The Island Story – Retold
(Life is stranger than fiction, sometimes you feel like escaping into a fairytale, sometimes you are the fairytale. I am no Pinocchio but one fine morning I was going to feel like him. I would know how letting out a secret could make the earth move in mysterious ways.)
*
I woke up with a startle, the alarm ringing in full volume. There was a pile of housework to finish and I had just enough time to glance at my sleepy reflection in the mirror.
It was a precious Sunday morning and the year was hovering around the month of August. The sky was an unobstructed expanse of blue, so perfect it reminded me of the warm and sunny picnics I had enjoyed with my family when I was younger.
I had woken up with the intension to finish the weeks pending chores, but my day had other plans.
*
The library was surprisingly crowded, my days plan had shifted from work to lazing around. Friends had called to ask if I wanted to drive around, but I wanted to spend the beautiful day lazing around in my garden. Most times on such days I would read a couple of pages and fall asleep on the carefully trimmed grass, it was a habit that annoyed my mother, but I would do it anyway.
It was in the new arrivals section, that I saw the two men. There was nothing extraordinary about them, just painfully out of place in the indoors. If you asked me now how they looked or what they wore I cannot recollect, I am sure however that if I saw them, I would recognise them quite easily.
*
We were standing at the edge of a steep cliff, a sharp fall into the choppy sea; the two young men and me. How we reached there is still a mystery to me. It was as if a part of my memory got erased. I felt like a character in a science fiction novel, except that there was no space ship and no aliens. One by one all three of us dove into the water. No reason why I did it; I knew the water was freezing and that there were rocks jutting out of the seashore. And yet I jumped right in, perhaps wanting to discover a new island, perhaps just to see if I had the courage.
*
We must have swum a few minutes and already the two young men were a distant memory, I was all alone in the giant sea. I do not remember the waves or how much I swam; I do remember waking up on the beaches of an Island – a fort Island. For miles there were the fort walls and the giant canon ball tanks to see. Not a single soul in sight, the history of the island played fastforward in my head – vivid images of the king’s crooked smile, the women who were seated in covered carriages, the timings of the day when the beach was open to public. I had made my decision; I did not want to see what I had already seen, even if it was from the long lost past.
So I swam, swam with the waves and against them, my mind playing with mirages of palm trees.
I was going to be part of a dream, a dream someone else’s mind had made up, a dream that I was making up too.
*
There was nothing out of the ordinary on the white sandy beach. I vaguely remember seeing the cottages while swimming aimlessly in the sea. I took the risk and reached the shore. The beach had no trees, just tanned woody weeds that had crawled out of the water onto the beach.
It was amongst those woody weeds that I found my first friend. Thin, pale and wise she was dressed in an orange bathing suit. I remember she had told me her name and I had run it in my mind over and over just so I would not forget. Now I cannot recollect what it was. She told me all about the Island and the huge secret that it was. “You are lucky to have found the place.” she said. We walked on the dry grainy sand and she told me about the island, how it had formed and that it had a twin not too far away.
She told me not to tell anyone of this place, because each time its name is called out it eats a little but of the sea and moves towards its twin.
That’s when she dove into the sea, I was tired and sleepy but instinct told me that I should follow her. I had a crushing feeling that if I don’t I will miss out on something.
*
Almost every five minutes I would see another human, we were all swimming in one direction- like birds in a formation. My friend in the orange swimsuit would wave at me at times and I would smile. Soon the dolphins were part of the formation. We must have swan for over an hour before we reached a rocky platform of an island, brimming with trees and home to the mermaids.
*
I swan to the shore and sat at the edge of the rock, looking at the sea, its glorious beauty and the strange world I was in. Although none of this was ordinary, nothing astonished me, not even when the mermaids asked me if I was ready for another swim. We swan in circles in the clear water under the clear sun, the mermaids whispering warnings to keep the secret.
I was not quite sure what they meant, but I promised anyway. We swam and then it was time to go. The formation came in place and we moved; underwater for a while till we reached the parking where the giant motor car was waiting. Now that surprised me. Talking mermaids and singing dolphins I had expected but a motorcar under the sea; THAT was new. I sat inside and as if on cue the vehicle started lifting giant bubbles to the surface as it sped ahead.
I reach the shore, the cottages just as I had last seen them. I knew the journey was over and I would never see any of it again.
*
It was then that the motorcar driver started shouting “Who wants to get in? Who wants to go to the Island of Bemair?”
