Re: [silk] In praise of slowness

[rajeev chakravarthi]

This post touched a nerve. Here's my experience -

I used to be an investment banker and corporate strategy (or stragedy, if
you like) person. Pursuant to a showdown with the boss, I took a break in
late 2011. Here's how I spent my time (or, as Terry Pratchett once wrote,
"What I did in my holidays")

1. Worked with an interior decorator, 3 teams of carpenters, 2 teams of
painters, masons, plumbers and sundry vendors to get my new home ready.
Project completed within budget in 4 months from start to finish (including
my better half exercising her veto right).
2. Studied piano. Played 3 piano concerts (as part of a group of pianists)
at St. Andrews Auditorium in Mumbai (with a proper audience, before you
ask). Also played a father-son concert with my older son.
3. Learnt how to read and write music. Used that to transcribe specific
songs that I've always liked - this led to interesting experiments in
arranging alternative approaches to songs, such as different tempi, bass
lines, flourishes at various places in the score...
Also ended up composing a few pieces for piano.
4. Built out book and music collection - both of which now stand at numbers
that have my father speculating about my needing a bigger home...(shades of
Chief Brody from Jaws here)
5. Improved my skills in the kitchen to the extent that my boys like to
compare restaurant fare (particularly Indian Italian or Indian Chinese)
with what I dish out at home once a week.
6. Contributed questions to quizzes being conducted around India. If
nothing else, this had the salutary effect of "reactivating disused neural
pathways".  It also considerably expanded my circle of friends, as
investment banking was not the kind of profession that put me in touch with
the people I was happy knowing.

Also caught up on movie watching with a vengeance - I really miss TNT, but
found a parlor near my home that could get me classic DVD's with enough
notice. Now I just try looking for them online.

While all of this was happening, I co-founded a startup and joined another
as employee number 1 (after the founders). I found that I could manage my
time a whole lot better since I was boss-junior combined. But there was a
whole lot more to be done, which of course had to be done pretty much solo.

I ended up getting rather jaded with the whole startup exercise, as we
ended up pushing all our internal accruals into the business and took just
enough salary to cover our mortgages. Finally, late last year, I got out of
both companies, and got back into a mature corporate job (yes, I got back
into investment banking).

On the minus side, I've lost 5 years in my career. Logic suggests that this
should not be such a drag, given that I now have a life outside work that
has plenty to occupy my time. However, I do admit to feeling a sense of
loss when I look at my former colleagues, many of whom are considerably
advanced and senior in their career paths. This, I keep telling myself, is
an all-too-human reaction. Quite a few executive search professionals I met
looked rather pityingly at me during my recent job-searching days. I don't
think Indian companies like people who take breaks like these, writing them
off as has-beens.

My advise to my new team-mates, all of whom are at least 10 years junior to
me, has been to get some hobbies outside work to occupy their minds. They
obviously look at me as if I'm not quite right in the head.

I'm not sure I went through a slowdown in the sense you describe it. I
think it was more a different path, with new skills learnt. My parents say
I'm better off having taken it. As I talk to colleagues and potential
clients to share my experiences, I see them look at me with something
bordering puzzlement.

On the other hand, I am bum chums with my sons, aged 11 and 9. My wife was
able to get back to corporate life and a full-time job, as a result of my
break,  She says she didn't quite enjoy being the dominant wage earner of
the family for the last 5 years. Interestingly, now that the pressure is
off her, she shows little sign of taking her foot off the gas. Which, I
think, may be more to do with her fear that I might be a colossal ass again
:-)

Rajeev



On Sun, Jan 22, 2017 at 2:48 PM, Venkatesh Hariharan 
wrote:

> I am going through a transition into a slower pace of life. Knowing the
> eclectic nature of this list, I wanted to hear from others who have "been
> there, done that." After years in the corporate world, I decided to quit
> the fast paced life anf become a consultant. My goal was to have more
> control over my time, but somehow I found myself living an equally busy
> life.
>
> I am now thinking of cutting down my consulting assignments and decisively
> slowing down my life, to stop hopping from one task to the other like a
> maniac, and to relish reading books and watching plays, and the company of
> friends. To those who are ahead of me in this ambitious path, my question
> is, "What do you.love the most about living a 

Re: [silk] In praise of slowness

[Rajesh Mehar]

I slowed down on 31 March 2011.

