Maya Angelou was the ultimate teacher. She would have been 90 today. Although, I never met her in person yet I feel I have known her personally. Through the elaborate writings, powerful poetry, essays, speeches she lives on. I was working late one evening at my first job when I heard the news that Maya had passed away in her…
Dear 2017, you taught me: 1- Remember to never text a harsh feedback or criticism to someone past midnight. No one should wake up reading a negative thought or doubt unarmed with a robe of optimism. 2- It takes great courage to decide what should last a lifetime and what should leave immediately. You will have to summon…
At TED, Juliet Blake helps people tell their stories in a compelling and authentic way. A craft she learnt from her mother and polished over her long career in the media and entertainment world. She is the Head of Television and the Curator of Special Projects at TED. Most recently, Juliet executive produced “TED Talks India Nayi Soch” for STAR…
I first met Quentin Crisp on the recommended videos section on YouTube while watching a Maya Angelou poetry performance. I can’t really recall what it was that made me jump to the video and click. I guess the loud make up, the wrinkles that told a story and a captivating sharp look in the thumbnail of the image. Soon enough…
I met Barbarou last year, on the street leading to the Swedish Church, in Stockholm. I was travelling through Europe, documenting life lessons of refugees who were displaced primarily by the conflict in Syria, and the various stakeholders involved in their integration in Europe. Almost instinctively, as soon as I saw Barbarou on the street, I leaned to my interviewee who…
Dear potential Wise Wall Warrior, We would like to extend to you the opportunity of applying as a volunteer for our 'Wise Wall Project'. The Wise Wall Project: Migration from the rural Uttarakhand, India to urban areas has become the biggest challenge and threat in the state. Out of Uttarakhand’s 16,793 villages, 1,053 have no inhabitants and have been labelled as…
A few weeks ago, a dear friend of mine had flown down from Malaysia. Our general conversation about work, relationships, financial stability and our wildest dreams soon transformed into the kind of life lessons I receive at Project FUEL. I told him earnestly that each life lesson is valuable because someone has lived it to call it his/her own. My…
Dear new friends of FUEL, It might have taken one post, or several, for us to meet at this nook of the internet but either ways I’m delighted to host you here at the Project FUEL blog. I apologize for the inactivity on the blog since our last post:“12000 life lessons from a man who has seen 12000 deaths”. We…
Rooted in the hearts of many Hindus is the belief that if you breathe your last in Kashi (Varanasi) you attain what is popularly known as ‘Kashi Labh’ or ‘the fruit of Kashi’—moksh or “release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma”. Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan in Varanasi is one of the three guesthouses in the city where people check in…
How many times while reading the newspaper or flipping through news channels on the television have you thought to yourself, “I wish there was something more positive to cheer up my day” or “How depressing are all these headlines”? I am sure each one of us has, at one point or the other, experienced that emotion. Media today is filled…
