such meals do. We showed some moderation in eating rice that day, and the other portions were just right. Felt real nice to have a great and completely healthy meal.
I am sure all of us have heard about the diversity in India somewhere or the other, but it is when you are here and discover something like this that you really appreciate the diversity. I hope this is just one of the many pleasant discoveries I will make of my own country, and may some of them provide such good nourishment as well :)
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Turning Entrepreneur
I started a company called Invention Labs along with a few friends about three months ago. It had been on the anvil for close to a year and a half now, and we decided to take the plunge after a six-month period of intense evaluation of our individual and collective desires to start up. We also spent a good chunk of this time questioning and confirming the sanity of our ideas before quitting our current jobs and leaving behind comfortable lifestyles.
I have been asked by some of my friends to maintain a log of my experiences as a means of educating and even inspiring other like-minded people out there; and I have decided to accept their request. From time to time, when I get a chance, I shall be posting some anecdotes, insights, facts, frustrations, issues, etc that occur to me and hopefully it will be an interesting read. I will tag all such posts under entrepreneurship as I do occasionally blog about other stuff (don't judge me by my blogging history so far though :)
So it begins...........
I will dissect my reasons for turning entrepreneur to begin with; it is only fair to put things into perspective. Quite a few people were taken by surprise by my move; Some have gone to the extent of praising my guts. Well, I am sorry to disappoint these folks - my decision had nothing to do with guts or even glory for that matter.
I did leave a great job in the US to come back to India to start up, somewhat of a rarity although increasingly becoming easier. Reverse Migration is even recommended by some people !!! I am not going to do anything of that sort, just make it plain that it was not all that tough a decision for me.
First, I will start with a confession; I am a control freak. Most of my friends probably already know this, and have not said it to me too often as I apply this freakish behaviour mostly only to myself ;) If having a fiercely independent nature wasn’t enough, I need to constantly make sure, sometimes rather obstinately and foolishly, that I am in control of my life. Letting go of this so-called control is one of the hardest things for me to do; giving rise to my absolute aversion to getting drunk or dancing freely to any kind of music.
Well, one of the main reasons I have always wanted to turn entrepreneur is this need for control. Almost as soon as I stepped into the real world to work, I could sense a void forming in my life. There was a part of my life that was slipping out of control and had a mind of its own. I fell into the all too familiar whirlpool of delivering results, performance reviews and feeling 'busy'. Luckily, I got fed up of it the very first time I went through these !!!
I diagnosed this feeling to be the lack of an emotional attachment to my work; and that my sense of responsibility was making sure I did a good job at what was entrusted to me. That is when I started looking out seriously to figure out what to do in life. And I decided I will try something on my own, hoping it will be motivation enough for me to wake up each day and feel in control.
That led to a new problem; what can I do on my own? The magnitude of this problem to someone who has almost never had a real passion in life is mind-blowing. Luckily, Q came to my rescue. He had a much clearer idea (more like guideline) of what he wanted to do, and needed someone like me to help him achieve his vision. Perfect, I said and signed on instantly. There was no question in my mind ever that this was the thing to do. Of course, we did extensively plan and prepare ourselves for our move, and took the plunge only when we felt there was sufficient promise finance-wise.
Second comes my fortunate situation; I am the last child in my family with both elder brothers well settled. No financial obligations and a wonderful family which didn't question my actions even once. I am sure they have their own anxieties about me; I am also certain they will never let me know about it.
My minimal expectations for life's comforts comes third, as it had made me quite indifferent to earning money for the sake of it. I also did not harbour any qualms about the move back to India. I must say I had tons of fun in the US, but so did I when I was in India.
All of these made my decision to walk away rather simple.
But now that I am here, my life has definitely changed drastically, and I am enjoying every moment of it. I am still warming up to my new job and a few ambitious, altruistic and idealistic thoughts pass my mind from time to time.
So, my dear readers, if you do want to turn entrepreneur, my advice is to figure out exactly why you are attracted to that notion. You may be surprised to find the reasons and perhaps figure out that doing so is not as difficult as it seems !!!
I have been asked by some of my friends to maintain a log of my experiences as a means of educating and even inspiring other like-minded people out there; and I have decided to accept their request. From time to time, when I get a chance, I shall be posting some anecdotes, insights, facts, frustrations, issues, etc that occur to me and hopefully it will be an interesting read. I will tag all such posts under entrepreneurship as I do occasionally blog about other stuff (don't judge me by my blogging history so far though :)
So it begins...........
I will dissect my reasons for turning entrepreneur to begin with; it is only fair to put things into perspective. Quite a few people were taken by surprise by my move; Some have gone to the extent of praising my guts. Well, I am sorry to disappoint these folks - my decision had nothing to do with guts or even glory for that matter.