I used to work for an FM Radio station in Mumbai (having been transfered
there from the Bangalore station) and I had swiftly moved up the
organizational hierarchy from being an on-air presenter (or RJ) to being
creative supervisor, assistant program director to finally program director.

Between getting John Abraham's tuna sandwich from the Hyatt, to planning
station specials, gate keeping commercial integrations into programming,
and keeping abreast of Bollywood, I had very little time. And that wasn't
going to be enough for the kind of father i wanted to be. So, within 3
months of knowing about the impending arrival of my first child (a boy, I
would discover later) I quit, took a 20% pay cut and started working from
home for a large IT company.

Not having a 3 hour commute everyday, working in a team with a culture of
trust and collaboration, and not possessing a tv, means that I have time
for a lot of things like working out, cooking, free play with my children,
arbitrarily taking a 2 hour (one way) bus journey to a neighboring state
because my son's 5 year old brain felt like doing that one day, and just
existing very mindfully at a relaxed pace.

On the topic of removing clutter in an effort to work intensely but
impactfully, I would highly recommend Deep Work, by Cal Newport. It's a
superb resource for anyone wanting to 'slow down' in a
less-headless-chicken-work way rather than a three-beers-everyday-by-noon
way.

PS -  Really appreciate everyone's thoughts on this. It's given me a few
new directions to think in...

Re: [silk] In praise of slowness

[Vijay Anand]

"Slowing down" - the phase in life when making money is not the priority
anymore and there is the intention to expand to other interests that have
been at best side projects, so that they get focus.

It seems that the more i read the viewpoints, unless and if there is a) a
significant windfall that money isnt a big concern anymore or b) you make
the financial planning so that  there is an insurance of sorts so that
something doesnt take you unaware - worse put your dependents ar risk, this
is a hard one to pull off.

I often mind myself going back to a bookmarked linked of self-sustainable
farms. An acre or two of land, grow what you want and get away from the
race of making your monthly commitments, seems like a dream. BUT...

1. Any self sufficient farm thingerie is a lot of upfront capital - to cure
the land, and setup things needed for substanence - food, water,
electricity.

2. Given the scenario with the government where the apt definition is
"revolutionary governance", and what holds value, suddenly goes out of it
and land reform policies might be on the horizon, i wonder if any of the
planning we do would be free of risks.

3. All said and done, to keep up with inflation we need an asset that goes
up in value and creates liquidity over time, as agri for eg will never be a
commercially successful enterprise (atleast at that scale). And building
assets right now, take a lifetime in India.

Vijay

On Jan 24, 2017 10:54 AM, "Venkatesh H R"  wrote:

> It is a terrific experience reading all your thoughts. To me, it appears
> that
> most people, when talking about slowing down, are just referring to
> removing
> clutter from their lives. It doesn't mean they are actually slowing down.
> Indeed, in some respects they might be working harder on a few aspects of
> their
> life than ever before! Of course, there is a good chance I'm mistaken in
> this
> assumption.
> For what it's worth, I too am slowing down in my own way. 2012 was the
> last time
> we had TV at home. And this year, I'm planning to cut down significantly on
> Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. There is a dynamic tension to
> this,
> because I depend on social media to distribute my work and listen to
> others. So
> I will still use these - but not on my mobile phone. For me, this is
> equivalent
> to slowing down. I've just been reading Deep Work by Cal Newport, the
> Georgetown
> Uni Computer Science Professor. And he is in praise of some radical
> retooling of
> our calendars and priorities.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jan 24, 2017 12:16 AM, Venkatesh Hariharan ven...@gmail.com
> wrote:
> John, thanks for your hones answers. It's been enlightening to read all the
>
> answers. Charles, I hope to be as disciplined as you, one day.
>
>
>
>
> One of the biggest tensions in my life has been between the activist in me,
>
> who wants to change the world, and the recluse in me, who wants to run away
>
> from the world. Currently, I work with a non profit working on financial
>
> inclusion (www.ispirt.in & www.productnation.in). I have other consulting
>
> gigs but the iSPIRT one has been most intense and has pretty much taken
>
> over my calendar. I like the fact that this work contributes to a good
>
> cause, but there are moments when I crave intense solitude. I never liked
>
> multi-tasking and doing too many things at the same time. I stopped
>
> watching TV many, many years ago... try not to spend too much time on
>
> Twitter and Facebook... and thoroughly hate the always-on online lifestyle.
>
> With age, I have realized that time is not money. Time is precious and we
>
> choose to exchange it for those things that we value the most, whether
>
> that be taking care of our health, a walk in the park, meeting loved ones,
>
> or reading a book. I find that there is great joy in doing things slowly,
>
> meditatively... However, my working life has all been about cramming as
>
> much as possible into every minute available, and doing a hundred things at
>
> once... not complaining, but just making an observation... after all, it is
>
> those jobs that gave me a degree of financial independence. For a change, I
>
> want my life to be not always about efficiency, but also about beauty and
>
> the joy of each moment. Let's see how this works out :-)
>
>
>
>
> Venky
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 10:32 PM, Radhika, Y.  wrote:
>
>
>
>
> > ​Thank you so much for your honesty John. Other accounts for slowing down
>
> > always sound like they come from wherever lotuses grow (supposedly that
> is
>
> > where Vancouverites live!).
>
> >
>
> > best wishes.
>
> > Radhika
>
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
> H R VenkateshTow-Knight Fellow 2016, New YorkCo-ordinator, Hacks/Hackers
> New
> Delhi
> Ph: +1 646-874-9924Twitter: @hrvenkatesh
>

