My empty house and my almost-furnished home. I still baffle myself with my idea of home.
I watched a random video on youtube this evening where Rahul Bose (Actor extraordinaire) spoke about Bombay. And it resonates so deeply with me. I was nodding in agreement the whole time I was watching the video. There is no one Bombay. Like there is no one Philadelphia or New York. Each of us have our own dimensions of what makes a city, MY city. Suburban Bombayits that don’t travel to South Bombay, South Bombayites that don’t consider the burbs Bombay. Lower East Siders who don’t “do” mid-town and Upper East Siders who dont’ do the tunnel and the bridge. We each of our own city.

I’m leaving for Bombay tomorrow. I’m returning to MY idea of Bombay but am hoping I can re-define it and add yet another piece to it. Don’t be surprised if you find my blog more personal, effusive and emotional than ever before. I have a guard on most of the time - here too. I’m hoping, returning back home will dispel it for me.

There is something about digital narratives. I spend countless hours on facebook everyday and marvel at the dazzling digiscape of human emotions, dreams and aspirations that paints and re-paints itself in form of text, visuals and videos within the Facebook confines each day. If the emotions expressed on facebook were visualized, it would quite beautifully capture a facet of humanity. Also, projects like a A thousand journals, PostSecret and We Feel Fine have inspired me tremendously to imagine further and think about how to capture and create a mosaic of human emotions online. And so, what better emotion to explore than Dsplacement?

Dsplacement is a word I associate with people who out of choice or force keep their concept of home fluid. I have been in love with the idea of exploring our relationships with cities, countries and the very idea of home. Personally for me, all three have changed several times and I expect them to continue changing for the next several years. I feel like, all this dsplacement has defined my sense of self and my identity. But I am curious to know how, if at all, it has impacted other people. And so, dsplaced.com

It is in a way an experiment in storytelling. The brevity and the levity of messages on Twitter and stories in 6-words amaze me and I wanted to bring  in a similar element to dsplaced.com. Because sometimes, less is more. Especially in this case.

So I teamed up with Mansi, a kindred soul like me, who I have never met in person yet and together, we launched Dsplaced. Thankfully for me, she shared the same frustrations and curiosities of being a digitally connected yet dsplaced.

I urge you to spread the word, to visit the site and submit your own story. I don’ t know how it will shape or how long it will stay alive on the web - but its almost meditative and healing to do this. To catalog these digital snippets of people’s minds that ultimately, in different words, tell teh same story.

Having moved here at age 18, I lacked the cultural literacy that my counterparts and colleagues already possess by the mere virtue of having grown up in USA. In most professions it may not make a difference, but in the media industry (marketing/ advertising/ journalism) it is crucial to understand and be informed about the psyche, the cultural imprint of the quintessential ‘American’ experience. Now that is the educated, intelligent reasoning I give myself for what I am about to reveal.

In reality though, it is for none of the reasons above that I do what I do. It is simply because I enjoy it - it is an indulgence and I fervently crave it: The young adult media.

I am obsessed with media/ entertainment. Period. But I am supremely obsessed with media and entertainment packaged specifically for the Young Adult market. I am 25 and I shamefully admit that I am obsessed with the 17-year old immortal Edward Cullen, the vampire protagonist of The Twilight Series. I read all the four books (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn) and the Midnight Sun excerpt made available on Stephanie Meyer’s website. The story is the obvious mix: love, danger, high school - how could the story not be successful? But there are two main reasons why I think this is a cult sensation.
Storytelling: The storytelling is potent: teetering on the edge of eternal love and danger, the book’s premise is riveting enough to keep the readers flipping page after page to move with the story. Harry Potter and LOTR created worlds outside of the normal human realm that made them universally appealing but the Twilight Series has created a parallel world that seems to exist within the confines of the normal human world as we know it. She has taken ordinary everyday people, placed them in the midst of life-threatening danger and made them blissfully unaware about it. Sheer brilliance. I have to concede that I don’t admire Meyers for her writing - she is masterful storyteller.

