Writing can be quite cathartic to those of us who tend to express themselves better through text. While I would like to think that I'm reasonably articulate when I speak, my general conversational abilities can vary from quick-witted to slow-witted, with dim-witted, half-witted, and no presence of any wit whatsoever, all peppering the in-between spaces.
When it comes to writing, however, while I can be verbose at times, it's most often deliberately done so in order to probably create the same form of detail that a purely visual piece would create. Thereafter, I go about throwing in the average vocabulary, bad sentence construction, and what possibly constitutes as terrible humour.; but at the very least, I'm expressive.
There's a good reason as to why we 'compose' emails, texts, and other forms of written communication, I suppose, because it truly is a bit like coming up with a musical piece. You've simply got to have the reader just as engrossed in whatever it is that you are writing, be it a detailed swashbuckling adventure (complete with damsel-in-distress, or well, in today's day and age, geeky male figure being rescued by daredevil heroine), or then simply an abstract thought piece(like this one seems to be so far). The reader has to feel like they're speaking with you, or transported to the very location of the scene being played out through words, almost like they were at a book reading so expressive and immersive as an experience, that it's probably more satisfying than watching something: textual seduction, and textual satisfaction, is a whole different dimension of gratification.
However, the thing about expression itself is that while it does get translated almost empirically through the choice of medium, it does need more of an extended outlet, or show and tell, if you will. It needs to be consumed, appreciated, deprecated, and thus either applauded or burned, because personally, I feel that being Scrooge McDuck about it, would most likely lead to turning oneself into Admiral-General Aladeen (yes, look him up, Google is your friend).
A lot has happened since I last really wrote, not counting the random, weird, and almost hipster-ish post from 2017.
Life changed, a lot. I moved to Pune, threw myself into the Cloud IT fray with some fabulous people who ran their own company. I didn't exactly realise the growth both in terms of professional maturity, as well as my own mental need for information; considering that the industry is actually called Information Technology, there were tonnes and tonnes of information that I could read and store, so much so that I was even given the title of Buttercup (that was the office nickname, coz apparently they thought I was a bit of a diva, simply due to the fact that I couldn't order straight off a menu, buzz words, were whole-wheat and gluten-free), so yes, Buttercup: Purveyor and 'storer' of Useless Information.
I learned a lot, through reading, osmosis, Google searches, brilliant and helpful computer engineers, and out of a requirement to simply show clients with upwards of 10 years experience in IT, that I knew more about cloud IT than they did. The business sense, along with being able to play a client/partner room, came along as the most severe and unforgiving teacher.
I started racing again with some of the usual suspects from the RBYC, joined a bunch of miscreants who called themselves Team Elmo (due to the boat sailed at the time, the 20 year-old J-24 workhorse, Elmo) and continued my love affair spinnakers of various shapes, sizes, and cuts. Still racing whenever I get the chance, and there's no plan to stop.
After a few great years with the IT firm, I got what I thought at the time, was the break of a lifetime! I moved to the UK to work with an Indian owned Formula E team. As the marketing manager, I was responsible for all communication ideas, communication itself, brand development, keeping the partner ecosystem happy with all the details shared, and showcasing the brand values and team with certain stories and media pieces. What was more was that I got to travel the world and be the trackside communications and media point of contact for the team and that I saw all the races and action as it happened first hand, and no, I shall not include bottles of victory champagne in this sentence.
As all good things go, they must come to an end, and this one wasn't the prettiest end when some folks had a realisation that they wanted a PR person with a network that spanned the UK, EU, Latin America and South-East Asia, but they'd hired a brand focused storyteller instead. Not knowing what to do, there was continual disagreement, which only ended in an agreement to walk away. I met some fabulous people, some less fabulous ones, and then there was that small set of those who would be best described with words that do well to serve my less diplomatic notions.
A Mumbai-based year of speculation, daily cynicism, large doses of dark humour, and even larger bouts of insanity has followed suit, although the insanity can be clearly split between the good, and not so good kind, but probably not in equal measure, you probably know which outweighs which.
The good news is that a lot of time was spent on boats, and that continued love affair with spinnakers, on whom I cheated with by renewing the love affair with all varieties of spirited liquids made available to me, needless to say, it's been pretty good.
I've also decided to get back to writing, in some measure, and whether large or small, for better or for worse, we shall find out, but either way, there will be writing. Music, with the boys from LeftHandDrive is also on the cards (we actually broke the 1 gig a year norm, and by the time July is done, we'll be up to 3 gigs in less than 365 days), so let's see how that one plays out (yes, there is not so well hidden bad humour all over/under whatever I write).
A couple of months ago, I decided to throw all remaining savings into booking myself on a 12-day road trip to Spiti Valley. It was quite simple really, sign up for a seat in a vehicle with people that you don't know, and just go. I went a little crazy taking it all in, with photographs as well. I even made notes, and hopefully, considering that I have written this long, and possibly not so dull piece, I'll start blogging about that trip.
A fabulous, awe-inspiring, breathtaking trip that featured crazy roads, mountains + valleys = Himalayas, isolated villages, snowfall, ancient Buddhist monasteries, rivers, glaciers, Ibex, and a solitary Snow-Leopard (yes, you read that right, mountain big-cat with big round eyes, and a bushy tail that it chews on for entertainment).
I've largely been enjoying my solitude, as I tend to, with my guitars, books, and of course, coffee. So for now, I shall retreat; I hope this has been an entertaining read, and I'd love to promise that there's more to come, but I'd rather say, keep reading, and let's see what follows.
For now, adios.
The Beast.