Re: [silk] In praise of slowness

[Venkatesh H R]

It is a terrific experience reading all your thoughts. To me, it appears that
most people, when talking about slowing down, are just referring to removing
clutter from their lives. It doesn't mean they are actually slowing down.
Indeed, in some respects they might be working harder on a few aspects of their
life than ever before! Of course, there is a good chance I'm mistaken in this
assumption. 
For what it's worth, I too am slowing down in my own way. 2012 was the last time
we had TV at home. And this year, I'm planning to cut down significantly on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. There is a dynamic tension to this,
because I depend on social media to distribute my work and listen to others. So
I will still use these - but not on my mobile phone. For me, this is equivalent
to slowing down. I've just been reading Deep Work by Cal Newport, the Georgetown
Uni Computer Science Professor. And he is in praise of some radical retooling of
our calendars and priorities. 





On Tue, Jan 24, 2017 12:16 AM, Venkatesh Hariharan ven...@gmail.com  wrote:
John, thanks for your hones answers. It's been enlightening to read all the

answers. Charles, I hope to be as disciplined as you, one day.




One of the biggest tensions in my life has been between the activist in me,

who wants to change the world, and the recluse in me, who wants to run away

from the world. Currently, I work with a non profit working on financial

inclusion (www.ispirt.in & www.productnation.in). I have other consulting

gigs but the iSPIRT one has been most intense and has pretty much taken

over my calendar. I like the fact that this work contributes to a good

cause, but there are moments when I crave intense solitude. I never liked

multi-tasking and doing too many things at the same time. I stopped

watching TV many, many years ago... try not to spend too much time on

Twitter and Facebook... and thoroughly hate the always-on online lifestyle.

With age, I have realized that time is not money. Time is precious and we

choose to exchange it for those things that we value the most, whether

that be taking care of our health, a walk in the park, meeting loved ones,

or reading a book. I find that there is great joy in doing things slowly,

meditatively... However, my working life has all been about cramming as

much as possible into every minute available, and doing a hundred things at

once... not complaining, but just making an observation... after all, it is

those jobs that gave me a degree of financial independence. For a change, I

want my life to be not always about efficiency, but also about beauty and

the joy of each moment. Let's see how this works out :-)




Venky




On Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 10:32 PM, Radhika, Y.  wrote:




> ​Thank you so much for your honesty John. Other accounts for slowing down

> always sound like they come from wherever lotuses grow (supposedly that is

> where Vancouverites live!).

>

> best wishes.

> Radhika

>






H R VenkateshTow-Knight Fellow 2016, New YorkCo-ordinator, Hacks/Hackers New
Delhi
Ph: +1 646-874-9924Twitter: @hrvenkatesh

Re: [silk] On popular protests, jallikattu and twitter revolutions

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

The government had the right idea at the end of the day, bringing a high court 
judge over to explain the ordinance which had already been brought and how it 
actually was as close to the "permanent solution" the crowd was asking for as 
was feasible.  They should have brought him in much earlier in the day.