Edward Cullen: Edward Cullen’s character takes the prize. His rich history, (born in the 1900’s!) his supernatural powers,(mind-reading) his wisdom and chivalrous attitude, his cars,(Volvo, Ferrari, Ducati)  his strength, his looks, his intelligence, his talents (piano) and his intense devotion to the love of his life (Bella Swan) – Edward Cullen is the fantastical fabrication of every young girl’s dream love. He epitomizes perfection - and impossiblity. Nothing wrong with him, except that he is a vampire which at that (teenage) age is interpreted more as fascination and intrigue than danger. Now you package that into four 500 page plus books and tell me why girls will not dream of him, crush over him or wish he were real!?

Teenage years are as it is difficult to live through- what with the complexity of relationships, self-awareness, sexual awakenings and first loves. And that young love at its most potent, primal and purest form is what Meyers has captured in this book. Latching on the fact that teenagers evaluate love interests differently than adults, it comes as no surprise that Meyer’s Bella falls for Edward.

Twlight Series is an impossible, drug-like state – hard to let go off and wake up from. The impending release of the movies will fuel this mania further, but slowly as I wake up from Meyer’s brilliant imagination, more of the world will succumb to it. No doubt, she is talked of in the same sentence as J.K Rowling.

…….then come to Interesting New York! I’m helping the cool folks at Open Intelligence Agency (David Nottoli) organize Interesting New York and we’ve got an amazing line-up of speakers who are talking about everything from fan fiction to New Orleans to ping-pong.

It is very un-conference like - the speakers are everyday people and each “talk” will be short, succinct and involve no marketing speak at all. What more could ya ask for ?

I’d love to have talked about something interesting - but what can I say -I am more interesting behind-the-scenes than infront of it! (right now atleast)

The tickets are super cheap: $35 only! So you should most certainly come. Buy yours here.

Well, one of its kind really.

A few months back, my paths crossed with All Day Buffet and I joined them in their efforts to make social innovation mainstream. You probably know of All Day Buffet from its ridiculously successful Cause for Drinks event. If you haven’t been to one yet - you should.

Mike, Jerri and I have been fervently at work in creating a one-of-a-kind conference on social innovation aptly titled “The Feast.” It is on October 16th at the Scandinavia House here in NYC. What is the point of another conference you may ask. And I agree. Like you, we are pretty much tired of the same kind of conferences, that bring together the same speakers and the attendees and do not achieve much.

That is precisely why The Feast is so different. Our speakers are evocative and have each harnessed the power of creativity to propel social change in their respective industries. Dr. Despommier of the Vertical Farming fame, Dale Jones of PlayPumps and Tom Szaky of TerraCycle are just a sampling of the great minds we have bought together for the day.

The conference is less about ideas and more about actions. In gathering the world’s leading creative mavericks, entrepreneurs, revolutionaries, radicals, and innovators together we intend to inspire action to change the world. Our hope is to leave you high on possibilities with a new menu of connections to get it all done.

I hope you will support our vision and buy a ticket or two and come to the conference. I promise you that it will be money and time well spent. And totally worth it.

Please email me/ leave a comment if you are a member of the press and want a press pass. I look forward to seeing you there.

It is what I have learned from managing and pursuing my career. It may not apply to you or you may not agree with this, but I am not looking for approval or arguments. I wrote this down because I always wished someone had told me this. This is for those who remind me of me

1) Pay close attention to your industry and adapt to its changes.
For professionals in the industry of communications (creative or business side) it is most important to pay close attention to the quicksilver nature of our industry and be flexible enough to adapt and grow with it. In my case, when I entered the workforce, the magazine industry was struggling (still is) and the new media wave hadn’t hit the industry in full force just yet. I changed gears and it has served me well. I also realized that I didn’t need to work at a magazine to be able to write. And incidentally, after I quit the industry, I’ve published work in InStyle, Allure and Zink magazines. Besides, I satiate my ‘writing’ urges here on my blog.

