The power of curiosity

I've always had a fascination towards learning new languages and trying to build new relationships. I realised how much fun it was to speak a foreign language during my postgraduate days. I was in Calicut, North Kerala.

My mother, being from Palakkad, Malayalam was somehow always around the house as I grew up. Either in the form of movies, TV shows or relatives who dropped by.My mother's Tamil vocabulary was woven with Malayalam words. As I came of age, I had a sudden fascination towards Malayalam movies which were rich in content and message.

So, when I was in Kerala for my studies my knowledge of Malayalam was put to test. I was in for a surprise when I was able to communicate what I wanted to say to a tea seller, early in the morning. I was able to strike a conversation with him and when I walked off the 50 year old tea seller had not just made his first sale of the day but also a friend. Over the next few months every morning used to be a ritual where I would meet friend, Bala Krishnan, fondly called as Krishn-etta and bond over the events from around the world.

Photo © Petr Vaclavek, Collection: Hemera, Thinkstock

Having learned Hindi in school, speaking Tamil at home, learning Malayalam from the air and knowing English as a way of life, I'm happy to call myself a Polyglot.

In the recently conducted multi lingual meeting at CTC, where there were speech slots available in Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, French and Malayalam, I dared to put my knowledge of Malayalam to the acid test. At the end of the speech, I was left with a contentment of having accomplished a special milestone. A 5 minute speech in a language in which I have no formal education, no regular practice or a language that I learned from the wisdom of curiosity was a moment to savor.

Having realised the potency of a language's knowledge, I tried to used the time I spent on mobile phones to good use. I came across an app called Duolingo, which uses an interactive platform to teach languages. I enrolled into the German course and started learning Deutsch.

One of the first phrases that I learned was “deutsche sprache schwere sprache” which literally translates to “German language difficult language”. I smiled at the irony of the moment but I was not to bogged down by this threat. Daily lesson notifications were at times irritating but I persisted and after a few months I completed the course on Duolingo.

During a casual chat with my friend, Sivadas, a fellow Toastmaster who I befriended from the yesteryears, suggested why don't I take up the German exam and get certified. I was excited at the possibility of getting certified. With the help of a professional German tutor, I appeared for A1 German exam at Goethe zentrum and passed the exam. Mission erfüllt (mission accomplished).

When I look back at my journey of learning languages, I am intrigued at how a grain of thought that grew from curiosity, supported by persistence had turned out to be a valuable skill. Today I'm not just able to make friends from around the world but also add value to my business profile as a Entrepreneur - Sales Engineer in the Textile industry.

Inclusion

I'm a big fan of Harsha Bhogle, the admirable cricket commentator. When I was watching one of his videos on YouTube, I saw his speech at the India inclusion summit. I became curious and decided to find more about the event.

The India inclusion summit was an annual event happening at Bangalore, founded in 2012 by a gentleman called VR Feroze. This event is similar to a TED talks conference, where eminent personalities talk about Inclusion. They were trying to bring about awareness of inclusion to specially abled people in everyday life. I was intrigued and decided to register for the upcoming annual event in 2017 and persuaded my friend Raghav Ravichandran to also come along.

At the event there was a plethora of amazing speeches. From an awe inspiring quadruple amputee who was a record breaking athlete, a UPSC rank holder who defied polio to redefine boundaries, a jaw dropping dance by a visually challenged girl, the event had me completely absorbed. It was an unforgettable experience, where I got to witness some exemplary talents despite their adversities. When I walked out of the day long event, I was left with a sense of surreal amusement and inspiration.

The one thought that still lingers in my memory is that by Mr. Tom Harkin, a former US Senator. He said “Clearing the path for people with special needs, clears the path for everyone.”. I realised that how it would take just a small effort to consciously create a user friendly product for the specially abled but it would go on to be useful for Everyone. That lesson has made me look at the world with a different perception.

Being Inclusive is a choice, but if we do choose to be inclusive, we could have made the day a little less challenging for a special person.

The voice that led me

In 2010, I was going through the most testing times of my life. A road accident had left me crippled. When I got back to University in my 4 semester, my health had deteriorated so much that I had lost 25 kg. My vision was blurring and the ever so challenging engineering syllabus looked like a Himalayan challenge before me. It was then that cricket was widely followed. The year long international tours and IPL was engaging to watch. But what catch my attention was the voice of a cricket commentator - Harsha Bhogle. I used to look forward to his commentary segments in each game. He had enumerable likeable attributes.

(Pic: Economic Times)

Put the others before oneself

Whenever he is on the mic, he would make other commentators feel at ease by discussing about their opinion and occasionally have his say. He would put the limelight on the others and see to it that their opinion is heard.

Entrepreneurial spirit

Unlike all the other cricket commentators Harsha Bhogle was not a professional cricketer. He had played for his University cricket team but his passion for the sport fuelled his desire to become a sports journalist. The videos in which he recollects his days when he used to work for all India radio and newspaper are indeed a treat to watch.

Stay neutral

Harsha Bhogle often takes a neutral stand and supports good talent irrespective of what team they belong to. During the T20 world cup in Bangladesh, he had spoken in praise of Bangladesh and was penalised. But recognising talent and wholeheartedly appreciating others is indeed a great characteristic.

With these admirable attributes, Harsha Bhogle inspired me to talk. As a speaking role model he has guided me to an awesome Avenue. I got to know about Toastmasters when I was watching one of his videos and journey has been truly enriching. So, if we all have a role model for our ventures, we can benefit greatly from their teachings.