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Lessons from Kwakwani
The lessons I learnt in Guyana had also to do with handling conflict and negotiating. Learnt not from case studies or in workshops, but in real life with real consequences. That makes for immensely powerful learning, because your career and in some cases, even your life depends on learning fast, right, and well. There is…
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Zoo in Corbett
Let me introduce you to the tiger. He is not an object. He is not a spectacle. He does not exist for your pleasure or like all politicians, for photo ops. He is not living in your land; you are encroaching on his. The tiger (gender neutral term as it refers to the species, and…
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Corbett Park Tourism
It takes roughly three hours to get to Haldupudao but since most of that journey is through the forest, crossing rivers on wooden bridges and driving over gravel riverbeds with a foot or more of water, it was thoroughly enjoyable. The Maruti Gypsy is the vehicle of choice for Indian jungle roads. It has front…
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Guyana, cross cultural boot camp
The language of the Guyanese is called Creolese. It is an English Patois and as distinct with its own flavor as French Patois is from French. Creolese has the taste of Cookup, the sound of the Steel Band. and the aroma of the rain forest. It is a language of the people and reflects their…
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Guyana – the stuff of dreams
I’ve lived in many places and with many people; but the way Guyana and the Guyanese entered and stayed in my life is different from all else. To this day, I remember those days as if I were there just last week. It has now been thirty years since I left Kwakwani, but I can…
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Make a difference to someone
Never compromise your legacy. Never lose sight of your purpose. Ask, ‘Why am I here?’ Write it down and stick it on your wall. Look at it every morning and re-dedicate yourself to that. Stick to that. There will be times when all sorts of other things will seek priority. Different issues will demand importance.…
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Memories of Anamallais
It is difficult to describe the beauty of the place where we lived; a place that changes the scene from season to season. In the summer, when it is hot and dry, the waters of the Parambikulam Reservoir recede towards the dam and the submerged land becomes visible. It is a surrealistic scene of a…
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1985
These years and incidents were tough on the one hand but were enormous opportunities for me to learn about myself, develop resilience, patience, and perseverance. They were proof that if you take the pain, then the result is worthy of it. I had taken the pain to insist that I would not let my injury…
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Tiger by the tail
There is a welcome awareness about the need to protect tigers in the wild and the wild places they live. Welcome even more because it comes now at a time when the tiger population in India (numbers are even more elusive and ephemeral than the tiger) has fallen from 100,000 in 1900’s to less than…
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Every end is a new beginning
My planting story ends on a very happy note which always brings great happiness to my heart. After spending three years in Ambadi, I decided to quit planting and seek my fortune elsewhere. One year later in 1994, I launched by consulting company, Yawar Baig & Associates, in Bangalore and have never looked back. Planting…