--srs

> On 24-Jan-2017, at 8:04 AM, Srini RamaKrishnan  wrote:
> 
> First some background to what happened: Jallikattu is a popular rural sport
> in Tamil Nadu that involves young men chasing fearsome bulls with sharpened
> horns through narrow allies and mounting them bare handed. It's an
> exciting, yet brutal (on the player more than the animal usually) sport for
> the rural youth. Since the last 10 days or so there has been a growing
> state wide youth protest fuelled almost entirely by social media, over the
> recent Supreme court's decision to ban Jallikattu on grounds of animal
> cruelty. It was popularly seen as an attack on Tamil culture - it is no
> secret xenophobia, racism and tribal identity gather crowds like nothing
> else.
> 
> Yesterday the protests turned violent and there were several incidents of
> violence reported that ended in police resorting to firing their guns. It's
> unclear who started the violence but there are certainly several social
> media videos of professional political goons and most surprisingly to many,
> the police in uniform indulging in vandalism and wanton violence.
> 
> Search #ShameonTNPolice and / or #JallikattuForever on twitter for the
> videos and reports.
> 
> There has been a lot of soul searching and confusion over how a protest
> that won much praise for its democratic and peaceful nature could turn
> violent so quickly. There's also been some chest thumping on the power of
> social media - which reminded me of the last time I saw it, during Arab
> Spring when I was still with Google, when everyone was toasting to a new
> possibility. We all know how Arab spring turned out.
> 
> I have never believed in popular revolutions alone bringing change - if the
> sense of injustice that powers revolutions are like seeds, they can't do
> much to grow justice without the sunshine, fertile soil and water, i.e.
> journalism + courts, the political climate and economic climate
> respectively.
> 
> None of what I am about to say excuses the actions of the police yesterday,
> or the inept manner in which the TN government and bureaucracy handled the
> protests.
> 
> We can't change human nature, or the greed of politicians and opportunists,
> or the natural human tendency of many to turn angry and violent when
> there's injustice. A seasoned government would have taken this into account
> and stepped in on day one and dispersed the agitators, amid accusations of
> being undemocratic, and at the same time followed up with Delhi and
> delivered results that pleased the crowd. Instead, the incumbent government
> allowed a fringe problem (jallikattu is a sport most haven't witnessed,
> including a huge majority of those protesting) to grow into a mass
> movement. Like a dumpster fire people began throwing everything that burned
> - every problem, grouse and injustice was attached to it. In India there is
> no shortage of such complaints.
> 
> As a result the crowd had become emotionally invested over disparate
> reasons not even remotely connected to the conduct of jalllikattu like
> ending corruption, poverty, and crime, and a visceral hatred of
> politicians, MNCs and distrust of every power centre and ruling clas,
> including hidden hands.
> 
> Consequently most of the crowd wouldn't disperse even when a political and
> legal solution to lift the ban on jallikattu had been reached. The end of
> the ban wasn't good enough for the vast majority who still saw injustice
> everywhere.
> 
> Regardless of the undeniable possibility of incitement of violence by
> opposition goons, and police, sadly, the rest that followed is pretty
> predictable.
> 
> Present day Indian police are trained in the same Orwellian manner that the
> British Raj used to train its police. During riots police are trained to
> cause property damage even before controlling the crowds, in order to show
> proof that they were justified in resorting to violence. The courts won't
> grant firing permission, or allow lathi charges unless the police can prove
> the situation had got out of hand and turned into a life threatening
> situation. Further, anyone they jail can be punished or intimidated
> severely only if the property damage is in the lakhs and crores.
> 
> It is no secret that we have a poor democracy in India that borders on
> fascism, and this is for the same reason that we still sell cars in this
> country without airbags - it'd be unaffordably expensive otherwise.
> 
> Safety and security isn't cheap. Justice, courts and police aren't free.
> 
> In a poor country there are always more problems than solutions. When
> unfairness is plentiful and fairness rare, maintaining 

[silk] On popular protests, jallikattu and twitter revolutions

[Srini RamaKrishnan]

First some background to what happened: Jallikattu is a popular rural sport
in Tamil Nadu that involves young men chasing fearsome bulls with sharpened
horns through narrow allies and mounting them bare handed. It's an
exciting, yet brutal (on the player more than the animal usually) sport for
the rural youth. Since the last 10 days or so there has been a growing
state wide youth protest fuelled almost entirely by social media, over the
recent Supreme court's decision to ban Jallikattu on grounds of animal
cruelty. It was popularly seen as an attack on Tamil culture - it is no
secret xenophobia, racism and tribal identity gather crowds like nothing
else.

