Who You Are

This thought is more intense than just a tweet. A journalist asked me what was the message I wanted to give through CNMO. I don’t think CNMO has a message. It is a fun book about ordinary people dealing with life’s issues. Several people have commented on what was important to them in the book after they had read it. Some people read only the foreword, ‘A Special Debt’, and were moved by it. Others loved the whole nostalgia trip, which took them back to their own student lives.
Though I hate analysing anything, analysis being another word for paralysis, in this case I must say that after reading CNMO one final time, what impressed me the most was the way people stuck to their own true selves. Jaggu’s humility, Priya’s honesty, Kailash’s sense of humour, Ruts’s sincerity, all these were attributes that the characters weren’t ‘adopting’ but actually living.
I’ve often struggled between being my true self, saying what I think, standing up for my beliefs, and at the same time, being polite and politically correct. But there are people who are hugely successful, and still honest. I think I’m going to follow their lead. It’s the simplest way to lead life.