April 24, 2021

Exercising the thinking-and-writing muscles, India's Covid crisis

When I started writing this letter, my goals were straightforward: to write a thousand words of good quality every week without fail. To exercise the thinking-and-writing muscles and keep them in good, working condition. I have seen that it is easy to lose these muscles. All it takes is a few months of inactivity and the next thing you know, you’ve slipped a few thousand feet. The effort to recoup lost altitude is harder than the original climb.

I like what’s happening with the Vaccine so far. I hope you do too. I enjoy the process of sitting in front of my laptop at six AM on a Saturday morning, with a cup of coffee and a blank sheet. The world hasn’t woken yet, except for the twitter of the birds in the backyard. These days, the sun is up by the time I’ve brewed my coffee and sat myself at the table. Back when I started (in January), I’d see the world light up as words filled the blank sheet.

I’ve become attached to the act of writing. It’s not that I consider myself exceptionally good at it. I’ve read exceptionally good writers and I know that I am not one of them. I can be good, sometimes very good, but rarely great. I’ve made my peace with that. There was a time when I felt that I could be the next Hemingway with an Indian mind. But, I didn’t commit myself. I didn’t drop out of corporate America, take writing classes, work the muscles, and get better. In fact, I veered the other way. Whenever I felt the writing obsession overtake me, I consciously resisted it. Maybe it alarmed me to think that it might take over my life? Or, I worried that choosing writing as a vocation might take the joy out of it? I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. The mantle of the Indian Hemingway remains unclaimed.

I’ve gotten better at holding a conversation over the last decade or so. It has taken focus and practice. It took me a while to realize that the spoken word is perhaps the most crucial element in a relationship, be it with a loved one or a colleague. What we say, how we say it and how much we care about the person hearing it heavily influences the quality of relationships. Taking the time to think through ahead of time and choosing our words carefully can go a long way. Having said that, writing continues to be the zone where I feel the most comfortable. If I ever won an Oscar, I’d prefer to write a letter thanking the Academy rather than speak the same words on a stage. That is also exactly why the chances of my winning an Oscar are less than zero.

Let’s see where we are. About 70 are subscribed to the Vaccine. The ‘open rate,’ which is the percent of subscribers who open the email (let alone read it) has been hovering around 55%. The subscriber count has barely moved in the last month. And, all of that is okay. I have no intent of popularizing this beyond an immediate circle, which includes most of you who have already subscribed. This is an experiment, more designed to help me than you. I try to choose topics that may interest you but the writing process has been my focus. About ten years ago, I had a fairly popular blog (tens of thousands of views and thousands of unique visitors each month, amplified by my Twitter account which had 25K followers). I’ve been at the more popular end of the spectrum, and I can honestly say that while popularity is nice, it does nothing to enhance the quality of the written word. In fact, it can worsen it. When I began to feel the pressure, I stopped the blogging. I now have barely 500 followers on Twitter, and all of this feels just about right.

There are all kinds of formats in which we express ourselves - books, letters, blogs, twitter, podcasts and so on. I made a simple 2x2 chart to organize them. Essentially, it comes down to what expectations the author has of the audience versus the expectations the audience has of the author.

If you don’t have ‘display images’ turned on in your email client, below image might not show.

The experimental quality of a letter like this means only a small fraction of readers will have the patience to ignore failed experiments, resist the urge to unsubscribe and wait it out for the good ones.

I plan to write 3 or 4 books someday. I have in mind about half a dozen (what I think are) clever concepts and plot lines for books. But books require a lot of upfront design and planning. They need more time and long range planning, which is a problem when you have a daytime job that pays the bills and other responsibilities that take precedence. But, I am patiently working on the ideas, making notes, putting pieces in here and there, as and when I find time. When I hang up my corporate boots, I expect to have my hands full for several years. Let’s see.

The hyper increase in Covid cases in India has been in the news this past week. Delhi and Mumbai are on their knees, reminiscent of what New York City went through a year back. Hospitals are full, beds and ventilators scarce, and oxygen in short supply. India opened up its economy late last year, lifting lockdowns and other restraints. For a good part of six months, it looked like the move paid off. Last week, India exceeded 300K daily cases, higher than the US’s peak last summer. Why this sudden surge? There aren’t any good explanations, and that is troubling and puzzling.

A nugget from history before we go: This one involves Diogenes the Cynic and Aristippus, two Greek philosophers. Aristippus seems to have been quite an operator and won himself a spot in the king’s court and the benefits of royal favor. He once saw Diogenes cooking lentils and berated him for not being worldly wise. He said, “If only you learned to flatter the king, you wouldn’t have to eat lentils.” Diogenes replied, “If only you learned to like lentils, you wouldn’t have to flatter the king.” I love this guy!

Stay safe. Get vaccinated, if you already haven’t. Have a great week ahead.