I did leave a great job in the US to come back to India to start up, somewhat of a rarity although increasingly becoming easier. Reverse Migration is even recommended by some people !!! I am not going to do anything of that sort, just make it plain that it was not all that tough a decision for me.
First, I will start with a confession; I am a control freak. Most of my friends probably already know this, and have not said it to me too often as I apply this freakish behaviour mostly only to myself ;) If having a fiercely independent nature wasn’t enough, I need to constantly make sure, sometimes rather obstinately and foolishly, that I am in control of my life. Letting go of this so-called control is one of the hardest things for me to do; giving rise to my absolute aversion to getting drunk or dancing freely to any kind of music.
Well, one of the main reasons I have always wanted to turn entrepreneur is this need for control. Almost as soon as I stepped into the real world to work, I could sense a void forming in my life. There was a part of my life that was slipping out of control and had a mind of its own. I fell into the all too familiar whirlpool of delivering results, performance reviews and feeling 'busy'. Luckily, I got fed up of it the very first time I went through these !!!
I diagnosed this feeling to be the lack of an emotional attachment to my work; and that my sense of responsibility was making sure I did a good job at what was entrusted to me. That is when I started looking out seriously to figure out what to do in life. And I decided I will try something on my own, hoping it will be motivation enough for me to wake up each day and feel in control.
That led to a new problem; what can I do on my own? The magnitude of this problem to someone who has almost never had a real passion in life is mind-blowing. Luckily, Q came to my rescue. He had a much clearer idea (more like guideline) of what he wanted to do, and needed someone like me to help him achieve his vision. Perfect, I said and signed on instantly. There was no question in my mind ever that this was the thing to do. Of course, we did extensively plan and prepare ourselves for our move, and took the plunge only when we felt there was sufficient promise finance-wise.
Second comes my fortunate situation; I am the last child in my family with both elder brothers well settled. No financial obligations and a wonderful family which didn't question my actions even once. I am sure they have their own anxieties about me; I am also certain they will never let me know about it.
My minimal expectations for life's comforts comes third, as it had made me quite indifferent to earning money for the sake of it. I also did not harbour any qualms about the move back to India. I must say I had tons of fun in the US, but so did I when I was in India.
All of these made my decision to walk away rather simple.
But now that I am here, my life has definitely changed drastically, and I am enjoying every moment of it. I am still warming up to my new job and a few ambitious, altruistic and idealistic thoughts pass my mind from time to time.
So, my dear readers, if you do want to turn entrepreneur, my advice is to figure out exactly why you are attracted to that notion. You may be surprised to find the reasons and perhaps figure out that doing so is not as difficult as it seems !!!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Man oh Man
I have written this blog so many times in my head.
It all started one fine day, in Richmond, Virginia. I was standing in for someone I don't know nor care about for a twenty20 cricket-ball league game. Packing up the kit at the end of the match, which we won quite thrillingly by the way, I was listening to the guys speak. And it happened....
I don't remember when or why I started catching this, but I was getting fascinated by the way every sentence ended with "man". "he doesn't know how to bat, man", "He is like that only, man", and so on.... it just kept on coming. I was mesmerized in this new angle to listening.
Wonder where it all started. 'da', 'ra', 'man', etc.. how did they creep into our vocabulary? and to such an omnipresent level? It feels like adding this suffix completes a sentence. Otherwise there is this hanging feeling, a touch of finality to everything we say. This suffix keeps the listener engaged, and is also probably an audible prompt for them to express their thoughts, and keep the conversation flowing.
Need to dig deeper into this someday. Apart from that, I don't know what to say, man.
It all started one fine day, in Richmond, Virginia. I was standing in for someone I don't know nor care about for a twenty20 cricket-ball league game. Packing up the kit at the end of the match, which we won quite thrillingly by the way, I was listening to the guys speak. And it happened....
I don't remember when or why I started catching this, but I was getting fascinated by the way every sentence ended with "man". "he doesn't know how to bat, man", "He is like that only, man", and so on.... it just kept on coming. I was mesmerized in this new angle to listening.
Wonder where it all started. 'da', 'ra', 'man', etc.. how did they creep into our vocabulary? and to such an omnipresent level? It feels like adding this suffix completes a sentence. Otherwise there is this hanging feeling, a touch of finality to everything we say. This suffix keeps the listener engaged, and is also probably an audible prompt for them to express their thoughts, and keep the conversation flowing.
Need to dig deeper into this someday. Apart from that, I don't know what to say, man.
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