The Unseen Me

I just finished listening to the Scene UnSeen podcast by Amit Verma where he had Amitava Kumar, the author, as a host. It was around 3 and half hours and I listened to it in 3 or 4 sessions. This is my third podcast and the only one I heard till the end. 

One of the reasons is because it is the closest to what I have set out to do i.e. write a page every day for the next 30 days, this is the prove it to yourself before you sink in the money principle which I follow. If I can do it, I will join a writing course in August - maybe Amit Verma’s or Amitava Verma’s course. Who knows?

Amitava Kumar also worked as a journalist and few of his early books are in the form of reportage and which I thought / look back at was one of the things I would have loved to do but never had the courage / conviction and foresight to make the choice. So, in a way this was like an alter ego of mine narrating his journey.

Thanks to the fact that both (Amit & Amitava) were friends, this was a very intimate interview, at least I felt that he shared very close personal details and its importance to his life and his work. It was like a friendly discussion you are part of late in the night with a drink in your hand. Also, because he is a writer his answers were very well thought through and he had enough time to reflect and share his thoughts in a very eloquent way - many a times breaking into bihari style hindi. 

For me it was a great peek into the development of a creative person & hence a writer - also as I was listening in a way I was validating myself or qualifying myself as a writer. So, in a way it was a very good precursor to any course I would join in the near future. I have already picked up few nuggets like you have to 

• Curious, 

• A very good observer 

• Disciplined / Build a habit

• Read widely 

• Connect your beliefs with what you are writing (the me in your writing is the soul)

Ya, so I score well in all the metrics above. And I am just happy that these come naturally to me and not because it is prescribed by a teaching course.

It’s also a philosophical validation of my main reason for writing - which is it helps examine things, giving it a perspective which stays with you, changes you. Many times it also surprises me after I finish writing  a blog and reflect on my writing. 

Well, I am a happy man today :)

Day 10: 200 words/challenge 447 words.