Yesterday the protests turned violent and there were several incidents of
violence reported that ended in police resorting to firing their guns. It's
unclear who started the violence but there are certainly several social
media videos of professional political goons and most surprisingly to many,
the police in uniform indulging in vandalism and wanton violence.

Search #ShameonTNPolice and / or #JallikattuForever on twitter for the
videos and reports.

There has been a lot of soul searching and confusion over how a protest
that won much praise for its democratic and peaceful nature could turn
violent so quickly. There's also been some chest thumping on the power of
social media - which reminded me of the last time I saw it, during Arab
Spring when I was still with Google, when everyone was toasting to a new
possibility. We all know how Arab spring turned out.

I have never believed in popular revolutions alone bringing change - if the
sense of injustice that powers revolutions are like seeds, they can't do
much to grow justice without the sunshine, fertile soil and water, i.e.
journalism + courts, the political climate and economic climate
respectively.

None of what I am about to say excuses the actions of the police yesterday,
or the inept manner in which the TN government and bureaucracy handled the
protests.

We can't change human nature, or the greed of politicians and opportunists,
or the natural human tendency of many to turn angry and violent when
there's injustice. A seasoned government would have taken this into account
and stepped in on day one and dispersed the agitators, amid accusations of
being undemocratic, and at the same time followed up with Delhi and
delivered results that pleased the crowd. Instead, the incumbent government
allowed a fringe problem (jallikattu is a sport most haven't witnessed,
including a huge majority of those protesting) to grow into a mass
movement. Like a dumpster fire people began throwing everything that burned
- every problem, grouse and injustice was attached to it. In India there is
no shortage of such complaints.

As a result the crowd had become emotionally invested over disparate
reasons not even remotely connected to the conduct of jalllikattu like
ending corruption, poverty, and crime, and a visceral hatred of
politicians, MNCs and distrust of every power centre and ruling clas,
including hidden hands.

Consequently most of the crowd wouldn't disperse even when a political and
legal solution to lift the ban on jallikattu had been reached. The end of
the ban wasn't good enough for the vast majority who still saw injustice
everywhere.

Regardless of the undeniable possibility of incitement of violence by
opposition goons, and police, sadly, the rest that followed is pretty
predictable.

Present day Indian police are trained in the same Orwellian manner that the
British Raj used to train its police. During riots police are trained to
cause property damage even before controlling the crowds, in order to show
proof that they were justified in resorting to violence. The courts won't
grant firing permission, or allow lathi charges unless the police can prove
the situation had got out of hand and turned into a life threatening
situation. Further, anyone they jail can be punished or intimidated
severely only if the property damage is in the lakhs and crores.

It is no secret that we have a poor democracy in India that borders on
fascism, and this is for the same reason that we still sell cars in this
country without airbags - it'd be unaffordably expensive otherwise.

Safety and security isn't cheap. Justice, courts and police aren't free.

In a poor country there are always more problems than solutions. When
unfairness is plentiful and fairness rare, maintaining law and order is
achieved almost always through questionable tactics, because the police,
courts and the system will have no answer to a majority of legitimate
demands raised in the letter and spirit of the law.

A takeway from Foucault's "Discipline and Punish" is its examination of how
punishment in Europe evolved from physical torture like drawing and
quatering, where the victim is pulled by his 4 limbs in 4 directions by 4-8
horses to "civilized" mental torture like incarceration only when the
European rulers had the wealth to afford large prisons 

Re: [silk] In praise of slowness

[Venkatesh Hariharan]

John, thanks for your hones answers. It's been enlightening to read all the
answers. Charles, I hope to be as disciplined as you, one day.