2) Explore the dualities of your skill-set.
By this I mean - don’t allow yourself to be pegged into a singular role. I think most smart people have the inherent capacity and the appetite to understand and function well within both the creative and the business side of work. Personally, I didn’t want to be pegged down as a ‘creative type,’ but I didn’t want to be pegged down as a ‘finance/ business’ type either. The solution for me was to find roles that allowed me to balance and grow in both areas. The solution for you may be different - but I’d say if you are on the client side, explore the agency side at some point and vice-versa. You’ll be surprised at what you learn.

3) Jobs are not always for learning what to do.
Some jobs are fantastic case-studies for learning “what not to do” or “bad business practices.” And I’ve had my share of those kind of jobs. It is easy to think when you are stuck in a miserable job that you are not learning anything. But you will only understand the true extent of what the job has contributed to your professional growth, when you are at a distance from it and looking at it from a different lens. So do not fret if you are stuck in a job you don’t like and feel like it is a waste of your time and talent — trust me, if you are not learning about how to be better at what you do, you are most certainly learning, how to not get worse and what not to do. And those types of jobs and learnings, are equally important for your growth. The bottom-line is - you will still emerge a better thinker and will be able to effectively articulate and assert yourself.

4) You are in control of your career.
I don’t know if I can sum this up as lucidly as the others…. Maybe because I am still learning… Upon graduating from college, I had a very narrowly defined understanding of the types of jobs that exist. I struggled to find the perfect fit for me and I kept exploring until I found my niche. I fear that many young people, perhaps do not realize how wonderful this opportunity is. Do not let peer pressure and college dynamics let you believe that your career path is pre-defined. It is what you make of it. Take control of your career. Be ruthless in your pursuit and humble in your deliverance. I guarantee, you will weather any career-storm.

5) Don’t be afraid to email the CEO
I have no shame or fear in expressing my opinions, asking for a job or writing an email of appreciation to the CEO of any company. Sometimes it gets ignored, but three out of five times, it landed me a job. If you don’t think this way - I’m sorry but you might as well accept defeat and move out of the industry because I can promise you, that for every one person who is not thinking this way, there are 5 others who are, and they are the ones who will land your dream job. When you want a job - pull all stops to get it. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to win.

6) About burning bridges and such.
I steadfastly believe: to never burn a bridge. But some bridges are not worth managing. You will come across certain people who you are better off without in your life. I say that because I’ve been there twice and it has made me wonder and ask myself - What’s the one good reason why I would want to keep this bridge afloat?
I ask myself,
Would I ever work with this person again? No.
Would I ever hire or recommend this person? No.
Would I ever help this person? Probably not.
What if in the future, this person is asked to provide a testimonial to their experience with me? This was a tricky one. But I’ll take my chances and say, even then its not worth it.

And quite honestly, I’ve felt much better about myself since. If you are true to yourself, it is perfectly okay to allow a bridge or two to crumble and break down. Or in some cases, take an axe and break it yourself. You cannot always be political and diplomatic - in life nor in work.

EDIT: Dion Hughes left a very insightful comment below. That people change - and it is worthwhile to keep all your professional relationships, at the very least, open. I have to concede to this - it is good advice. I have been in the workforce only four years and I have much to learn. One of these things is: leaving room to allow people for a second chance.

7) On quitting..
I will pass on to you a gem of an advice my friend gave me, “Don’t accept a new job because you can’t wait to quit your old one - run to the new job because you can’t wait to begin that one.” Thats it.

EDIT - (Props to Manoj Damodaran)  I should also add that think twice before quitting a job. Climbing the ladder by jumping titles - while great for your wallet, not so good for your professional growth. Regardless of your job title, to thrive in this industry (creative, communications, media) you’ve gotta pay the dues. Take the garbage out, do the shit-work, make photo-copies, feel your intellectual muscles degenerate and wonder why you went to school — think of it as the initiation process to grander things. I’ve had $6/hour internships at top magazines in NYC, written for free for numerous publications, worked for pittance to build my experiencefolder. Now I don’t. I will not work for free, consult for free or even write for free - unless it is for a cause or a company I truly believe in. But I think I’ve earned my right to be there. You will too - with persistence and perseverance.