That’s when the earth moved. The sea it started eating and I saw the twin closing in.
Itchy and Scratchy Show.
There were some topics that I never intended to write about on my site. But here I am writing about two things that are irritating me.
The people who are the ‘inspiration’ for this post have the link to the site and I really hope they see this post.
Usually when there are hygiene related issues with women, the girlfriends are quick to notice and come to the rescue. So if there are things my friend needs to know but is blissfully unaware of we women are always there to tell before any embarrassment is caused.
I wonder if it works the same way for men. There are several instances when a colleague could have just taken his friend for a walk and told him to wear better fitting trousers and not the ones that are about 2 inches high, when the gentlemen could have been told that he reeks of pee and needs to wash up, that he should stop fiddling around and maybe go visit a dermatologist.
So , Mr. Scratcher and Mr. Pee I hope you read this, because no one else seems to have told you.
Archives
It does not matter whether you own your business or work with one. You will always encounter outdated theories that look and sound great in case studies, but are best avoided at the workplace.
Few ideas that I, strongly, feel should be thrown out of the window:
1. Become indispensible to the organisation: who are you kidding, unless you are truly your own boss with a unique talent, there will always be someone equally -if not more- ambitious, equally competent and equally productive.
What you can however do, is stay ahead of the race, venture new areas and be on the move.. always.
2. Bullet point Presentations: (When will everyone move on and away from this one).It is not about putting all the data there. It is about communicating effectively. The focus should move beyond how many bullet points to use and what to speak. While making the presentation make a target of what the audience should gain at the end of it all, also take feedback on whether you have succeeded.
3. Formulas for success: Sweeping statements like “HR is the backbone of the organisation”, “Operations is the nervous system of the company” and the sorts are to make the dimwits in the group happy.
‘How to’ of it
Proof of pudding is in the eating.
Proof of pudding is also in the making, the talking, the seeing and the hype created.
Consider a situation. You know an architect who has just started his career; you have never seen his work or heard his name in the appropriate circles. However, you have heard him talk; talk a lot of his work – how many clients are pouring in, how great the job is, the client appreciation he has received. Day in and day out you hear this person talk about work, you see his promising new website and social networking sites are used efficiently to let the world know that this architect is doing really well. No possible opportunity is missed to drill in his professional details and how amazing the outcomes are.
Suddenly out of the blue a friend of yours needs to hire an architect, and immediately the first name that comes to your mind is of the young architect. The names of reputed firms are hard to recollect and even the billboard (right in front of you) advertising an architect fade away.
Whether or not you recommend him is a different issue, for the young architect the purpose is served.
Most people engage in personal branding, at the end of it ‘How to do’ outweighs the ‘What to do’.
Word of Mouth
Yesterday a colleague asked me where I bought the shirt I was wearing. I told her the brand after a moments hesitation.
I hesitated because the brand was too good and although I would probably never buy enough from them to keep their income flowing I still wanted exclusivity to the extent I could control it.
It made me think about the theory of word of mouth and how some great products get almost all their publicity by word of mouth.
Sometimes even the most deserving products do not get their share of recommendation. There are many instances when word fails to get around:
1. When the product is comparable to that offered by the competitor but fails because of bad choices – bad choice of location for example.
Case: Last weekend I went for a movie to Adlabs (Hyderabad), the theater offers everything comparable to its competitor, except the really narrow roads that lead to it, less parking space and a mall in the third floor whose target audience clashes with those that Adlabs targets. I will never suggest this place to anyone, enough though the three hour movie watching experience was close to what other multiplexes offered.
2. When the product is so exclusive that you do not want people to know.
Case:There is a great gift shop in Pune called gift-a-way. Tucked away in a cozy corner in a busy street, finding it is an adventure and choosing from the delicious racks of handmade marvels is even more exciting. The place has the same set of loyal customers. Although the owner wants the customers to talk, they rarely ever do.
3. When the product is great, but tells people more about you than you want them to know.
Case: Parachute Therapie hair oil – Now I have tried it and at least six other people I know have tried it, but then it is everyone’s little secret. No one wants the world to know you are having hair issues.
4. When the product was great, but you are not sure if it was the best
Case: An all day pamper yourself massage at a spa. You know it was great, but who are you to say if you have been to the spa twice in your whole life. What if the others have tried all the other spas as well and the one you are raving about is the worst??
Word of mouth is meant to be about the product, but it rarely is. It is more like a secret that you tell your best friend, and only when the whole experience cuts the mark.