When we embrace change, it is always followed by a churn. It can seem hard and confusing. We may worry and begin to second guess ourselves. Wise leaders recognise that transitions are hard. They create space for uncertainty and chaos. It is the dark tunnel that eventually leads us towards the light. Stay committed to the purpose and give it time for the fog to clear. These lines are from Natasha Budhwar whose columns I read with a lot of interest in Mint Lounge. Thanks to Amit and his circle of friends and his podcast that I heard her speak (for the first time) on his show Seen & Unseen.
This was one column I would look forward to every Sunday - I still remember 1 particular article which talked about turning 50 and re-reading it I felt like someone had taken a pen and transcribed what was there in my mind in the most beautiful and poetic way, It's very rare that someone can speak to you and arouse this feeling of friendship without being there. I remember because I turned 50 and I had pasted the cutting on the door of my cupboard which I used to open every day. There were portions of it I had highlighted and dressing up getting ready, I would just read those lines and leave my single room cubby hole in Mumbai.
Staying alone away from my family for a long time the cutting was like a friend who was there, a kind of reminder that said - this loneliness, this struggle, it’s worth it.
Another columnist who I go back and keep reading is Game Theory by Rohit Brijnath. This is what he wrote on Practice and on Pete Sampras’s retirement. “The practice arena (Court 16 where he would practice)is a factory of repetition,a polishing workshop and it can be boring but it’s also a privilege. He is playful and purposeful, all flick & whip,mobile and still. In matches they would do super slo-mo shots and we could see his head still, eyes tracking the ball on to his racket. An expressive Federer searching for precise self is unforgettable. He quotes a famous choreographer - Practice means to perform, over and over again, in face of all obstacles, the act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the person desired.”
Comparing a game with choreography and it’s importance in sports is an arc which you can cross as visuals of an orchestra or ballet floats in front of you or Maradona dribbling past defender and scoring a goal or Pele coming up at the right time to predict the ball and hit it into the goal. This is magic which we can see but writing it down - that’s the power which columnists need to have for their readers to be true fans.
Book is a long read - we all have our time slots, cuddling in bed in rajai, sitting in the winter sun (being winter it is evoking these images in me), you have to get into the plot and remember what you read and what you thought would happen etc. It’s like a sapling which grows and becomes a creeper which is slowly spreading on your balcony net. A book is like a creeper which grows on you as you keep reading.
A column is a fast read, a slower version of browsing. To hold the attention of the reader till the end is a challenge which makes it like a T 20 game vs a 1 day. It’s a lifetime of learning (in sports for Brij & psychology & visceral observation in case of Natasha) which the columnist uses to put forward his / her opinion in front of an unknown audience.
I believe it’s an amazing work of art & practice which the columnists do week after week and helps us in giving words to our thoughts which lie buried in our heart or mind.
To me and I think to many others - the column gives meaning to otherwise a mundane day.
Postscript:
Listen to the podcast here:
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2022/10/31/episode-301-natasha-badhwar-lives-the-examined-life/
Some articles here: https://www.tribuneindia.com/columnist/natasha-badhwar-81
Subscribe her to substack here:https://natashabadhwar.substack.com/
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