However, the balance is important. Learning when to say no and learning when to ask for more money for your work is incredibly important. And that will come as you learn, grow and feel that you can offer much more. That moment will most likely come when you are done paying your dues.

Lastly, do not take yourself too seriously.
Have fun. It is more important to have lived then have survived. A job at the end of the day is a job. Be nice, help out when you can and do your fucking best. But for gods sake, have a life outside of work. Your life is what makes you interesting, not your job.

***
I hope this was of some use to you.
I will update this occasionally. If you have a learning you would like to share on this page, please leave a comment or email me and I’d be happy to include it here.

I was pretty ecstatic when I learned that Paris’s famous Colette is coming to New York. Alas, I was mis-informed. Colette is not coming to New York. Instead, Colette has partnered with GAP, ColettexGAP, to bring a selection of curated items to NYC. GAP is desperate for any ingredient brand to help pull itself out of the trenches, but Colette was coveted and special. Of all possible partnerships of creative brand ideas Colette could have executed in New York, a brand alignment with GAP is unimaginative and quite distasteful. And frankly, these sort of relationships and limited edition products/ pop-up stores concepts are now overused and rusty.

Colette, a purely commercial enterprise and the brain-child of Sarah Lerfel has exuded and has been perceived to be more of a cultural curator, a salon, a library of diversity and cultural relics, rather than a retail experience. Colette blurred the boundaries between commercial, artistic and cultural interests and although I have never been there in person, I couldn’t be more off the target when I say that Colette has successfully managed to give each of the three dimensions equal priority.

Anyways, it got me thinking about this whole merging art, culture and commerce, but I’ve come to realize that to succeed and have longevity now (by now I mean, in a world rocked by changing media and economic landscapes), an enterprise simply cannot afford to think of art and culture as disparate elements, as something you pick and choose in measures when the enterprise needs a boost or some fresh PR. I have come to believe that a cultural and artistic sensibility has to be in the DNA of a commercial entity. Just the way the commercial DNA was/is in-built in the works of Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Takashi Murakami.

We have moved beyond philanthropic sponsorships of art and cultural events to a more inherent embrace of arts and culture. The one strongest benefit of this rocky economy and associated budget cuts organization-wise is that business managers are being forced to consider carefully how to make the most intelligent and creative use of their budgets, while still meeting the bottom line.

I might have been too quick in doling out my judgment for the GAP+Colette partnership without having experiencing it in person. To watch a brand I have no respect for (GAP), enter into a synergistic relationship with a brand I absolutely adore (Colette) bought out a visceral reaction. I may change my opinion if this experience transforms my opinion of GAP. Let us wait and watch.

Irrespective, maybe its time GAP began to rely on itself and stopped creating these short-term ingredient brand relationships to raise their bar.

Again, I apologize - my thoughts are pretty scattered. Its like my brain has been short-circuited! LOL. But I’d love to hear your thoughts, if any on this matter.

I watched Mammia Mia this weekend and my spirits were lifted and I just had a warm happy glow about me. I hadn’t seen the musical before but Meryl Streep is my favorite actress and I simply had to see the movie version. Every frame of the movie was filled with inspiration. The Grecian sun, the glittering blue waters, the fresh sun-kissed skins of the actors and the colors! oh the colors - of the fabrics, the clothes, of Donna’s villa… simply beautiful!
The guy playing the piano in this clip from the Dancing Queen is Benny Anderson, one of the original composers of ABBA.

I’m gushing, but I’m so inspired. Donna, Tanya and Rosie’s friendship reminded me of my best friends. Two things are clear from the movie 1) that I’d like to spend a few months in Greece and 2) I want the Josef Frank fabrics in my new apartment. At almost $250/ meter, they are soo out of my budget right now but definitely on the wish-list.

Three reasons to watch the movie:
1) Meryl Streep
2) ABBA
3) Greece

And I know what my gift number 3 should be for my “25 Gifts to Myself” promise