One of the biggest tensions in my life has been between the activist in me,
who wants to change the world, and the recluse in me, who wants to run away
from the world. Currently, I work with a non profit working on financial
inclusion (www.ispirt.in & www.productnation.in). I have other consulting
gigs but the iSPIRT one has been most intense and has pretty much taken
over my calendar. I like the fact that this work contributes to a good
cause, but there are moments when I crave intense solitude. I never liked
multi-tasking and doing too many things at the same time. I stopped
watching TV many, many years ago... try not to spend too much time on
Twitter and Facebook... and thoroughly hate the always-on online lifestyle.
With age, I have realized that time is not money. Time is precious and we
choose to exchange it for those things that  we value the most, whether
that be taking care of our health, a walk in the park, meeting loved ones,
or reading a book. I find that there is great joy in doing things slowly,
meditatively... However, my working life has all been about cramming as
much as possible into every minute available, and doing a hundred things at
once... not complaining, but just making an observation... after all, it is
those jobs that gave me a degree of financial independence. For a change, I
want my life to be not always about efficiency, but also about beauty and
the joy of each moment.  Let's see how this works out :-)

Venky

On Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 10:32 PM, Radhika, Y.  wrote:

> ​Thank you so much for your honesty John. Other accounts for slowing down
> always sound like they come from wherever lotuses grow (supposedly that is
> where Vancouverites live!).
>
> best wishes.
> Radhika
>

Re: [silk] In praise of slowness

[Radhika, Y.]

​Thank you so much for your honesty John. Other accounts for slowing down
always sound like they come from wherever lotuses grow (supposedly that is
where Vancouverites live!).

best wishes.
Radhika

Re: [silk] In praise of slowness

[Charles Haynes]

Your goals sound similar to mine, I too stopped working as a full time
salaried employee and became a consultant. That does give you control over
your time, and allows you to slow down your life, but only if you commit
 yourself to that. It's all too easy to let clients soak up all of your
time. I've found I have to set firm boundaries both in my own mind, and
explicitly with my clients. As an example, for the last few years I've not
worked Mondays. I make it clear to myself and my clients that Mondays are
for doing those things I wouldn't have time for otherwise - reading books,
watching plays, visiting with friends (or in my case, working on little
hardware projects that bring me joy but aren't for a client.)

The hardest thing for me was becoming more comfortable in enforcing that
limit, and saying "no" to clients. "I'm sorry I can't come to that meeting,
I don't work Mondays." I've learned you don't have to give an explanation,
just "I don't work Mondays." Smile, and if they ask why I just say "I only
work four days a week." And I keep strict "work hours" as well. I set aside
time for reading, for cooking, for doing ceramics, the things I know give
me pleasure and energize me.

The best part of slowing down is making more space in my life for the
things I love most. Stepping back and taking a clear-eyed look at those
things and those people that I actually enjoy, and not paying so much
attention to the things I think I'm *supposed* to enjoy. Mostly what
slowing down has allowed me to do is to *stop* doing things. Things that
don't give back joy or energy in proportion to the time they take.

So I just spent three weeks in Tasmania, in a campervan. Each morning we'd
decide where we wanted to go (within at most 2 hours of driving) and then
go there. Set up camp, and just be wherever we were. It was glorious.
Tasmania is incredibly beautiful, and it can feel almost uninhabited.

-- Charles

On Mon, 23 Jan 2017 at 16:32 Venkat  wrote:

>
>
> On 23/01/17 10:49 AM, Udhay Shankar N wrote:
> > On Sun, Jan 22, 2017 at 2:48 PM, Venkatesh Hariharan 
> > wrote:
> >
> > "What do you.love the most about living a slower life?"
> >
> >
> > ​To be able to do things on the spur of the moment. This is more a goal
> > than an achievement at this point, but still.​
> >
> > ​Oh, and naps.​ One of the great pleasures of life and a criminally
> > underrated productivity enhancer.
> And travel. Although I would not call mine a slow life, I took off for
> Kabini on a whim last Tuesday and spent a few days there. But I am
> gainfully employed with some freedom.
>
> --
>
> Cheers,
> Venkat
>
>
>

Re: [silk] Gaurav Vaz - Introduction

[Aanjhan Ranganathan]

On Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 8:39 AM Ramakrishna Reddy 
wrote:

> On Sat, Jan 21, 2017 at 1:46 PM, Gaurav Vaz  wrote:
>
> > Hi Everyone!
> >
> > I finally managed to join this amazing group after years of hearing and
> > reading about it. Thanks a lot Udhay for the invitation :)
> >
>
> Welcome to Silk, Unlurking myself. Proud to have known you buddy,
> right from the chaddi days in vyalikaval.
>
>
>
Welcome! For some reason, I thought you were already here.

Cheers!
Aanjhan